Living below the ground

The subterranean house is dug on a flat and thick loess plateau. [Photo by Liu Wenli and Sun Ruisheng/China Daily]

Ancient records show that local residents devised this kind of subterranean structure to avoid wild beasts, as well as the wind.

Archaeologists say underground dwellings are a reminder of early humans in caves.

Wang's neighbors say that his underground dwelling has good feng shui, because most of the babies born in his home over the past 15 generations since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) are male.

Wang and his wife opened their home to tourists in the 1980s, and they kept notebooks for the lodgers to record their reactions.

Among the comments are ones like－"Thank you for entertaining us in your fascinating and unusual home. I had previously only heard about such place. I had never seen one. A very comfortable life," from Natalia Read, a visitor from London in April 2012.

Wang Fang, a traveler from Pinglu and now living in Shanghai, writes in August 2014: "I grew up in such an underground dwelling in Pinglu. It only appears in my dream now. Thank you for protecting my dream and my home."

Wang says a retired Japanese soldier used to bring his family members to live in the cave dwelling in the 1980s.

"He said he used to live in one during the war and likes it very much," says Wang.

Now, a big concern for Wang is that the cave may collapse after he passes away.

"Nobody wants to learn how to build it and live in it, because it takes too much work, and the government says the dwellings are a waste of land," says Wang.

Contact the writers at liyang@chinadaily.com.cn