Former Site of Lijiang Prefectural Middle School

The foundations of this school were built on the silver of penalties: ten thousand taels of silver collected from the Dongzhulin Incident and two thousand taels from commercial tax evaders. In 1905, Lijiang Prefect Peng Jizhi secured these funds, collaborating with local gentry He Gengji and Zhao Shiming to establish the Lijiang Prefectural Middle School. To keep the classrooms running, Peng set up the Heqing Songgui Mule and Horse Fair to collect regular taxes. In 1906, Zhou Guannan, the first Naxi student to study in Japan, walked through these gates. He brought brass scientific instruments and glass-eyed animal specimens to teach modern science.

The architecture is a classic Naxi 'four-courtyards and five-patios' layout. Across six hundred square meters, the brick-and-wood framework supports white walls and gray clay-tiled roofs. In the central courtyard, the rough bark of a three-hundred-year-old tamarisk tree shades the stone Qusi Monument, carved by students in 1908. Nearby, the wooden Shi Ting pavilion, built by Zhou in 1913, stands over a quiet pool.

In 1907, Zhao Shiming edited Yunnan's first vernacular newspaper, the Lijiang Vernacular Newspaper, in these rooms. Today, the space serves as a campus bookstore, divided into nine thematic zones including reading rooms and a history gallery. The restoration in 2019 preserved the original Naxi style.

The scent of ink and tea now fills the courtyards. The old tamarisk tree still stands, connecting the early days of modern education with the readers of today.