What did people use for shelter in ancient China?

Both rich and poor people in Ancient China lived in houses that were constructed primarily with pounded earth and timber framing in areas where wood was not scarce. Many poor people lived in homes made entirely of pounded earth with thatched roofs. Rich people had walls around their homes.

Most homes in ancient China were built to be south-facing, a practice that developed into modern feng-shui orientation concepts. Rich people sometimes had homes with two stories and clay roof tiles. Houses were generally rectangular. Homes normally had no windows on exterior walls and only one door in order to protect the inside families.