Entity
Mufu Post House
Lijiang, Yunnan, China
At No. 9 Yigu Lane, along the South Gate of Lijiang Old Town, the Mufu Post House stands as a physical record of southwest China's trade routes. Built by the Mu family, the hereditary chieftains who ruled Lijiang for over four centuries, this station served as a diplomatic haven on the Southern Silk Road and the Tea Horse Road. For generations, it welcomed royal family members, noblemen, and foreign envoys.
The post house shares the eight-hundred-year history of Lijiang. Its rooms once sheltered the Ming Dynasty geographer Xu Xiaoke during his travels, and later, the Austro-American botanist Joseph Rock as he documented the region's flora. Following the decline of the chieftain system in the late Qing Dynasty, the complex fell into ruin. In 2003, the Maple Wangfu Hotel Management Group began a reconstruction project, restoring the site across fifteen mu of land.
Today, the timber-framed structures showcase classical Naxi residential architecture. The layout follows traditional design concepts: "Three Rooms and a Screen Wall," "Four Courtyards and Five Skywells," and "Corridors with Running Horses." Local Naxi artisans carved the wooden doors and window panels by hand. Outside, a natural stream fed by the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain flows past the foundations, bringing the sound of rushing water into the courtyards.
The site now operates as the Lijiang Wangfu Hotel, recognized in 2013 as a Five-Star Special Ethnic Residence Inn. Visitors walk through corridors decorated with Dongba scriptures, traditional Tangka art, and classical calligraphy. At the Little Stable Restaurant, guests dine on modern Naxi cuisine directly above the stone floors where horses once rested after long journeys over the mountain passes. The post house remains a living bridge to Lijiang's past, preserving the quiet luxury of the Mu chieftains.