In 2006, a former television host and folk singer named Dabing established a small music tavern in Wenzhi Lane, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lijiang Ancient City. He had broken his finger during an outdoor expedition a year prior, an accident that ended his own guitar-playing career. In response, he built a sanctuary for other wandering acoustic artists.

To enter this space, visitors descend six or seven stone steps from the street level, leaving the commercialized ancient town behind. The cabin is exceptionally small, occupying a footprint between twelve and thirty square meters. Its exterior features weathered, mottled rammed-earth walls, a tiled roof, and a single narrow window. A double-leaf old wooden door, decorated with copper rings and traditional door god posters, marks the threshold. Inside, the air smells of local beer and soy milk, served to guests for a flat fee of forty RMB.

At the center of the room lies a traditional Yunnan fire pit, or huotang. Guests sit tightly packed on low wooden stools, the steps, or the floor, their faces illuminated by the fire. The walls are lined with bookshelves and photographs of musicians who have passed through. Here, performers adhere to a strict unplugged rule. They sing without microphones or amplifiers, relying entirely on the raw resonance of acoustic guitars and hand drums.

The cabin serves as a living archive of China's mid-2010s folk music movement. It has hosted figures like Caidao, who famously crossed the Lop Nur desert, and Dajun, who performed to buy flower dresses for his lover. Royalties from Dabing's best-selling books, such as They Are the Happiest, eventually funded thousands of free campus concerts across the country. Today, the cabin remains a physical monument to a romanticized nomadic lifestyle, preserved in earth, wood, and unamplified song.