Traditional House of Bai People

Many of Bai Houses are beautifully constructed and decorated and are some of the best examples of traditional Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) architecture in China. But they have a distinctive Bai touch of more decorations including colorful pictures, gardens, more use of marble decorations, upturned eaves, and brighter colors. The wooden structures with their tiled roofs and upturned eaves are somewhat reminiscent traditional Japanese houses. This may be because traditional Japanese architecture was derived from ancient China.

Bai people generally decorate the gate to their gardens and houses. A traditionally styled Bai house has a wall called the "shining wall." When the sun sets, the sunlight shines on the wall and then reflects into the yard, making the whole yard bright. So the wall is called the "shining wall." There are four big Bai clans named Yan, Dong, Yang and Zhao. Each clan builds and decorates their houses distinctively.