中国各地的居住建筑，又称民居。居住建筑是最基本的建筑类型，出现最早,分布最广,数量最多。由于中国各地区的自然环境和人文情况不同，各地民居也显现出多样化的面貌。
中国汉族地区传统民居的主流是规整式住宅，以采取中轴对称方式布局的北京四合院为典型代表。北京四合院分前后两院，居中的正房体制最为尊崇，是举行家庭礼仪、接见尊贵宾客的地方，各幢房屋朝向院内,以游廊相连接。北京四合院虽是中国封建社会宗法观念和家庭制度在居住建筑上的具体表现，但庭院方阔，尺度合宜，宁静亲切，花木井然，是十分理想的室外生活空间。华北、东北地区的民居大多是这种宽敞的庭院。
堂屋和土楼中国南方的住宅较紧凑，多楼房，其典型的住宅是以小面积长方形天井为中心的堂屋。这种住宅外观方正如印，且朴素简洁，在南方各省分布很广。
在闽南、粤北和桂北的客家人常居住大型集团住宅，其平面有圆有方，由中心部位的单层建筑厅堂和周围的四、五层楼房组成，这种建筑的防御性很强，以福建永定县客家土楼为代表。在中国的传统住宅中，永定的客家土楼独具特色，有方形、圆形、八角形和椭圆形等形状的土楼共有8000余座，规模大，造型美，既科学实用，又有特色，构成了一个奇妙的民居世界。
福建土楼用当地的生土、砂石、木片建成单屋，继而连成大屋，进而垒起厚重封闭的“抵御性”的城堡住宅——土楼。土楼具有坚固性、安全性、封闭性和强烈的宗族特性。楼内凿有水井，备有粮仓，如遇战乱、匪盗，大门一关，自成一体，万一被围也可数月之内粮水不断。加上冬暖夏凉、防震抗风的特点，土楼成了客家人代代相袭，繁衍生息的住宅。
少数民族居住建筑中国少数民族地区的居住建筑也很多样，如西北部新疆维吾尔族住宅多为平顶，土墙，一至三层，外面围有院落；藏族典型民居“碉房”则用石块砌筑外墙，内部为木结构平顶；蒙古族通常居住于可移动的蒙古包内；而西南各少数民族常依山面水建造木结构干栏式楼房，楼下空敞，楼上住人，其中云南傣族的竹楼最有特色。中国西南地区民居以苗族、土家族的吊脚楼最具特色。吊脚楼通常建造在斜坡上，没有地基，以柱子支撑建筑，楼分两层或三层，最上层很矮，只放粮食不住人，楼下堆放杂物或圈养牲畜。
北方窑洞和古城民居中国地域宽广、民族较多，各地民居的形式、结构、装饰艺术、色调等各具特点。在此，主要介绍一下个性鲜明的北方窑洞和古城内的民居。
中国北方黄河中上游地区窑洞式住宅较多，在陕西、甘肃、河南、山西等黄土地区，当地居民在天然土壁内开凿横洞，并常将数洞相连，在洞内加砌砖石，建造窑洞。窑洞防火，防噪音，冬暖夏凉，节省土地，经济省工，将自然图景和生活图景有机结合，是因地制宜的完美建筑形式，渗透着人们对黄土地的热爱和眷恋。
此外，中国还有保存较完好的古城，这些古城内均有大量的古代民居。其中，山西平遥古城、云南丽江古城均在1998年被列入《世界遗产名录》，碉楼与2007年被列入《世界遗产名录》。
平遥古城是现存最为完整的明清古县城，是中国汉民族中原地区古县城的典型代表。迄今为止，这座城市的城墙、街道、民居、店铺、庙宇等建筑，仍然基本完好，其建筑格局与风貌特色大体未动。平遥是研究中国政治、经济、文化、军事、建筑、艺术等方面历史发展的活标本。
始建于南宋的丽江古城是融合纳西民族传统建筑及外来建筑特色的惟一城镇。丽江古城未受中原城市建筑礼制的影响，城中道路网不规则，没有森严的城墙。黑龙潭是古城的主要水源，潭水分为条条细流入墙绕户，形成水网，古城内随处可见河渠流水淙淙，河畔垂柳拂水。
Chinese Residence -- Earliest Form of Architectural Art
Before the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC), the residential houses both for emperors and folks were all called palace. The term palace became a specific title for emperors' residence since the Qin and Han dynasties (221BC-220AD). In modern times, all the other residential houses except palace and official buildings are called folk residence.
The Chinese wooden framework house first appeared in the late Neolithic age. The Hemudu Culture Site (5,000-3,300BC) in Yuyao County, Zhejiang Province reflected the wood construction techniques of this period. The Banpo Site in Xi'an and Yangshao Culture Site in Jiang village, Lintong, Shaanxi Province revealed the overall arrangement of villages and constructions of this period. Chinese residences can be divided roughly into nine kinds:
· Beijing's Siheyuan (Courtyard Houses of North China)
This is the most important form of Chinese traditional residential house. It is great in number and wide in distribution, popular among the Han, Manchu, Bai, and some of other minority groups. Most of the houses are of wood framework. The principal room is built on the south-north axis, and two wing rooms are located on both sides of it. The family elders live in the principal room and wings are the bedrooms for the younger generations. Women live in the inner yard. Guests and male servants live in the outer yard. This distribution is in accordance with the feudal rules. Siheyuan spreads over towns and villages throughout China, but each developed its own characteristics as a result of respective natural conditions and different way of life. Siheyuan in Beijing is the most representative with its own style.
· Jiangsu Residence
Residential houses distributed in areas south of the Yangtze River have a lot of names, but the overall arrangement is generally the same with Siheyuan. The difference between the two is that houses in the south have smaller yards (or Tianjing), with only two functions: drainage and daylighting. The principal room in the first yard is usually a big hall. The yards in the back are usually smaller, mostly with storied buildings. Roof covered with small tiles and floor with flagstones help to adapt the rainy climate in the south. Houses in watery regions are usually built along rivers, with the front door leading to the alley and backdoor facing the river. Every household has a small dock where they do the washing, bailing and getting on boats.
· U-Shaped Houses of South China
The houses in Yunnan Province in southwest China can be a good representative of this kind of building, and they could also be found in southern provinces like Hunan. The structure overall arrangement is more or less the same with Siheyuan, but the houses are all connected together at every corner, forming the shape of U. The houses are made of wood truss with earth walls, on which are colorful paintings.
· Lingnan Hakka Group Houses
Tulou is a traditional dwelling for Hakkas in west Fujian Province. There are three to four floors in average, and the tallest can have up to six floors. Including the houses in the yard, Tulou can usually hold more than 50 families. Halls, storage houses, domestic animal houses, wells and other public houses are all located in the yard. The Hakkas created this special defensive building to protect themselves, and it's still in use now.
· Cave Dwelling of Northwest China
Cave dwellings are mainly distributed in central and west provinces like Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai, where the loess is of great depth. The loess has little seepage and a very strong vertical nature, which provides a very good precondition for the development of cave dwellings. The cliff cave dwelling is an earth cave dug horizontally along the vertical earth cliff. Residence built in this way saves raw materials and requires less complicated technology. The cave dwelling is cool in summer and warm in winter. It is divided into the following three kinds: cliff, ground and hoop cave dwellings.
· Ganlan
Ganlan (a wood or bamboo storied house) are mainly distributed in the southwest provinces of China, such as Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Guangxi. It is the residence for Dai, Jingpo, Zhuang and other minority groups.
A Ganlan usually stands alone, separated from other Ganlan houses. Supported by poles, the living sector of Ganlan is usually on the second floor high above the ground, while the first storey is retained for raising domestic animals and storing; in this way Ganlan can ward off moisture, as well as the attack of insects, snakes and other animals.
· Diaofang
Diaofang (Stone Chamber) is the most popular kind of dwellings in Tibet and some areas in Inner Mongolia. According to The History of Later Han Dynasty, this stone and earth dwellings existed before 111 AD. The height of the dwellings varies from two to three storeys. Built mostly of stone and earth, they look like Diaolou (blockhouse), and hence got the name of Diaofang. The origin of its name can be traced back to 1736 in the era of Qianglong Reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The first floor is often used for livestock and poultry, and the second is retained as bedrooms, living rooms, kitchen and storehouse. Some have a third floor for the family sutra hall and the balcony.
The nomadic Mongolians and Tibetans also live in tents, which are convenient to assemble and unassembled.
· Mongolian yurts
The Mongolian felt tent in northwest China is called Mongolian yurts. The wooden wattles are fastened with leather thongs and studs to form a fence-like structure. Each part of the yurt is ingenious and quite convenient to dissemble and carry. The diameter of a small yurt is about four to six meters, with no pillar inside, while the bigger one needs two to four poles to support the yurt. There are thick felts on the ground. Every yurt has an opening on the top, and there's usually a stove under it.
· Ayiwang
Ayiwang is the Uygur residence. The houses are all connected together, with yard around them. The front room with a skylight is called Ayiwang, also known as summer room, which serves as the living room as well as reception room. The back house called winter room is the bedroom, usually without a skylight. The plane arrangement is very ingenious and there are usually a lot of niches inside the rooms. The walls are usually decorated with gesso carvings.
There are also some other special residential houses such as the boat house. Nowadays, as a result of economic development, population increase and modernization, people in the cities usually live in storied buildings, which have increasingly diversified styles and a tendency of height rise.
