Cave dwellings are the product of the Loess Plateau and the symbol of farmers in northern Shaanxi. Here, the ancient yellow soil deep culture was deposited, and the people created the cave art (folk art) in northern Shaanxi. In the past, a farmer worked hard all his life, and his basic wish was to build a few caves. Having a kiln and marrying a wife is considered a family business. Men dig in the yellow land, while women do housework and have children in the cave. Small caves have concentrated the unique customs of the yellow land.

The loess, which is as deep as 1211 meters, extremely difficult to penetrate water and highly upright, provides a good premise for the development of caves. At the same time, the natural conditions such as dry climate, cold winter and less wood have also created 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, geomorphological features and local customs, caves have formed various forms. However, from the layout and structural form of the building, it can be divided into three forms: cliff-leaning, sinking and independent.

The caves 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.

cliff cave (cliff cave)

cliff cave has a backing type and a ditch type, and caves are often arranged in curved or broken lines, which has a harmonious and beautiful architectural artistic effect. When the height of the hillside allows, sometimes several terraced caves are arranged, similar to buildings.

sunken caves (underground caves)

sunken caves are underground caves, which are mainly distributed in the loess plateau-areas where there are no slopes and ditch walls to use. The practice of this cave dwelling is: first dig a square pit on the spot, and then go to the cave dwelling with four walls to form a quadrangle. On the flat ground, people can only see the treetops of the courtyard, but not the houses.

freestanding cave (hoop kiln)

freestanding cave is a kind of arched house covered with soil, including adobe arch cave and brick arch cave. This kind of cave does not need to rely on the mountain and cliff, and it can be independent without losing the advantages of the cave. It can be a single story or a building. If the upper floor is also a hoop kiln, it is called "kiln on kiln"; If the upper floor is a wooden house, it is called "kiln house".

The cave is fire-proof and noise-proof, warm in winter and cool in summer, which not only saves land, but also saves labor economically. It is indeed a perfect architectural form according to local conditions.