A unique form of folk houses in the Loess Plateau is cave dwelling?

Cave dwelling is a unique residence in the Loess Plateau, and it is also a physical witness to the development and evolution of human caves. Cave buildings vary according to the terrain, including flat roofs, cliffs and patios.

Mainly distributed in the Loess Plateau of China, local residents dug caves suitable for living according to the uprightness of loess, which are warm in winter and cool in summer. Cave dwelling is a unique living form in the Loess Plateau, which reflects the harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

Cave origin

In ancient times, in the early struggle with nature, ancestors lived by natural caves and caves. With the development of productive forces, they were inspired by pottery kilns, and then they were transformed and utilized, becoming people's living places, that is, the so-called "adobe houses", that is, early caves.

Cave dwelling is an ancient living form for the residents of the Loess Plateau in northwest China. The history of this cave can be traced back to more than 4000 years ago. Cave dwellings are widely distributed in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia and other provinces on the Loess Plateau.

In the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region of China, the loess layer is very thick, some of which are tens of kilometers thick. The people of China creatively used the favorable terrain of the plateau to dig holes to live, and created cave architecture called green building. Cave dwellings generally include cliff cave dwellings, sunken cave dwellings, independent cave dwellings, etc., among which backer kiln is widely used.

In the past, a farmer worked hard all his life, and his basic wish was to build several caves. Marrying a wife in a kiln is a family business. Men dig in the yellow soil, and women do housework and have children in caves. Cave dwelling is a product of the Loess Plateau and a symbol of the people in northern Shaanxi, which has precipitated an ancient and profound yellow land culture.