Yaodong, A Little Treatise on Construction

In the region of Shaanbei, within the Yellow River loop, are built the Yaodong. Formerly troglodyte settlements these vault houses are now built against the mountain. Yaodong are built without architect’s plan, following a knowledge handed down orally. The film shows us the highly accurate work of master stonemasons, as well as master carpenters, master of Fengshui and workers, all of them living in Yaodong with their families. As the filmmaker takes us to meet these people, their rituals and their history, a snapshot of today’s “Yaodong culture” emerges gradually.

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