Horse head wall, also known as wind and fire wall, fire wall, fire wall, etc., specifically refers to the wall higher than the two gable roofs, that is, the top part of the gable wall. Because the shape resembles a horse head, it is called "Horse Head Wall".
In ancient buildings, the roof is divided into front and rear slopes with a central transverse ridge in the middle. The left and right gables are either flush with the roof or higher than the roof. When using horse head walls, the gables on both sides are higher than the roof. It follows the slope of the roof and forms a horizontal ladder shape, unlike the commonly seen gables, which are isosceles triangles on the top and rectangular below.
The horse head wall is an important feature of Gan style architecture and Hui style architecture. In villages where ethnic groups live together, the building density of residential buildings is relatively high, which is not conducive to fire prevention. The high horse head wall can play a role in blocking the source of fire in the event of a fire in adjacent residential buildings. Therefore, the Horse Head Wall is also called the Fire Wall. The height of the horse-head wall is staggered, and it is usually two-fold or three-fold. For larger houses, because there are front and back halls, the number of horse-head walls can be up to five, commonly known as "Five Mountains facing the sky".