Is this the loneliest man in the world? Shepherd is the only resident left in his village after all families moved out of the remote community

The man lives deep in mountains of Gansu Province, northern China.

He started keeping sheep after getting  scared of the howling of wild dogs.

Works at a forestry protection station earning 700 yuan (£75) a month.

The lone resident's wish is to move to somewhere with more people.

While most Chinese cities and towns are bustling, busy and packed, one tiny village has recently caught the media attention for having only one resident.

The single dweller in the Xueshan Commune of Songbai Village, located in northern China's Gansu Province is Liu Shengjia, who works as a shepherd as well as a part-time forest guard.

The remote community, which does not have shops and barely any mobile signal, used to have more than 20 families, but all of them have moved away. 

A desolate place: Liu Shengjia in his courtyard house in Xueshan Commune, Jingyuan County, China

Loyal to family: Mr Liu is the only resident left in the remote village after all families moved away in 2006

Run-down: Most buildings in the village are ruined including Mr Liu's own home. He moved to a different house four years ago. 'It's not like anybody was living there anyway,' he said

Middle of nowhere: The village is in a mountainous area of the county and has nothing around it for miles

The village is located deep in the mountains of Jingyuan County in Gansu Province, an ethnic part of China whose lifestyle is deeply influenced by that of central Asia.

Harsh weather, barren soil and remote location make the village difficult for people to inhabit. 

Mr Liu is currently the only people living in a radius of a few miles.  

In an interview with a local reporter, the down-to-earth man said 20 families had moved away from the mountainous area in 2006.

He said he chose to stay in order to take care of his bed-ridden mother and brother.

Tough life: Mr Liu stayed in the village when people were leaving to look after his sick mother and brother

Frugal life: The man works for a local forestry protection station station where he earns £75 a month

Mr Liu said after both his mother and brother passed away, he became the only person left in the Xueshan Commune. 

He told reporters: 'At first, I couldn't sleep at night because the howling of the wild dogs in the mountains was so scary. 

Then I started raising sheep, and I finally had some companions and got used to living alone.'

Pictures emerging from the Chinese media show the village is filled with ruins of clay buildings. 

Mr Liu said one night four years ago, it was raining so hard that the wall of his courtyard suddenly collapsed. 

So he moved house - from his own to a stranger's. 

He said: 'It's not like anybody was living there anyway.'

Mr Liu has lived in the house since.

Harsh conditions: He lives on the governmental subsidiary for purchasing his farmland and the money from selling sheep

Cooking up a dish: In order to get food to eat, Mr Liu needs to run several miles to the nearest grocery shop

The lone resident also lives a frugal life.

In order to get food to eat, Mr Liu needs to run several miles to a shop.

He said his income consists of the governmental subsidiary for purchasing his farmland and the money from selling two to three sheep every year.

He also works part-time at a local forestry protection station where he earns 700 yuan (£75) a month.  

Mr Liu says: 'I could live by myself with the support of my relatives, but I still wanted to move to somewhere with more people.' 

He said he would keep living in the village until he finds a way to relocate to somewhere else.

来源：http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3549264/Is-loneliest-man-world-Shepherd-resident-left-village-families-moved-remote-community.html