This Giant Cave In China Has 100 People Living Inside, A Basketball Court And Even Had A School

Zhongdong village in Guizhou Province, China, is believed to be the country’s only inhabited, year-round settlement located inside a naturally occurring cave.

At 1800 meters (almost 6000 ft) above sea level, the cave can only be accessed by a one hour hike, and because of such inaccessibility, the community struggles to survive. To make matters worse, the government stated that “China is not a society of cavemen” and closed the village school in 2008. Now the children must trek by foot for two hours every morning and evening to attend another school.

In order to improve the livelihoods of villagers, elders have been trying to lobby the local government to build them a road linking the cave to existing infrastructure, but while Zhongdong has access to television and the occasional newspaper, the village still remains largely disconnected from the outside world.

(h/t: Metro)

UPDATE: After a discussion with a Chinese person some additional information emerged. With growing media attention the site gained tourist attraction and now has a road, linking it to the outside world. Also, as time went by, more and more locals relocated to other areas (as per the government’s request), however the majority stayed. Also, the students were sent away to live and study at another school in a different area but most visit their families on weekends and during holiday seasons.

Inside this cave there’s a village with about 100 people

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Image credits: avantgardica

It is believed to be the last year-round settlement inside a cave in China

miao-room-cave-village-china-1

Image credits: Carsten Peter

At 1800 meters (almost 6000 ft) above sea level, the cave can only be accessed by a one hour hike

miao-room-cave-village-china-2

Image credits: Carsten Peter

It even had a school until China’s government said “China is not a society of cavemen” and closed it in 2008

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Image credits: metro.co.uk

Each week, they will buy necessities in the market which is 15 km away, on foot

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Image credits: Carsten Peter

They even have a basketball court

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Image credits: unknown

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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What do you think ?

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Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago

How exciting that these people can live in unison under one big roof. It goes to show what cooperation and peace can do for people - too bad their government doesn't see it the same way.

17points

Ana T. 8 years ago

i sure they live there because they dont had a choice not because they enjoy living in a cave.

3points

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varwenea 8 years ago

Why the government feels compelled to interfere with a society living harmoniously IN A CAVE is beyond me. Not cavemen society but take away their school. WTH! Leave them alone already. For me, I love these pockets of mini communities.

10points

$copper-fractions avatar$

Tiny Dynamine 8 years ago

It's the Chinese government. It's a dictatorship that doesn't allow people to do anything that they don't want them to.

5points

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Neha Jawale-Bhorge 8 years ago

Any community isolated from a supreme government is powerful and without fear..

1point

Xueying Zhang 8 years ago

It's simple. The living condition in the cave is so tough. The children cannot get adequent nutrition, qualified education and a promising future there. Compared to building hill roads to every remote village, moving villagers to a larger town with convinience transportation is better choice.

-3points

Xueying Zhang 8 years ago

The school is not closed, instead a new modern one is built for them outside, which is not far from the cave. The villagers inside the cave are less educated. The living condition is so poor that no well-trained teachers would like to work there. At the new school, the children have qulified teachers for them. They also have free and nutritious breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's better for their growth and future life. Their parants and grandparents may be stubborn and resist the modern life, but they cannot chain their children with them. Only the rich hypocritical people in western countries would like to see this cave village keeps forever, because they don't have to live there and don't care how tough it is. On the other hand, they can visit this village as a touring spot and share their unique experience on facebook and instagram.

5points

Kudzai Mushakate 5 years ago

Very informative. Thanks.

0points

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Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago

How exciting that these people can live in unison under one big roof. It goes to show what cooperation and peace can do for people - too bad their government doesn't see it the same way.

17points