The once-abandoned village is now a popular tourist attraction.[Photo by Sun Ruisheng/China Daily]

Diantou's caves were carved to enable imperial soldiers to vanquish invaders without leaving their subterranean fortifications. Li Yang and Sun Ruisheng explore these little-known grottos and tunnels in Taiyuan.

Diantou village's honeycomb of ancient cave dwellings conjures an allure that today draws a diverse cast of characters－adventurers, painters, photographers, architects, military-history fans, archaeologists, filmmakers, historians, monks, Taoists, anthropologists and shepherds.

The complex of caverns is whittled into the mountainsides over a 1-kilometer stretch overlooking a river that runs parallel to the main road connecting Taiyuan, which today is Shanxi's provincial capital, to the outside world.

Its function was military－hence, the caverns are all within arrow's reach of the road－since the frontier garrison was long the frontline of skirmishes between agricultural and nomadic civilizations.

The fortifications were first chiseled into the slopes in the late Western Jin Dynasty (265-316) to protect the ancient city of Jinyang from Hun invaders from the north. It mostly remained a garrison until the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when the Manchurians subjugated the grasslands' herding tribes.

The grottos lodged villagers from then until 2001, when they relocated into modern housing.

It was essentially abandoned until Diantou Tourism Development Co manager Li Guihu explored the settlement in 2008.

"I'd heard of the village long ago," he recalls.

"I was astonished to discover its potential tourism appeal when I finally visited."

Li signed a contract with the local government to establish a tourism venture to "protect, rather than develop, the village".