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Millions In China Live In Energy Efficient Caves

Posted by samzenpus on from the cave-sweet-cave dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Barbara Demick reports in the LA Times that more than 30 million Chinese people live in caves, many of them in Shaanxi province, where the Loess plateau, with its distinctive cliffs of yellow, porous soil, makes digging easy and cave dwelling a reasonable option. The better caves protrude from mountains and are reinforced with brick masonry. Some are connected laterally so a family can have several chambers. Electricity and even running water can be brought in. 'Most aren't so fancy, but I've seen some really beautiful caves: high ceilings and spacious with a nice yard out front where you can exercise and sit in the sun,' says Ren, who works as a driver in the Shaanxi provincial capital, Xian. 'It's cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It's quiet and safe.' In recent years, architects have been reappraising the cave in environmental terms, and they like what they see. 'It is energy efficient. The farmers can save their arable land for planting if they build their houses in the slope. It doesn't take much money or skill to build,' says Liu Jiaping, director of the Green Architecture Research Center in Xian and perhaps the leading expert on cave living. Liu helped design and develop a modernized version of traditional cave dwellings that in 2006 was a finalist for a World Habitat Award, sponsored by a British foundation dedicated to sustainable housing. Meanwhile, a thriving market around Yanan means a cave with three rooms and a bathroom (a total of 750 square feet) can be advertised for sale at $46,000. 'Life is easy and comfortable here. I don't need to climb stairs. I have everything I need,' says 76-year-old Ma Liangshui. 'I've lived all my life in caves, and I can't imagine anything different.'"

6 of 210 comments (clear)

  1. Finallly history repeats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Will advanced civilizations one day find our remains and conclude we were cave dwellers?

    1. Re:Finallly history repeats by jc42 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Will advanced civilizations one day find our remains and conclude we were cave dwellers?

      That's already a reasonably common observation in our current civilization (which sometimes characterizes itself as "advanced"). I've seen any number of descriptions of houses as artificial caves. This especially applies to houses made of brick or concrete materials, which are really just artificial stones. If you're living in an area that's mostly flat terrain, making your own mini-hills with a door in the side can be very practical. And we even make "hive" dwelling, which we call apartment building.

      Recently, there have been a number of articles published about the old middle-eastern house construction, that amounts to thick (1 meter or so) outer walls, typically of cheap mud-hay mixtures, covered with a layer of stucco for a harder, waterproof outer shell. The thicker the walls are, the better insulation they provide, and the more stable the internal temperature is. There are old and new "hacienda" style houses in the southwestern US built like this (and fakes that are made with thin stucco-covered walls that don't work nearly as well). It's not unusual for people to observe that this type of house is really an artificial hill constructed around a "cave".

      It's not much of a stretch to call most of our houses "cave dwellings". The difference is mostly a matter of terminology, not function. Pretending that we're "modern" is all well and good, but does somewhat mask the fact that the connections between our dwellings and our ancestors' caves is fairly clear once you get past the pretense that they're something totally different.

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
  2. Not legal in the USA by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    All the silly safety laws here will make cave dwelling illegal as there are no egress windows in every room and at least two exit doors.

    Because if the cave burns, you cant get out.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  3. Big deal by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have a cave at my place as well. It's got a beer fridge, wide-screen TV, and power tools. Belching and farting is not only permitted but encouraged.

  4. Re:Problems... by tp1024 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Exactly those. Just read up on the Shaanxi Earthquake in 1556, when almost a million people died in such caves.

    But hey, it's energy efficient and it's not radioactive. Who cares about the people who die without any radioactivity involved?

  5. Re:Nice... not by Like2Byte · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would pay $2,000,000 to live in a hole in the ground.

    Good news! Some day, you'll reside in one for free!