Living below the ground

Subterranean dwellings in China date back more than 4,000 years, and are unique to the region south of Shanxi province, where there is a lack of stone. Sun Ruisheng and Li Yang report from Pinglu.

When asked how long his family had been living in the subterranean dwelling in Pinglu, in North China's Shanxi province, the 70-year-old veterinarian Wang Shouxian gave an answer rarely heard in China, where the average lifespan of buildings is 30 years: "more than 300 years".

Not only was Wang was born in the cave dwelling, but so was his father, grandfather and great grandfather.