A 35-year-old man from China has made headlines for choosing an unusual lifestyle. Min Hengcai, from Sichuan province, decided that working and getting married were not worth it. So, he left everything behind and has been living alone in a cave for the last four years.
Min used to work as a cab driver and earned around 10,000 yuan (about $1,400) a month. However, he had to work more than 10 hours a day just to pay off loans. Over time, he began to feel that this kind of life had no real meaning.
At the time he gave up city life, he still had a debt of around $42,000. Min stopped trying to repay it. His family later sold his properties to clear the debt for him.
To start his new life, Min traded his land with a local villager to get access to a nearby cave. He spent his savings—about $6,000—to turn the 50-square-meter cave into a small but livable home.
Now, he lives a simple life. He wakes up at 8 a.m., spends the day farming, reading, and walking, and goes to bed by 10 p.m. He mostly eats the food he grows and spends very little money on other needs.
Min says this quiet life is what he always dreamed of when he lived in the city. He calls his cave a “black hole” to remind himself how small and simple life can be. He also believes marriage is a waste of time and money, saying, “True love is rare. Why work hard for something so unlikely?”
Even though he has left behind the busy world, Min still shares his thoughts and daily life on social media. He has over 40,000 followers. While some people call him a hypocrite for earning from social media, others admire him for choosing peace and living like a modern-day philosopher.
