Cave dwelling is a product of the Loess Plateau and a symbol of farmers in northern Shaanxi. Ancient yellow land and profound culture have been deposited here, and the people have created cave art (folk art) in northern Shaanxi. In the past, a farmer worked hard all his life, and his basic wish was to build several caves. Marrying a wife in a kiln is a family business. Men dig in the yellow soil, and women do housework and have children in caves. Small caves condense the unique customs of the yellow land.
The loess, which is as deep as 100 meters, is extremely difficult to penetrate water and has a strong verticality, which provides a good premise for the development of caves. At the same time, natural conditions such as dry climate, cold winter and less wood also create opportunities for the development and continuation of caves that are warm in winter and cool in summer, very economical and do not need wood. Due to the influence of natural environment, landform and local customs, caves have formed various forms. But judging from the layout and structural form of the building, it can be divided into three forms: leaning on the cliff, sinking and independent.
Cave dwellings in Yan 'an, northern Shaanxi are mixed with cave-style flat-roofed houses. Cave dwelling is an organic combination of natural landscape and life landscape, which permeates people's love and attachment to the yellow land.
The cave is fire-proof and sound-proof, warm in winter and cool in summer, which saves land, labor and economy. It is indeed a perfect architectural form adapted to local conditions.
People use the characteristics of loess to build caves, called earth caves, which are usually 7-8 meters deep, more than 3 meters high, about 3 meters wide and up to 20 meters deep. There are two kinds of windows, one is a small square window of about 1 square meter; The other is a round window of about 3-4 square meters. It is characterized by warm winter and cool summer. A stone arch cave with a depth of 7-9 meters and a width of about 3 meters is called a stone cave. Brick kiln has the same style and construction method as the cave, and its appearance is beautiful. Generally, the caves in the First Hospital are all built with 3 or 5 holes. The middle kiln is the main kiln, some are divided into front and rear kilns, and some are 1 in 3 openings. Cave dwellings are generally built in sunny places halfway up the mountain or at the foot of the mountain, and flowers and trees are planted on the brain holes above the cave dwellings.