60 Years of Solitude: The Mystery of the Old Woman Living in a Mountain Cave

Hidden behind a large rock wall we discovered a few simple cottages After using a drone to survey the area an elderly woman who still lives there appeared The old woman has reportedly lived there alone for 60 years All around the dense forest the old woman stubbornly refuses to leave determined to stay right here So what is her life like Please join us as we take you on a journey Following this narrow path you'll find many dogs here There's a small shrine here a local earth temple This shrine is very old Then secure the other side Here is a simple wooden bridge of the double-decker type Perched on a rocky outcrop This is closed off—probably just a simple door There's a dog over there Just now I didn't notice but there's actually a different shape here The face look at the eyes The same goes for the eyebrows It has a mouth a nose and two nostrils It's just a simple door Let's get a closer look There seemed to be an old woman there Oh there really was an old woman there They also built a separate small path Among the trees Small flowers resembling dianthus But not quite this one isn't clearly named Probably a type of medicinal herb All around are medicinal herbs Here this is ginger Oh here's the old lady Oh hello grandma I greet you Just you alone huh Just you really Oh no no ha Everyone else in the family they all sold to me It's only a hundred yuan—just you can do it No one else can Let's go out No no you just said that They won't take it anyway Just say it and leave it here What on earth He's already gone back home Gone back gone back—people just return to their hometowns There are four of them struggling along Alright enough nonsense Let it go So you're here alone No my older brother and mother are here too They're all gone Yeah there's a house over there right That house is used for raising pigs Raising pigs it's enough to make you sick Nothing can be heard Where are you Grandchild I'm in Sichuan What Where exactly I can 't understand You have nine siblings huh Oh I'm the eldest How many children do you have I have one One is enough already Back then there were many I had three children Oh two of them have passed away What about the third one I didn't explain clearly either Where is it now Don't you use your phone It's working a regular job now It's about to get married No not at all Didn't even say a word Gone off the radar for years now You raising pigs over there Yeah I'm raising pigs Go on get going It won't bite Don't go ruining these dogs Oh here comes this dog again You must keep a lot of dogs This one was born from them You're all here aren't you ma'am Yes The road down there is 90.04 32.566 Is there a dog inside ma'am Mom what's down there I'll beat him myself I'll teach him a lesson One It's too hot Come here Let's go I'll take care of it Oh the power's turned back on over there I need to take a screenshot Leave it Oh is this a cave Come on Oh it's so cold They've already started fighting Oh this way leads outside Good grief Yeah I'll take it Help me out here You'really something going off like that There's a light now There's power Alright alright Well it's morning now Oh this place is huge isn't it Huge really huge Haven't had a drink yet have you Not yet sir Go ahead then Everyone' s inside There was a fox earlier I caught it yesterday Yeah by myself Oh there's a stream over here So much water I'm thinking of eating first then heading down to the river Hurry up come over here Wow this is so beautiful Just stepping outside it's instantly cool This place is really cool It's hot so go to that spot to cool off Yes understood I'll bring a flashlight Here we are Look he's waving at me Just take it slow Don't be so abrupt Come on let's go How about this one instead It's getting cold Sure just be careful There's a little water Drink it Water's already here Just help yourself That drop of water Catch it directly This place is still very deep Every day the same Don't go down anymore Yes Where to next I'm circling around here Another 500 meters Just the entire stream bed Isn't that far Far Very far Let me check if there's anything over there I'll have to go a long way Probably Someone's already been there Head that way Just a little further and we'll be there Yes They've already left I passed by Let's get going You might as well take a look I'll give it a shot What 's there to be afraid of Be careful on your way But that's alright I said we should go take a look Oh There's a rock here Oh That's the clever one isn't it The clever one Uh-huh Is this cave deep Deep indeed Hmm Alright Let me take a look Oh Can't recognize it at all just by looking A This spot has a slightly yellowish tint A There's something off about it B Yeah Once you've crossed over it'll be easier to proceed The path on this side is gentler A bit easier to walk Just now I said perhaps everyone didn't hear clearly The old lady said I was born in the Year of the Horse I can't go in I replied that the road was long and I only just arrived Just let me see it for a moment That was her agreeing to let me in She said it's only favorable during the Year of the Dragon Wow There's plenty of space down below Let' s go take a look This flashlight just turned on and then went off again It would be so much better if it just stayed on continuously Wow This cave is quite large Looking into the cave entrance from outside Who would have thought the inside would be this big Only one cave is visible The house right I didn't expect it to be this spacious inside The important thing is that today I'm wearing slippers again Dripping water Water flowing over stone wears it away completely Spotless Look here Dripping water Water still drips from the ceiling It looks like rain Even inside the cave stars can fall like rain Perhaps the secret hidden in the cave means just that Inside the cave lies another sky entirely But it's just a small cave A small cave entrance There are still traces of ancient torches at this small entrance Evidence of burned torches remains This cave entrance is really small What's this There's no passage Can't go in anymore Enough Let' s go outside Take a look over here for a moment There's no opening left on this side It's completely sealed now Wow These large boulders here are incredible Like a colossal stalagmite The light is dark again Turn it up a bit more Look at this Does it look like a large pillar It probably won't go much further than this Look up at that crevice over there and see what you can make of it If there's no way through turn back All rubble A No way in No cave entrance found Let's just head back out Actually the old woman said it goes very deep inside But go in following those lights It's not far at all Just about 50 to 60 meters and you'll be there This place is probably the deepest one Check it again from the top This rock must have fallen from the mountain above Look down—there's rubble everywhere That's why it's somewhat dangerous Wow This place Turn up the flashlight a bit brighter Make it clearer The stones here appear to be eroded by water This place resembles The top is fairly flat There are marks here As if it had been carved by human hands There's a large rock here Ah Looks quite beautiful actually But then again If we can't find a way in let's just leave We're not even sure this is the right cave anyway Let's go Come on let's get out The stone here is perfectly flat Look at it Like a plank A large flat stone Stand upright here Far far below Wow You can't go down there This cave doesn't seem too deep Oh Actually it's quite deep Wait a bit until someone comes to guide us inside Wait for the old woman She's here already I felt a chill breeze blow through my hair It seemed to rise from below One step down and the cold enveloped my whole body There was smoke and fire too Oh We couldn't find them You might not find them either Yeah Around 350 to 600 of them I had just stepped outside when the stagnant pond wind nearly slammed into my neck Yeah Just one person Alone Yeah If he were alone Yeah If I were alone No time at all No moment ever feels right I've never tried it before Hey How long have you been here Sixty years Sixty years My family has lived here for 60 years Yeah Sixty years Oh I get so frustrated talking about it Once I'm gone they'll come They took this from me Then told me to leave Hey This isn't going to leak water It won't leak It dries on its own Oh my goodness Up there Look mushrooms are growing on this branch already Look at this There are lots of mushrooms growing on it Always golden That's just how it grew No idea what kind of mushroom it is Looks really strange Everyone take a look The light might be a bit too strong making it hard to see clearly Let me turn around so everyone can see Golden mushrooms Right here The temperature is just right And it's damp too That's why they're growing I'm so hot It's already 30 degrees Yeah A ninety-degree arm I think something's missing Are you afraid being here alone Not at all There are too many dogs here I'm a bit scared Oh Let's go down There Yeah I know There are too many dogs here I'm really scared They always call me Aunt Nhi Yeah They wouldn’t have me here otherwise Just call me that I’m used to it now Used to it Where is the small path Which village do you think They said something about tourism This place huh I see lots of potatoes here Don't go any further I'm Da Hua Qiu And you I'm from the Da Guo Sao ethnic group Da Hua Qiu What clan are you from We are Han I just spoke with the elderly lady She said many things I didn't fully understand I only grasped the basics The old lady used to be a follower of Bích Giai Thủy Thành But all three of her children have passed away The authorities installed electricity in the cave To make it easier for the elderly woman to move around The old man passed away a long time ago She still believed her youngest child was alive so she insisted on waiting here There are things we don’t need to probe too deeply Because everyone has their own struggles In the eyes of ordinary people the old lady lived in a mountain cave The conditions were extremely poor Life was very hard Yet as I chatted with her she kept smiling gently Perhaps living in the cave was unavoidable But people after all There's no need to have such lofty ambitions As you can see just a few days ago there was Wang Linping He was once honored on the list too So what about now Came in with nothing Left with nothing He lives in Beijing with a house But it's not much more than eating sleeping and going to work While the old lady lives in this mountain cave It's also about eating sleeping feeding the chickens and feeding the pigs He said there's no social insurance where he is But social security is just something for old age—what matters is feeling at ease inside Without it you might as well wade through streams barefoot It's also a form of training No one says you'll live to 150 just because you practice yoga If you don't you'll only get to 60 So just take it easy and don't stress about it If you can't let go of a glance you'll carry the illness in your heart Haha This path knows how to turn that's for sure I've never seen a place so desolate This is ancient city in northern Sơn Tây Here the Yellow River lies just about 15 kilometers away as the crow flies Yet during its heyday it was home to a population of 50 000 Now only one goat herder remains at Yang Pass After the era of prosperity only dilapidated old houses remained scattered throughout the once-great city where ruined buildings could be seen everywhere Even a graceful figure is nowhere to be seen here The reason I came here to explore is to clarify a matter—a ancient city on the banks of the Yellow River Water is not in short supply How could it have fallen into such ruin Oh what a huge migratory bird Look there—this is Sa Huakou once home to 50 000 people Just hearing the name sends shivers down your spine Now you see it so desolate like this This is the coldest region in Sơn Tây Temperatures can drop below -40 degrees There are still many old houses from the colonial era here You can see they've been abandoned for over a hundred years This place has been abandoned for nearly 100 years These houses are no longer needed by anyone It's kind of like that Besides the weather here is unpredictable Hot at times cold at others Even now just moments ago it was snowing and now the sun has come out Isn't that frightening Hear the wind howling Long ago this was the ancient city of Chân Hồ Just hearing the name sends shivers down one's spine Chu Hu said unsure what might have happened here long ago This was once where people crossed the river by hand Many battles were fought here As a result countless lives were lost One could say this underground place is haunted by countless tormented spirits Look over there at the tall mountain range There's a section of the Great Wall in that area built to guard the mountain pass Let me see it's truly cold out here Even getting to the mountain is something I wouldn't want to do—nighttime there would only mean freezing to death Look over there there are plenty of caves This is indeed the ancient remains of Zhenhu City It's been abandoned for 100 years These small caves were once home to the poor who had no place to live They had no choice but to dig into the ground to find temporary shelter Now I'll go take a look—there might be that wild beast here Let's have a look See it Long ago people used to live here Can you believe it Now everything has completely collapsed Inside it's like this—there's even a pair of shoes left behind That's all there is Oh there's another bunker right beside it It's really deep Probably people lived right inside these city walls not in the house They've dug right through the city wall—look at that Yes the Chân Hồ fortress remains imposing indeed Look at that the city wall is over twenty meters high Oh just one gate tower is already about twenty meters tall Since the early Ming dynasty it had been used for defense against Andahar's Mongol forces This old gatehouse must have been recently rebuilt—clear to see It's been restored Oh it's rare indeed I never expected we could actually get inside Goodness me Look here Here here this is the ancient path This road was the route people took to travel through the Western Pass in days gone by This is my first time coming here last time I searched everywhere but couldn't find it Oh the wind here is really unbearable Look here it's already fallen off The inside has been cultivated The soil is dark and very fertile There are also old houses here The sky is so overcast making them even more frightening Many of the old houses are abandoned This fortress is little more than a small town housing not only troops but also a permanent civilian population Many people who couldn't live inside ended up building homes outside These are the houses visible from the outside inhabited by locals living in the surrounding area Because this place was once a major trading hub for western bones Merchants traveled through Inner Mongolia to conduct trade You have to take this path Some say you can get by without it but then you'd have to climb the mountain But a donkey and a horse-drawn carriage cannot climb the mountain Ah now this place is protected by the county as a historical site There were once twelve households with singing performances Now there's not a trace left Where did it go Oh no That is the city gate tower Logically there shouldn't be a gate tower to the north This direction is definitely south No one is left anymore Look at this—some parts are collapsed others abandoned and desolate The main door remains firmly locked I can't fathom why it's locked here It was mined at one time Yeah half of it's already turned into a tourist attraction Mining happens right here But this old fortress remains unexplored This was once a stage for traditional opera Time has left its mark Sure enough there's a signboard to the south It clearly reads "South Gate " Head toward the Ba Zi Bridge No one here can easily climb up It's just over a meter Even with my strength I can't make it It's impossible to climb Oh my goodness Goodness gracious it's exquisite Oh it's so beautiful Vivid leaves shimmer like brocade This is modern not ancient It's just new I'll take a look inside to see what's there Oh this No one's there right Don't scare me like that Oh it's really wide open behind us Behind this is the old stuff This is antique All these wooden frames are vintage This place used to be incredibly wealthy Why was it so rich Because this was once a key trading town But later when trading began Honestly speaking people in Mongolia already had everything they needed so there was no longer any demand Plus Jingzhang Railway Jinghu Railway Once the line is fully connected honestly this place won't see anyone coming around anymore Why did they end up using other border crossings later Actually the reason for passing through different border checkpoints There were also those after liberation just as there were before The wind blew through the glass making a sound so real it was eerie It's truly chilling—don't you see that dry stick down there If that were jabbed into someone it would hurt unbearably Goodness it's so cold— weather's changed again Oh my goodness An Lan this is Nam Ma The wind howled fiercely like the sound of a whistling arrow like demons screaming This whole place is mine alone now Well well looks like we've struck gold Ah this place Just a few old houses left I’ve been here before Came here a few years ago and it was pretty much the same The situation hasn't changed at all Some places have renovated old homes for living Others have built new structures known as commercial zones Heard it's a commercial district Oh Good heavens nobody's here at all It's an old projection screen or something like that Mysterious to behold identical to ancient structure Dangerous here—approach at your own risk No problem If you're willing to take the risk I'll get a bit closer It looks like it's collapsed It really has collapsed the foundation has deformed There used to be a ticket booth here It's impossible to get inside now everything below has collapsed into nothingness The ground has even sunk in This entire place feels like a ghost town and the trembling doors are genuinely terrifying Oh what are all these structures anyway Most of them are newly built Summer still sees visitors coming by but in winter not a single soul appears Oh hello I don’t know how much investment has gone into this yet it’s turned out like this—truly a shame Oh this sound is truly eerie That year this was originally phase one of the project The colored image turned out as black and white I don’t even know how many years have passed That's how it is take a look —bright as it may be it means nothing Even the sign on the ninth floor is about to fall But honestly looking back on the past this place wasn't exaggerating—it truly used to beautiful Khánh Vân Cửu Oh this is the police station Right here there's also the tax office During the Qianlong era this place was a major tax hub Annually it could collect over 30 000 taels of silver Truly astonishing Just a small patch of land yet it clearly shows how abundant goods once were here Ah Hi The natural door suddenly swung open by itself with no one around You tell me who could possibly still be living in this pile of old run-down houses Let me tell you there are actually still people living here What are you asking about this place for Let me tell you even now there are still people walking around with torches Wait a second let me show you that fire I just saw it Oh it's far away from Bao Lake Oh look at the wind there Goodness this is the key unit preserved by Son Tay Province Ah back then someone asked these people later moved away Why didn't they go back to Thai Nguyen Going back to Thai Nguyen huh Back then went westward through Tay Khau and transferred to Thai Nguyen Besides how could he have land to clear and cultivate Because that year these people traveled to Thua Tinh Meanwhile in Hou Hot mushrooms were growing at the time The young prince There was an excellent policy for land reclamation That policy because land at the time could not be cleared indiscriminately If we had a policy as generous as this at least some of the seedlings would have a chance to survive Wouldn't that be true Yeah See A fire over there Fire means people are around But people aren’t always near a fire Hey There must still be a nurse living here The houses are in ruins No need to restore them now Probably since the Qing dynasty It's still here from the 1920s to this day Still keeping the water flowing Oh my goodness This deer always knows which way to turn Honestly the place is this bad You go out for a bit then have to come back in to warm up I’ve only been outside for about two hours and I’m already frozen stiff It’s so cold Even the migratory birds aren’t afraid of the cold These houses over here must have quite a history which is probably why they've been rebuilt Over here I even spotted an old horse trap This place must have once been inhabited by some wise master Just walking around once is enough to spot the footprints The footprints themselves tell the story right away In fact many old houses like this one have been thoroughly searched by people before I'm just a blogger capturing scenes—I don't get involved in pointless digging These places are just too cold Even ghosts would find it hard to show up If there are any spirits here they're probably freezing to death Here just arrived not long ago See there's no bloodstain This one must be from the old caretaker Now let's go take a look at an old house Oh no this wind is terrifying Oh the little stall is still there Anyone there hello Oh I never expected it to be this devastated It's truly terrifying He can't even walk through anymore These dry branches would hurt badly if they pierced you Oh this is an old ledger Take a walk around this house Hello Several generations of people once lived here See how everywhere is full of large holes from being dug up See There's no doubt someone came looking for the treasure Sorry sorry for the trouble I didn’t dare touch anything—just dared to come in and take a look Oh this is a kitchen Good heavens it really was dug by someone Has it been dug out yet It's deep that's for sure This spot needs to be dug 2 to 3 meters deep I'm too tired I can't see clearly anymore Let me tell you about this treasure This isn't a joke Someone actually came to dig it up Maybe it was because of the war back then This was once a place where wealthy landowners lived Who would have thought they'd end up leaving their homeland and migrating westward The treasure is hidden here I planned to come back for it later The outcome was completely unexpected To my dismay I ended up getting caught The sparrow lurked behind waiting The ground beneath had been completely lifted by someone Oh wow found something new again Let's go It's getting too cold Oh my goodness Oh I was just about to leave when you guys There's something strange going on here It's just another shop The snow is too deep No one ever comes here But this large rock is strange See it Two massive stones This might also be a hidden treasure vault Perhaps someone left a mark Hey it looks like someone came here during summer It's gone now There are no tracks on the snow Oh this large boulder is truly no ordinary stone This is indeed part of the old southern city gate See It's been reinforced again It's about to collapse any moment At that time this city was regarded as an immensely significant capital To be honest this place isn't as good as others But when it comes to cold weather Sơn Tây definitely takes the top spot Who could possibly endure such freezing temperatures Hey check out these old houses There are countless old houses like this Perhaps the people who lived here had all moved out over sixty years ago They've all gone through the Western Pass Actually my family used to go to Western Pass too Yeah This road back then was the real route to Western Pass See it That old path This fortress seems to have been abandoned long ago Even the single remaining signpost is rotten It's just a modest structure after all We already went inside earlier Now we're not going in anymore Let's take a look at the surrounding caves Some say goats were once kept here Others claim the poor dug it out to live in Let's go see the bridge ahead The houses ahead are all abandoned now See them Over there on the mountainside Oh it's freezing The spot is worn smooth by the wind It's truly bone-chilling Just a few steps Oh my Just a matter of technique now But in reality this place is known as Vĩnh Tế Bridge It's also referred to as Quảng Nghĩa Kiều It's documented in the records Municipal-level project Look at these lions They're no different from real peonies There are even immortal peach trees See Long ago this bridge was quite something Isn't that right There's not a trace of horse-drawn carriages anywhere You can't even drive a vehicle here How come This is truly strange It' s hard to imagine a place this desolate I want to see if there's any school here It's unlikely we'll find it All we know is that the wind here is truly strong Just look at the plants growing here—they're truly pitiful It's so cold my body's bending over from the chill A solitary old house stands alone at the end of Lục Kiều Bridge Truly desolate It's too cold We can't go on walking here Actually the lake is much farther than it seems Yeah the lake lies in the direction of the north This way though faces south again Forget it Let's not go any further It's too cold Abandoned houses left to decay for over a hundred years It's strange to say but maybe there's a little stream here The houses over here are battered by such strong winds that speaking is nearly impossible It's just an old dilapidated house The wind here in the park is absolutely terrifying so in the end I had to speak up Why has this place fallen into such ruin by now The first reason is The mountain range had blocked the path of progress No one would climb such rugged peaks in search of truth By the end of the Qing dynasty The Qing government relocated from this customs checkpoint to Fengzhen Oulan Tiebu Inner Mongolia From then on this place completely collapsed The former splendor was gone People often say time is cyclical but that couldn't be further from the truth here When the Sắc Kinh Trương and Kinh Thủ roads were built The road here runs entirely off the main axis This place became a deserted area Although a new city has been built outside the ancient walls this place still cannot come back to life not even during the most vibrant festival days And there wasn't a soul in sight