According to historical records, most of the Hakkas in Shenzhen are descendants of immigrants from the Central Plains. Most of the Hakkas in Shenzhen moved from Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and other places in batches in the early Qing Dynasty. This migration is called the fourth great migration of Hakka. Long-term migration and expansion have promoted the integration of Shenzhen Hakka ancestors and local aborigines, and promoted the local social and economic development, and Shenzhen Hakka dwellings are the epitome of this immigrant entrepreneurial history.
Hakka dwellings in Shenzhen are distributed in Longgang, Baoan, Luohu and other districts, and mainly concentrated in Longgang District. At present, more than 100 Hakka dwellings discovered in Longgang District were mostly built during the Qianlong and Jiaqing years of Qing Dynasty. Hakka houses here are called "Hakka Wai" to distinguish them from "Guangfu Wai" and "Sanhe Courtyard" of Hakka and Guangfu.
The "Hehu New Residence" and many magnificent Hakka dwellings that rose in the Qing Dynasty are vivid portrayal of the hard work of the Hakka ancestors in Shenzhen. Shenzhen Hakka enclosed houses originated from the traditional courtyards and manor docks in the Central Plains. They are the inheritance and development of Hakka earth buildings in western Fujian and Hakka enclosed houses and "four-corner carved buildings" in Xingmei area in eastern Guangdong, and also absorb the advantages of Guangfu folk houses in Lingnan.
Hakka dwellings in Shenzhen are more like square enclosed houses in Hakka areas in southern Jiangxi. It retains the traditions of Hakka dwellings in Xingmei area, such as moon pool, rice flat, hall and horizontal house, but it loses the semi-moon slope-shaped melting tire behind it, or turns the melting tire into a rectangular flat street (such as Longtian Tianxia Mansion), and further changes the housing from a single room to a "corridor-style" suite.
In the past Hakka dwellings, people paid more attention to the interests of the extended family, and only unilaterally emphasized the construction of a residence that could accommodate the whole family, regardless of the privacy needs of the small family. The design of Hakka wai house in Shenzhen is undoubtedly a compromise to the pursuit of personal privacy in Guangfu dwellings. This kind of "opening in the closed" is a bold creation of Shenzhen Hakka ancestors who not only emphasized patriarchal etiquette but also dared to start a business outside, which is a great progress of Hakka residential architecture.
In many areas, Hakka ancestral halls are only dedicated to ancestors, and no other gods are allowed to intervene. However, the ancestral temple of Hakka houses in Shenzhen has ancestor gods and land gods under it, and Guanyin statue beside it, which shows that both ancestor worship and god worship are equally important, showing the tolerant mind of Shenzhen Hakka ancestors, which is also an important feature of Shenzhen Hakka culture.
Shenzhen is offshore, and the sea breeze is alkaline. In order to prevent moisture and wind, the building materials and construction methods of Hakka dwellings here not only maintain the soil structure of the Central Plains, but also adopt the combination of concrete and bricks and use local materials such as oyster ash. The interior main building is painted with brick and wood structure, and its variation part reflects the characteristics of its coastal dwellings.
As the product of the integration of Central Plains culture and Lingnan local culture, the Hakka residential buildings in Shenzhen reflect the architectural and cultural characteristics of a large number of immigrant groups. The study of Hakka folk houses in Shenzhen can involve many disciplines such as history, architecture, archaeology, geography, geomantic omen, folklore and so on. Especially the research on the cultural history of Hakka immigrants, which is also a valuable historical heritage to be explored.