Hi guys. Today I will take you to the intriguing Guyaju, which was discovered in 1984 and is
at least 1000 years old. Guyaju is a cave complex located on the steep slopes of a granite
mountain close to a plain near Beijing. With neither historical records nor dateable archaeological
evidence; the true origin of who constructed Guyaju remains a mystery.
The name Guyaju, means ancient cliff dwelling. This fortress-like cave system comprises 350
chambers within a system of 117 caves. Carved on both sides of a secluded gorge, archeologists
discovered relics from people who lived there during different eras but concluded that these
inhabitants were not the original builders. The rock dwellings are in three clusters,
covering an area of 24 acres (or 100,000 square meters). The caves were created from granite,
an igneous rock, very resistant to weathering and very hard to carve. How did the ancient
builders excavate these granite caves on such a massive scale? Guyaju tool marks are similar
to the large uniformed marks found at ancient sites in Asia, Middle-east and Europe, which
I discussed in my previous videos on why they resemble modern-day machine marks. It remains
baffling that ancient people around the world chose to construct these labor intensive huge
stone structures instead of using local wood, clay, brick or rammed earth. Guyaju is special
and unique in that it doesn't resemble other Chinese archaeological sites discovered from
this era. The site has survived more than a thousand years of weathering which likely
deteriorated most of the original details. One can only imagine how beautiful the caves
must have been in their original glory!
The entryway of Guyaju has a rock guardhouse. Passing the 1st guardhouse, there is a long
uphill walk leading to the 2nd guardhouse, followed by a steeper climb to the real entrance
to the cave compound. Passing another checkpoint, you find a narrow entry way leading to the
interior of the cave system. Guyaju is designed like a fortress. It is impressive to behold.
There are about 8 stories of caves forming a complex system. The thickness of the walls
and floors between each story is consistent at about 20-30cm or less than one foot. This
detail shows both sophisticated engineering knowledge and advanced craftsmanship. Many
dwellings have multiple stories interconnected with corridors, steps and stairs. Inside the
caves, there are high thresholds, windows, room sections, stoves, wall niches and a drainage
system. Some caves show beam holes and fading awning marks. We have to admire the ancient
engineers for their ingenious designs. These are not primitive caves.
The original stone stairs are very steep and tourists use the new stairs to visit caves
at lower levels. The original stairs are carved from stone and slope between 45 to 60 degrees,
which are steeper than today’s normal stairs. Besides the stairs, we see two ditches looking
like cart rails. The unusual thing is that the initial steps are like footprints. I will
circle back to this later and show you similar ancient steps I found in America and Europe.
The honeycomb caves are of different shapes and sizes: rectangular, round or square. To
our current day standards, these caves are quite small. Many doors are about 5’ and
most people need to bend to enter. Some caves are only 4 square meters or 43 square feet
and the larger ones are a few hundred square feet. Average room heights range from 1.5
to 1.8 meters or 4’11” to 5’11”. For these reasons scholars assume the community
that resided there could not exceed 1.6 meters or 5’3” in height. Present day humans
are a lot taller than people from even 60 years ago. Ancient Egyptians in the early
dynastic period were about 5’3”, ancient Greeks and Romans were about 5′5 to 5′7
which is less than 1.7m. Ancient Chinese were about 5’3”. So it is not surprising that
the original cave builders were our smaller ancestors from the distant past.
Many caves have low channels with ledges on four sides, which historians propose to be
the central heating system called Kang. Kang was used by northern ethnic groups such as
Manchurians. A Kang is very similar to a Roman hypocaust; it is a system of central heating
in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room. The difference
is that a Roman hypocaust was for floor heating, while a Kang is specifically for beds used
by multiple people. Here I am showing you how a Kang is built – the structure clearly
resembles the channels at Guyaju. If one places a wooden board on top of the ledges, then
it can be used as a cozy bed with radiant heat. That would be ideal for a cave dwelling
family in the north mountain range. Kang is still used in some areas in northeast China.
People sleep on them this way making it easier for everyone to get out. Manchurians also
use Kang as a gathering place and a dining room. The sizes of the Kang beds at Guyaju
correlate with the small rooms, doorways and low ceilings.
The largest and most complicated structure is called the “Guantangzi” meaning “Chief’s
court”, which is a collection of 8 chambers expanding over two floors. There are stone
kangs on both sides of the main room. This Chief’s court is located at the bottom of
one of the rock clusters, which could be used as a communal place for meetings or ceremonies.
There are about 7-8 similar yet smaller cave systems in the nearby mountain ranges. Here
are some photos from two such sites. This cave was built on an almost 90 degree rock
angle with a high-up entrance. The stone steps to the entrance looks like a carved ladder
and are difficult to climb up and down; thus a smart way to protect the cave dwellers and
their possessions from both wild animals and other invaders. Even if someone managed to
climb up, the climber would be putting themselves in a very vulnerable position for a possible
blow to the head. Clearly the caves were built with defense in mind.
Guyaju caves are very intriguing yet not unique. They share many similarities with other ancient
cave systems. Next I will show you a few. This is Bandelier National Monument in New
Mexico, United States. The caves here were also carved on steep cliffs, the cave doors
are also high up with have lines of beam holes. Remember the peculiar footprint stairs at
Guyaju? Here is the New Mexico version. Aren’t they similar?
Here I am showing the cave city of Vardzia in Georgia, Europe. The rock dwellings look
almost identical to Guyaju caves. A major earthquake in the 13th century shook away
the outer walls of many caves and exposed the cave rooms. I think Guyaju encountered
a similar situation which removed part of the outer wall and exposed the interior rooms.
Here is a photo of the foot-print stairs at another cave city in Georgia. They are like
cousins both the Vardzia and guyaju stairs.
By the Tigris River bank, lays the great ancient city Hasankeyf with their cave dwellings,
which are similar to Guyaju. The marvelous underground city Derinkuyu has preserved examples
on how spaces were used in ancient times. The stairs and steps between levels, niches
and interior windows are all similar to Guyaju’s cave dwellings.
Here are cave houses in Spain and Italy. Some are still used today as dwellings or bed & breakfasts.
They all have rounded doorways, separate rooms and multiple niches. The Italian caves have
beam holes on the exterior, like the ones we've seen on Guyaju.
Besides sharing interior details, I noticed that these cave systems share two common characteristics:
they are close to a water source and positioned on steep slopes. Guyaju is near a big lake,
Vardzia in Georgia is by a river. Hasankeyf is by the Tigris; Bandelier National Monument
is by a stream. Proximity to water is essential to most residential settlements. Cave dwellings
on steep slopes act as fortified residences like castles from the middle ages. Caves on
high slopes are comparable to the motte castles built on mounds wherein both offer the advantage
of higher elevation. Guyaju’s gateway is similar to the medieval gatehouse. Both are
narrow and located in hidden spots. The upper level of the cave system can work as the keep,
which is the highest tower inside a castle. It remains better protected and secure from
invasions with an ideal look out. `
These caves systems share much in common which makes me think of the possibility that a wide-spread
cave carving technology built by a wide-spread civilization existed.
Let's briefly talk about current theories on the purposes of Guyaju caves.
Some historians think the settlement of Guyaju was created by the Mongol tribe Xi in the
Tang Dynasty which is about 1300 years ago. Records say this tribe might have stayed in
this region for only 30 years before they moved further northeast. This tribe might
have used these caves though it is hard to imagine let alone prove they were also their
builders. If they really built these caves, then why couldn’t anyone find such cave
systems in the regions that the tribe moved to and settled in later on?
Other theories include that the cave complex was built for food storage or beacon towers
along the Great Wall of China. Both theories are absurd. Food storage is generally done
in a barn or silo not in hundreds of rooms on multiple levels. Real beacon towers along
the Great wall look like this - a single 4-wall structure built with bricks, nothing at all
like the complicated Guyaju caves.
This is why they are so worthy of continued scholarly study. If you have any insights,
please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you. If you like my video, please
give me a thumbs up and subscribe. I have a wide range of topics that I want to share
with you. This is Curious Being, I am Tina. Thanks for watching and see you next time!