The Mirrored Sight Shelter is set by the north bank of Longxi River outside the old town of Longli in Jinping county, Kaili Area, Southeast Guizhou.
Yu Qiuyu, the famous writer, once remarked Longli as a lonely islet of the Han culture amidst the minority groups. For the tourists, the islet might be merely a cultural symbol, whereas to the local residents, this islet symbolises their situation in all forms of survival predicaments. The Longli people have been again and again separating from and blending into the neighbourhood and consequently they broke out from the past and created the local diversity.
In designing the Shelter, architects articulated the isolation and tension of the Longli people and the vernacular community. They then created this Mirrored Sight of Longli. The shelter itself is now a place for people to rest and have fun, and meanwhile a new regional landmark.
Right opposite to the old town by the river, The Mirrored Sight shelter reflects the town's image. Longli sits within the town whereas the shelter lies outside. There are thousands of residents in Longli and the shelter is just for one person to reside. The town is for daily life and the shelter creates unusual experience for people in the town of Longli, they belong to a big group, however here in the shelter individual is better appreciated.
After getting dark, the shelter shows an utterly different presence from the daytime. The overall shape of the structure merges into the darkness and the pyramid emerges together with its mirror images, seemingly floating in the air with its reflection in the water. Hence, an imagery of the Lonely Islet is brought in the air of Longli's most natural and original scene.
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