7,000-year history of China stilted houses celebrates human ingenuity, offers insights

With sturdy wooden columns supporting a wide walkway that leads into a living space, stilted houses – known as ganlan in Chinese – represent a quintessential element of East Asian architectural heritage, boasting a remarkable history that spans 7,000 years.
A day trip to Tai O, a historic fishing village on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, fully immerses visitors in the enchanting aesthetics of ganlan, making the village a premier destination for both locals and tourists.
“In most Chinese regions...