Exploring Houses Built Into a Cliff: What’s Inside

These dwellings, built into cliffside caves deep within the mountains, boast a history spanning 1,400 years. What an incredible place!

I traveled to a remote mountainous area in Yongxing County, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, China. Nestled in caves along a sheer cliff face are three clusters of structures believed to date back 1,400 years; the identity of their original builders remains a mystery.

According to villagers living at the foot of the mountain, these cave shelters were constructed over a millennium ago as refuges from war and natural disasters. It was only in more recent centuries that they were gradually transformed into the structures we see today. Local lore also speaks of bandit leaders who seized the site at various times, only to be eventually driven out.

The largest cave measures 120 meters deep, 80 meters wide, and 40 meters high—spacious enough to accommodate over 500 people. It is said to be the deepest cave found within China's Danxia landforms, a landscape renowned for its spectacular red sandstone cliffs.

Unfortunately, at the time of my visit, a section of the cave's interior had collapsed, and access to the deeper areas was prohibited.