With a population of 610.000 and primarily engaging in agricultural production, the Lisu minority become as one of Yunnan’s indigenous ethnic minority groups. The Lisu people mostly inhabit in compact communities in Nujiag Lisu Autonomous prefecture and Weixi Lisu Autonomous County, both of which are located within the well-known “Three Parallel Rivers" region, whereas smaller Lisu communities also reside in Lijiang, Diqing, Dali and Baoshan prefectures of Yunnan Province. Ancestors of the Lisu minority could be traced to the ancient Diqiang Tribesmen, who were referred to as the “Sou” or “Pu” people after they migrated southward in tht Qin and Han Dynasties. The Lisu people worship a primitive religion in which “everything on earth has its soul”, and the Lisu people are keen on contestant skill as well as singing and dancing arts. The “Kuoshi Festival” is the representative annual celebration of the Lisu people, who have developed their unique spoken and written language in the long process of evolution.

   Typical house of the Lisu people features wood-board buildings rested on “a thousand of foundation poles”. and the architecture has embodied the modeling art and composition style of the Lisu people to adapt to the terraced terrain. From a specialized aspect, this housing style has also displayed the aesthetic preference and unsophisticated lifestyle of the Lisu people.