Shanxi was fairly well known for its cave dwellers in the northern part of the province. No, no, these were not Ice Age Neanderthals or cave men, they were local farmers who made their homes by digging into the hard-packed loess soil for a place that is cool in the blazing summer and not so cold in the winter.

They were often made at the base of an exposed vertical edge of a high plain and had a semi-circular entrance, with decorations and furniture inside, comfortable and interesting.

However, speaking of the ice age, Shanxi has something more curious to deliver - a real ice cave with a more than 3-million-year history, dating back to the fourth Ice Age with stalactites and stalagmites and walls made of pure ice.