in prehistoric times， dwellings were crude， and tended to be similar in design the world over； they differed only in the availability of local building materials and the topography they had to adapt to。
as the techniques of production improved， the styles of clothing， cuisine， transportation， etc。 of different peoples gradually took on their own national colors and cultural characteristics。 the same was true for the shelters that people built to dwell in， and a wide diversity of styles formed all over the world。 chinese residences， in particular， occupy a unique place in the history of world architecture。 color illustrations。