Living below the ground

The subterranean dwelling houses were once common in Pinglu, where there is a lack of stone and the terrain is rich in solid loess. [Photo by Liu Wenli and Sun Ruisheng/China Daily]

Subterranean dwellings in China date back more than 4,000 years, and are unique to the region south of Shanxi province, where there is a lack of stone. Sun Ruisheng and Li Yang report from Pinglu.

When asked how long his family had been living in the subterranean dwelling in Pinglu, in North China's Shanxi province, the 70-year-old veterinarian Wang Shouxian gave an answer rarely heard in China, where the average lifespan of buildings is 30 years: "more than 300 years".

Not only was Wang was born in the cave dwelling, but so was his father, grandfather and great grandfather.

As the genealogy book of his family was burned during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) as a symbolic farewell to the "outdated" past, Wang relies on memory to retell the story of his family.

"There used to be an important road near here. So, my forefathers built the underground dwelling as a lodge for passers-by. Most old people in the county know about the Wang Family Hotel," says Wang.

The wall facing his bed, which is covered with dozens of discolored photos dating back decades, reminds him of his big family. But none of his three sons or the grandchildren, who work and study in the county's downtown, is willing to stay in the underground cave dwelling.

Since his wife died several years ago at the aged of 67, Wang is the only resident of the subterranean dwelling. There were hundreds of such dwellings before the 1980s, but most have collapsed after young people left and the old people died.

The dwellings date back more than 4,000 years, and are unique to the region south of Shanxi, where there is a lack of stone and the soil is rich in solid loess brought in by the Yellow River from the Gobi desert.