35-year-old man rejects work and marriage, lives alone in cave: 'A waste of time'
ByMuskaan SharmaJun 12, 2025 12:49 PM IST
Min Hengcai, 35, from Sichuan in China, has rejected conventional life for a cave existence, believing work and marriage are futile.
A 35-year-old Chinese man has decided that work and marriage are meaningless, choosing instead to live in a cave. Min Hengcai, from southwestern China’s Sichuan province, said he found both redundant and has lived in a cave for the past four years, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
Min previously worked as a ride-hailing cab driver until 2021, earning 10,000 yuan ($1,400) a month. However, after long workdays of over 10 hours just to repay loans, he began to see his job as meaningless.
When he chose to abandon the material world, he still owed $42,000 but gave up hopes of ever repaying the debt. His relatives eventually sold his properties to settle the arrears.
Min then exchanged his land with a fellow villager to gain access to a cave nearby. He spent his $6,000 savings to convert the 50-square-metre cave into his new home.
Chasing a simple life
Now, his days revolve around farming, reading, and walking. Reports say he wakes up at 8 am, spends the day working on his land, reading, and walking, and goes to sleep by 10 pm. He survives mostly on the food he grows and only requires minimal money for basic necessities.Min told local Chinese media that this was the lifestyle he had always dreamed of while living in the city. He refers to his cave as a "black hole" to remind himself of his insignificance, and calls marriage a "waste of time and money." “The probability of finding true love is very low. Why would I want to work hard for something so rare?” he said.
Interestingly, Min still posts about his life on social media, where he has attracted over 40,000 followers. Some have criticised him for preaching simplicity while profiting from social media, while others have praised him as a modern-day philosopher.
