The presence of the courtyard transfers an extreme winter environment outside cave dwellings into a better outdoor community space. This study examines the interaction amongst the cave rooms, the courtyard and the ambient, via two approaches applied in a typical such type of dwelling: site measurement and computer modelling. The site measurement was undertaken to investigate the dynamic feature of such dwelling by monitoring hourly changes of air temperatures over the building complex with some of the key weather data. The computer modelling, based on two specifically developed theoretical models and validated by the data of the site measurement, was to analyse the mean effects of a number of key design parameters on thermal environment in such type of dwellings. Conclusions drawn from this study are to help modem architects design for a better thermal environment in these typical North China dwellings, traditional yet popular.