Why do cave dwellings become a unique landscape in the Loess Plateau, and why are they called "Shenxian Cave with warm winters and cool summers"?

1. Cave dwelling is a unique form of residence on the Loess Plateau.

There are three types of cave dwelling buildings: flat roof type, cliff type and patio type. Flat-topped caves are made of adobe or masonry on the flat ground; Cliff cave dwelling is to level one side of the hillside vertically, and then dig the cave dwelling on the plane. The patio cave is dug on the flat ground, more than 7 meters deep and square around. Then, caves are dug in the lower part of the four walls of the pit to form a courtyard-style square house. In addition, a sloping tunnel is cut from a hole in the corner of the kiln to the ground, which is a stepped passage for residents to enter and leave. The courtyard of patio kiln is equipped with water outlet shaft, and tall trees are generally planted in the courtyard, and brick walls with water eaves are built around the top of the kiln. There is a cave used as a granary in the house, with a small hole at the top, which leads directly to the threshing floor. When harvesting, the grain from the threshing floor can be directly poured into the granary in the kiln, and a shelter shed is usually set at the orifice. There is a separate cave in the house, which can be used as a henhouse and cowshed.

2. The cave is fire-proof, noise-proof, warm in winter and cool in summer, which not only saves land, but also saves labor economically. It is indeed a perfect architectural form according to local conditions.

the top and wall of the cave can neither directly absorb heat from the atmosphere nor directly dissipate heat to the atmosphere, and only the cave mouth can directly contact with the outside world. Therefore, the temperature change in the cave always lags behind the outside temperature change, and the temperature difference changes little.