Architecture Faculty and Students Visit Sister University: The Yaodong "Cave Dwellings" of North Central China

This article will appear in a forthcoming issue of Universe, WSU's magazine of research, scholarship, and the arts.

The Yaodong "Cave Dwellings" of North Central China.

David Wang, AIA, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Architecture Washington State University Spokane

Stretched across six provinces in north central China are the yaodong cave dwellings. In Chinese, the term (pronounced YOW-DOAN) means an arched tunnel. The earliest yaodongs were caves dug into mountainsides. More recent versions are only partially dug in; they can even be free-standing. But all retain the signature arched front.

A yaodong cave dwelling (Click image to enlarge).  This particular one is significantly "dug-in" to the side of a mountain, making it an older yaodong; newer units tend to be more disengaged from the mountainside.  Usually, one family unit consists of three arched openings, and the units are interconnected inside.  The center cave can be termed the "living room," which includes a stovetop cooking area.  The two side caves are sleeping quarters.  The gadget on the roof to the right is a solar water heater (yaodong units invariably face south, as does much of Chinese architecture).

It is not clear how many people live in yaodongs. However, there are some 40,000,000 people living in this vast region of China. Outside of the cities of this region, some 90% of the rural population live in yaodongs. Thus, the total number of yaodong dwellers is easily in the millions, making this housing type an example of a vernacular architecture of some scope. (Vernacular architecture refers to indigenous built forms without the aid of "professional" intervention).

Along with two M.S. Arch. students, Eliot Price and Nicole Alexander, I traveled to China's Shaanxi Province in May, 2000, to experience the yaodong phenomenon first-hand. The trip was partially funded by grants from WSU's Office of International Programs and WSU's Asian American and Pacific Islander Faculty and Staff Association.

Our goal was to learn more of the work of Dr. Liu Jiaping, an architecture professor at WSU's sister university, the Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology (XUAT). Since 1996, Dr. Liu has incorporated ethnographic, survey and experimental research methods in his quest to design the next generation of yaodong dwellings in accordance with the principles of sustainable design. Sustainable ( or "green") design refers to an architecture that does not harm the natural environment for future generations; it emphasizes the use of indigenous materials, recycling of resources, and dependence upon natural forms of energy.

Two aspects of Dr. Liu's work are of particular interest to me. The first is his controversial view that the yaodong tradition can remain vernacular in spirit even as he and his architecture students assist in the design of new yaodongs (to date, 85 units have been built). To do this, the occupants are involved throughout the design process. Dr. Liu conducts surveys to understand their experience of their current homes, using this data in his new designs. For example, lack of ventilation was a common complaint; thus, Liu's designs provide for cross ventilation and the elimination of dampness. Dr. Liu also encourages participant design. His teams interact with the yaodong community for a week or more at a time, often living in the caves themselves. And the occupants have the power to alter a design, or even to reject one. For instance, one proposal featuring a greenhouse front for winter heat gain was rejected by the occupants on the simple grounds that it did not "look" like the traditional arched yaodong front.

This accommodation of the occupants' subjective liking is vital to Dr. Liu's definition of "sustainable" design. For him, if the occupants cannot feel ownership at the level of historic and symbolic ties to a new design, that design is not good "green" design, no matter how much recycling or conservation is achieved. I find this a significant idea, and one worthy of further investigation, because it pushes the notion of sustainable design beyond the realm of numerical calculations and into the realm of "a sense of belonging."

The second noteworthy aspect of Dr. Liu's yaodong designs is a certain Western flavor. Yes, the new generation of this ancient Chinese housing form features a guest room, a large bathroom, and children's bedrooms on a second floor. It is a clear testament to the globalization of our world. And yet it is not a cheap imitation. The new yaodongs clearly fit into the vernacular context: there is the use of materials from the site; there is the distinct arched front; there they are nestled harmoniously into the village texture along with the older units. Young people, rather than leaving for the big cities, are not only choosing to stay, some who have left are coming back.

New 2-story yaodong units, designed by Dr. Liu Jiaping and his architectural students, under construction. (Click image to enlarge) These units strive to meet the principles of sustainable design: indigenous materials, recycled resources, natural energy for heating and cooling, vernacular forms and a design that enhances the people's sense of belonging to the village. The area in the foreground is a parking area constructed of loosely laid stones from the site; grass will ultimately grow through the large open joints, producing the appearance of a field. In front of this lot is a massive public garden area. In the background can be seen some much older yaodong structures.

Dave Wang is standing in front of some of the new yaodong units under construction. This picture shows the garden area (actually it is farming area) referred to in the caption above. The relationship between yaodong and land is remarkable in its immediacy, and the "connection to nature" is one explicit value of yaodong life I heard espoused several times by the mayor of Zao Yuan village. (Click on image to enlarge)

What is satisfying about the new yaodongs is that we see in them an emergence of a modern Chinese architecture genealogically connected to its cultural and geographical roots. In light of the rampant aping of Western styles in the new office buildings of Beijing and Xi'an, these humble new yaodong dwellings represent a rare, because original, contemporary Chinese architectural expression. The village where Dr. Liu has done his work is named Zao Yuan. It is already famous, because its yaodongs once served as the early headquarters of a rebel leader named Mao Tse-Tung. But Zao Yuan should be famous again, this time for its significance in Chinese architectural (as opposed to political) history.

The work of Liu Jiaping and his colleagues and students in developing the new yaodong dwellings would make a worthy contribution to the literature in sustainable design in the West. I hope to assist in publishing some of Dr. Liu's work in English. Additionally, as part of our sister-university agreement with XUAT, there is also hope that Dr. Liu can come to present his work in person at Washington State University sometime next year.