Fangtzu

Fangtzu 

a Chinese dwelling of stone or adobe, set upon a rectangular frame of wooden posts and topped by a peaked roof covered with straw, tile, or reeds. Afangtzu usually consists of three to five rooms. The entrance door leads to a kitchen equipped with hearths; the hearths, with the aid of flues, are used to heat the kangs (warm platforms used for sitting at low tables or for sleeping) in the neighboring rooms. Sometimes the kangs are warmed by a special stove situated outside the house.

The fangtzu, characteristic of rural and, to some extent, urban housing in northeastern China, developed between the seventh and tenth centuries and has preserved its essential features to the present day.