A yaodong (窰 [iɤ] in native Jin Chinese, or 窰洞 [jɑʊ tʊŋ] yáodòng in Beijing Mandarin) is a particular form of earth shelter dwelling common in the Loess Plateau in China's north. They are generally carved out of a hillside or excavated horizontally from a central "sunken courtyard".

The surrounding earth acts as a natural insulator, keeping the interior warm in winter and cool in summer. Consequently, very little heating is required in winter, and in summer, it is as cool as an air-conditioned room.

The history of yaodongs goes back centuries, and they continue to be used. As of the early 2000s, between 30 and 40 million people in northern China still lived in yaodongs, a number rapidly decreasing as millions move to more modern dwellings nearby or move away as part of urbanization in China.

The landscape of the Loess Plateau terrain is very complicated, with valleys, slopes, ridges, and hillocks. In order to avoid the wind and utilize sunlight and water, most yaodongs are distributed along the sides of the cliffs and valleys to conform to the terrain – in principle, forming three types of Yaodong.

Cliffside yaodongs (Chinese: 靠崖窑; pinyin: kàoyáyáo) are the most common among all types. People dig caves in the cliff on the edge of the loess slopes with the floor rectangular and the top arched. In front of the cave is an open space for lighting and ventilation, so that the user does not feel the space to be oppressive. According to the number of cave openings, the yaodongs can be further classified into the three-hole type, two-hole type, and single hole type. A typical example is the city of Yan'an.

Sunken yaodongs (Chinese: 地坑窑; pinyin: dìkēngyáo) are dug around an excavation conducted at the surface, serving as interior courtyard, called yaodong-well or sunken courtyard. In the Loess Plateau, without hillsides and ravines available, peasants skillfully use loess's features (wall stability) to dig a square pit on the spot, and then dig the cave horizontally on the four walls to form the underground courtyard. In most parts of western Henan, this form of cave is called the "pit yard".

Sunken yaodongs have two types, according to the form of entrance: slope-entrance and flat-entrance. Both are excavations of pits in the flat ground. First, if the yaodong is surrounded by flat ground, a slope can be used for entering and leaving the pits. This is called the "dikenyuan" or the "pit courtyard" (Chinese: 地坑院; pinyin: De kēng yuàn). Second, if there is a cliff or a steep slope next to the yaodong, it can be used to excavate the corridor through the cliff or slope to reach the horizontal entrance of the courtyard. This type of Sunken yaodong, which is also called the well-courtyard or the well-yaodong, is the majority in the area.

The Hoop yaodong (Chinese: 箍窑; pinyin: gūyáo), also called independent yaodong, is the most valuable type considering its construction techniques. In the traditional residential areas in western Henan, the Hoop Yaodongs appear in the places where there are no conditions for excavations of cave dwellings, e.g. the loess layer is thin, the slopes are gentle, the height of the soil cliffs is insufficient, or the bedrock is exposed. A hoop yaodong is usually built wholly or partially outdoors, with an arched structure inspired by the underground dwellings. This arch-shaped form not only reflects the Chinese traditional thinking of a Round sky and Square earth [zh], but more importantly, the high arch of the cave along with high windows allows the sun to further penetrate the cave in winter, therefore making full use of solar radiation. This new vaulted home of this type is now common among farmers in the area.