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  "title": "Sanmenxia – Caved Dwellings",
  "excerpt": "Hidden beneath the surface of Sanmenxia’s rural hills, the ancient caved dwellings reveal a quiet, remarkable world — a living connection to history carved into the earth.",
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  "excerptHtml": "<p>Hidden beneath the surface of Sanmenxia&#8217;s rural hills, the ancient caved dwellings reveal a quiet, remarkable world — a living connection to history carved into the earth.</p>\n",
  "contentHtml": "\n<p>In the countryside of Sanmenxia, far from bustling cities and highways, entire communities still live underground — not in bunkers or basements, but in beautifully carved homes dug straight into loess soil. These yaodongs, or cave dwellings, have been inhabited for centuries, offering natural insulation against the region’s extreme seasonal shifts. Walking through these sunken courtyards, you realize life here flows with the land itself, shaped by a deep understanding of nature and tradition. It’s peaceful, silent, and surprisingly warm — a way of life that feels both ancient and enduring.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"is-type-video is-provider-youtube\"><div>\n<iframe title=\"China&#039;s STEEPEST Mountain - Huashan 🏔️ I S2, EP 114\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xk5cQkKf7Ko?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The people who live in these dwellings are welcoming and proud, eager to share a cup of tea and stories of generations who’ve never lived above ground. Families gather in kitchens lit by soft sunlight filtering from open roofs, and children play between arched rooms with earthen walls. Despite modern alternatives, many residents prefer these cave homes — not just for comfort, but for their cultural significance. Here, living underground isn’t about hiding from the world; it’s about being deeply rooted in it.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"764\" src=\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-01-at-16.21.33-1024x764.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-01-at-16.21.33-1024x764.jpg 1024w, https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-01-at-16.21.33-300x224.jpg 300w, https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-01-at-16.21.33-768x573.jpg 768w, https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-01-at-16.21.33-1080x806.jpg 1080w, https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Screenshot-2025-05-01-at-16.21.33.jpg 1447w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /><figcaption><em>The nice uncle who showed us his home</em></figcaption></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sanmenxia’s cave dwellings offer more than curiosity — they offer a glimpse into a lifestyle where innovation met tradition, and where humans shaped the earth not with machines, but with their hands and hearts. In a world racing forward, this quiet rural corner invites you to slow down, listen to the land, and experience a way of life that is humble, resilient, and profoundly beautiful.</p>\n\n\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t<div data-id=\"b4ded80\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t<div data-id=\"0589c8a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" 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aria-label=\"Image Carousel\" dir=\"ltr\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-wrapper swiper-image-stretch\" aria-live=\"off\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"1 of 7\"><a data-lce-lightbox=\"yes\" data-lce-lightbox-group=\"0589c8a\" data-lce-lightbox-title=\"Big trench in Shanxi Province close to Sanmenxia\" href=\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/DJI_20250227171905_0041_D.jpg\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/DJI_20250227171905_0041_D-1536x864.jpg\" alt=\"Big trench in Shanxi Province close to Sanmenxia\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" /><figcaption>Big trench in Shanxi Province close to Sanmenxia</figcaption></figure></a></div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"2 of 7\"><a data-lce-lightbox=\"yes\" data-lce-lightbox-group=\"0589c8a\" data-lce-lightbox-title=\"Living room of caved dwelling\" href=\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/DSC00303.jpg\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/DSC00303-1536x1026.jpg\" alt=\"Living room of caved dwelling\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1026\" /><figcaption>Living room of caved dwelling</figcaption></figure></a></div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"3 of 7\"><a data-lce-lightbox=\"yes\" data-lce-lightbox-group=\"0589c8a\" data-lce-lightbox-title=\"Caved dwelling\" href=\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/DSC00300.jpg\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" src=\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/DSC00300-1536x1026.jpg\" alt=\"Caved dwelling\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1026\" /><figcaption>Caved dwelling</figcaption></figure></a></div><div class=\"swiper-slide\" role=\"group\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"4 of 7\"><a data-lce-lightbox=\"yes\" data-lce-lightbox-group=\"0589c8a\" data-lce-lightbox-title=\"Bird&#039;s eye of caved dwellings\" href=\"https://jcwejfnxuwwffrrxjmkn.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/site-media/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/DJI_20250227150230_0036_D.jpg\"><figure class=\"swiper-slide-inner\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"swiper-slide-image\" 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