Why do people on the Loess Plateau live in caves?

Because cave dwelling is an ancient living form of residents in the Loess Plateau in northwest China, the history of this "cave dwelling" can be traced back to more than 4,000 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 live in caves and created cave buildings called green buildings. Cave dwellings generally include cliff caves, sunken caves and independent caves. Among them, back mountain caves are widely used. In the past, a farmer worked hard all his life, and his basic wish was to build several caves.

Extended data

The biggest feature of cave architecture is that it is warm in winter and cool in summer. The traditional cave space is arched in appearance. Although it is very common, in the monotonous loess background, the arc is more light and lively. This form originated from nature not only embodies the concept of circular place in traditional thought.

At the same time, what's more important is that the high arch and high window at the entrance can further penetrate the winter sunlight into the cave, make full use of solar radiation, and the internal space is arched, which increases the internal vertical space and makes people feel open and comfortable.

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