500-year-old Mu Residence - a miniature Forbidden City (1/6)

Photo taken on May 21 shows the buildings and landscape of the Mu Residence in Lijiang, SW China's Yunnan province. Mu's Residence is situated in the southwest of the Ancient Town of Lijiang. It is the Tusi Mu's Palace of the Naxi Ethnic Group in Yunnan. Tusi Mu was the ruler of Naxi during the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. During their reigning, this residence was the center of politics, power and wealth in ancient Naxi. Although it is simply a residence, it holds the majestic essence of a palace. In the heydays of the Tusi Mu, it covered an area of over 100 mu (about 16 acres) and consisted of almost 100 buildings. It could be said that it was a miniature Forbidden City.[Photo/People's Daily Online]