Characteristics and benefits of cave dwellings

The characteristics and benefits of caves are warm in winter and cool in summer.

Cave dwelling is an ancient form of living for residents of the Loess Plateau in northern China. In the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region of China, the loess layer is very thick, some of which are tens of meters thick. The people of China creatively used the favorable terrain of the plateau to dig holes to live, and created cave buildings called green buildings. Cave dwellings generally include cliff cave dwellings, sunken cave dwellings, independent cave dwellings, etc., among which backer kiln is widely used.

The traditional cave space is arched. Although it is very common, in winter, it can further penetrate sunlight into caves and make full use of solar radiation; This cave is warm in winter and cool in summer. Comfortable and energy-saving. At the same time, the traditional space is permeated with harmony with nature. The concise appearance is also unique in architectural aesthetics.

Regional distribution of caves

Shaanxi caves are mainly distributed in northern Shaanxi, referring to caves in Yan 'an and Yulin of Shaanxi Province. Built along the mountain and underground of the Loess Plateau, it is a cave form in natural loess. Because of its advantages of being warm in winter and cool in summer, not destroying ecology, not occupying fertile land and saving money, it is widely used by local people.

There are many kinds of caves in northern Shaanxi, including back mountain earth kiln, crevice earth kiln and flat stone kiln. In general, there are mostly brick kilns in cities, and most of them are earthen kilns or stone earthen kilns in rural areas. The main forms are pit kiln, cliff kiln and closed kiln.