At the end of last century, a revival of the Shangri-La tale generated a Tibetan-area touring boom. The 'Tibetan-area' refers to not only Tibet, but also a large number of Tibetan residences in the Sichuan Province which borders on Tibet. It contains mainly the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze and Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba. In both areas live generations of Tibetan people, with their attractive customs and life-style. Take a walk along the road in any area, like the Dawu County, and you'll find yourself surrounded by eye-catching and fancy houses. They are the "Dawu House," palaces of the North Tibetan-area.
The word palace doesn't mean necessarily the king's residence. It refers to the homes of ordinary Tibetan people from Dawu County. The county, at an elevation of 3km, is famous for its beauty and provinciality, and Dawu House makes it one of the most famous.
Dawu House is 'Beng-ke' in Tibetan, 'a house of wood.' The house has wood girders and pillars, and the rest of it is built mainly with stone, sand and earth. By 1980s, severe earthquakes shook the counties of Zhaggo and Dawu in north Tibetan-area, forcing people to quakeproof their traditional house-style. Now a mature building style has developed.
A typical Dawu House, 2- or 3-storys with a height of 5m to 8m, is supported by bulky wood planks in traditional Tibetan patterns. Walls are built with superimposed sheet stones and earth, enclosing about 120-250 square meters for a normal house, and 350-450 square meters for a large one. The framework is crossed stake shaped in lunette for stabilization. Compared with patterns before the earthquake, thicker wood for pillars are used with a new jointed structure, drilling through floors in support.
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