Quick Answer: What Is a Naxi Courtyard House?
In Lijiang (丽江, Lìjiāng), traditional Naxi (纳西族, Nàxīzú) courtyard houses arrange rooms and timber galleries around open space. One layout has a main house, two side wings and a screen wall. Another has buildings on four sides with a central court and smaller openings at the corners.[3][5]
- Three-wing plan: A screen wall encloses the side opposite the main building.[3][5]
- Four-sided plan: Small corner courts supplement the main court.[5]
- Town setting: In the historic town, tiled timber houses follow the slope and share a landscape of narrow lanes and canals.[1][2]
The examples here focus on Lijiang’s buildings within the wider traditions of Naxi culture.
Enter through a lane gate and the view changes. Within the compound, galleries and rooms face inward. The central court gives the household an open area that can be seen from several rooms.
Three Wings and a Screen Wall
The plan called san fang yi zhaobi (三坊一照壁, sān fāng yī zhàobì) uses three building ranges and a screen wall to define four sides of the court. The main hall looks across the open space to the wall. The hall served as a place to receive visitors and spend time with family.[3][5]
Tiandi Courtyard (天地院, Tiāndì Yuàn) in Lijiang is one documented example. The main hall has six removable timber door panels. Seasonal flowers are carved on the central four. The report describes potted plants at the site and pebble-and-tile paving as a feature of Naxi courts. A 2025 report records its use for cultural displays and activities.[4]
Four Sides and Five Courts
The layout called si he wu tianjing (四合五天井, sì hé wǔ tiānjǐng) brings four building ranges around one main court. Four smaller corner courts sit between the ranges. The plan therefore offers one broad shared space and smaller openings near the adjoining rooms.[5] This is one way to compare the arrangement with other four-sided Chinese courtyard houses.
How the Houses Relate to Lijiang’s Waterways
Black Dragon Pond feeds canals and smaller channels in the old town. Some houses stand beside lanes that run along these channels, and some face water near their entrances. The channels follow the terrain and help shape where lanes, bridges and entrances meet.[1][2] Water also shaped Jiangnan water-town houses, in another region with different building traditions.
China’s National Ethnic Affairs Commission describes tiled courtyard houses becoming more widespread around Lijiang in the Qing period as local builders incorporated building practices from neighboring peoples. Similar court plans appear in Bai and Naxi communities in Yunnan.[2]
FAQs About Naxi Courtyard Houses
Are the Five Courts the Same Size?
The central court is the main open space. The other four are smaller openings between the ranges.[5]
Are Naxi Courtyard Houses Unique to Lijiang?
Lijiang has well-known examples. Courtyard types with three wings and a screen wall or four sides and five courts are also documented in the wider region among Bai and Naxi households.[3]
What Does the Lijiang World Heritage Property Include?
It includes Dayan (大研, Dàyán) Old Town with Black Dragon Pond and the Baisha (白沙, Báishā) and Shuhe (束河, Shùhé) residential clusters.[1]
Fuentes
[1] UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Old Town of Lijiang
[2] National Ethnic Affairs Commission of China. Naxi Customs and Building Traditions
[3] Pan Xi. Ethnic Architecture and Cultural Exchange in Northwestern Yunnan
[4] People’s Daily. Conserving Lijiang’s Historic Townscape
[5] Massey University Research Online. Place, Belonging and Naxi Language Vitality in Lijiang Ancient Town