ABSTRACT
Zaoyuan village is located to the west of Yan’an city, which sits at the heart of the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi province, northern China. This plateau, which lies in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River, covers nearly all of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces and parts of four others. Archaeological evidence shows that it has been inhabited for at least 8,000 years. This project was conceived in the 1980s, when Xi’an University started researching traditional house types. They found the yaodong to be a very intelligent type for three main reasons: firstly, ease of sourcing materials; secondly, simple construction, making it possible for any able person to self-build; and thirdly, thermal mass – internal temperatures even out in winter and in summer.
