Nestled in deep mountains, Lijiashan Village in Linxian County, Lyuliang City, north China's Shanxi Province, was home to wealthy merchants from the nearby Yellow River trading port of Qikou Town during Ming and Qing dynasties. Today, the village is home to farmers. The remote village is well known for the visit of famous Chinese painter Wu Guanzhong. During his visit in 1989, he described the village as a hidden utopia.

For thousands of years, the people of Shanxi lived in cave houses, as they remain cool in summer heat and warm in brutal winters.