Tens of Millions of People in China Live in Caves

Over 30 millions residents of China live in caves.

When you think of the people of China, you probably think they all live in high-tech cities like Beijing and Shanghai, or peaceful villages covered in rice paddies. Even though I am part Chinese, I have never been there, so I just have to rely on what National Geographic and the Internet tell me. So I was really intrigued to learn that as many as 40 million people in China today are cave dwellers.

These ‘cavemen’ live in China’s Shaanxi province, a place where the soil is very porous and easy to dig into. The residents are mostly older people, since all the young kids flock to the big cities when they come of age. The cave houses they inhabit are actually insulated better than modern family homes because they are carved into the natural hills and mountains. The people use rice paper or woven blankets as doors, and the amenities inside range from full electricity and plumbing, to shanty caves with no running water.

To sum all of this up, there are basically hobbit people living in the hills in China. I don’t know about you, but I think this idea is pretty awesome, because living in a badass cave has always been a pipe dream of mine.

I don’t know if I would choose a cave in China though, since I have heard they censor the Internet and I need the internet because: porn.