This cave dwelling is of the improved variety which possess a small roof with a protruded eave and a front wall with plenty of glass windows. The courtyard is used for feeding sheep and poultry.

Inside, the heated brick bed is placed next to the south-facing window as in all cave dwellings. The brick bed, called kang, is the basic living area for dwellings without a living room. Household members spend the majority of their indoor time on the kang doing minor chores like sewing or reading. Often, when the children are young, the entire family would be sleeping on a single kang. The window lets in a bright sunlight whenever the sky is not overcast. The back side of the cave is not as comfortable, and is usually used for storage pupose. Coal is used for cooking and heating, since Shanxi is a major coal producing area. The kitchen is located in a separate room (in some cases the same room), and the stove is equipped with a hand-turn blower to stoke the stove to start a flame burning after the stove is not in use for a while. Fanning the stove with a fan spreads dust around, and this blower is an improved item in kitchen facility. In the living room there is a small wrought-iron burner which keeps the room warm. The burner is attached to a long sheet-metal stove pipe which lets out the fume and helps to warm up a large part of the room.

Picture source: George Leung (1999)