Population of the Mongolian ethnic group in Yunnan has added up to 28,000 and most of the Yunnan Mongolian are offspring of the Mongolian soldiers led by the First Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty Kublai Khan to fight an expeditionary war in Yunnan. The majority of Yunnan Mongols live in a compact community at the Xingmeng Mongolian Township of Tonghai County, whereas the rest of them have blended with local people of different ethnic groups in urban or rural areas of Central Yunnan. The Mongols in Xingmeng Township have developed their own language and costumes, all of which show considerable differences compared with those of the Mongolians on the North China grasslands .The representative festival of the Yunnan Mongolian minority is the Nadam Fair that is held every three years. The military ancestors of the Yunnan Mongols came to Yunnan in the Yuan Dynasty, and were stationed in the vicinity of the present-day residence of the Yunnan Mongols. Gradually, they gathered and settled down at the present-day Xingmeng Township, and changed their pastoral life to that of the fishermen. With the dropping of the Qilu Lake water, Yunnan Mongolians further changed their pattern of subsistence from fishing to farming.

   Key constructions of the Mongolian Village include a “seal-shaped” building, a Mongolian yurt and a turf, all of which are replicas of the Mongolian constructions at Xingmeng Township of Tonghai County. The architectural style of Yunnan Mongols has not only embodied features of their nomad ancestors, but also displayed their unique architectural art.