Old-timer earth buildings may date to the 12th century but the youngest were only built in the 20th century. In a typical earth building - such as Zhencheng Lou not far from the town of Hukeng in Yongding country - families live in rooms leading off from wooden galleries arranged over three to five levels in a ring-like formation, which face onto a circular central courtyard. Kitchens are all downstairs with living quarters and windows upstairs. Within the courtyard - itself open to the sky and rain, sunshine and starlight - further concentric rings and corridors contained ancestral shrines and halls, tucked away beneath tiled roofs. The bulky walls keep the earth buildings warm in winter and cool in summer,Michael Kors Outlet, or so locals attest. At harvest time, persimmons are everywhere, drying in the sun.