Architecture

The Naxis' houses mostly take the distinctive mode of the three-room compound building with a screen-wall called Zhaobi, and a courtyard attached to it. The three rooms - namely, the main room, the east room and the west room - stand in row facing the south, and further south are the Zhaobi and the courtyard. People live in the main room, above which is a storage area used mainly as a granary. The whole building is compactly constructed and is often elaborately adorned. Rich families, either in the town or the countryside, are especially particular about the "looks" of their houses. Doors, windowsills, eaves and pillars are all bright colored. Human figures, birds, beasts, insects and even theme stories become the objects of the decorative carvings on the wooden structure. Walls are embellished by paintings and works of calligraphy, carpets and pavings with fine decorative patterns. Minia2landscape, various flowers, bamboo trees and many other kinds of plants are all used to beautify the residential settings.