Mu Palace 木府

About Mu Palace

A long central axis links formal halls with side courtyards and upper buildings. The Assembly Hall introduces the governing role, while Wanjuan Tower connects the complex with books and scholarship. Read it as a reconstructed museum site, and follow the main axis before stepping into the smaller side spaces.

Mu Palace was originally built as the office and residence of the Ming-dynasty Mu chieftains (木氏土司) in 1382, during the Hongwu era (洪武), with the Wanli era (万历) later adding buildings such as the Zhongyi Gateway (忠义坊). Xu Xiake (徐霞客), visiting in 1639, during the Chongzhen era (崇祯), described the chieftain's residence as rivalling a king's palace in splendour. Looted in 1647 and largely burned in fighting in 1860, the complex was later rebuilt on a much smaller scale, with only three courtyards, and was further damaged during the Cultural Revolution before its reconstruction after the 1996 Lijiang earthquake.

Its design is said to have followed the symmetrical, formal layout of the imperial central court, giving the complex a resemblance to a miniature Forbidden City. The present buildings date from a 1999 reconstruction, which also established the Lijiang Ancient Town Museum (丽江古城博物院) on the site; the complex covers 46 mu (亩), with a central axis 369 metres long. In 2012 it was listed in the second batch of Lijiang Municipal Protected Cultural Sites (丽江市文物保护单位).

What to look for

• The Assembly Hall and long central axis reveal the formal administrative layout.
• Wanjuan Tower connects the complex with its tradition of collecting books and manuscripts.

Location & getting there

Getting to Mu Palace

The entrance is at 49 Guanyuan Lane, Guangyi Street, within Lijiang’s old town. Approach on foot through the old-town lanes to the Mu Palace frontage below Lion Hill.