Ever wondered if you'll be able to survive in a village lone ranger-style except for a few sheep as companions? Sounds impossible, but that's what Liu Shengjia has been doing for a decade.

Liu makes up the one-person population of Xuenshanshe village in northwest China's Gansu province.

According to Liu, there used to be at least 20 families living in the same village, but they had started to relocate when natural resources became scarce and people started dying from old age.

Liu has been living alone since both his mother and younger brother died. Image: @CCTV NEws/facebook

By 2006, Liu found himself left alone to care for his bedridden mother and younger brother. Within a year, the last of his surviving relatives passed on and Liu was the only person left behind.

Left to his own resources and with a few sheep to rear, Liu learnt to survive on his own and get used to the solitude.

Liu poses outside of one of the abandoned houses. Image: @CCTV NEWS/FACEBOOK

"In the beginning, I wasn't able to sleep at night while listening to the howling of the wild dogs," Liu told People's Daily. "But after I started to tend a few sheep and they've become my companions, I slowly got used to living alone."

Liu's only companions are the few sheep he tends. Image: @CCTV NEWS/FACEBOOK

Liu also works as a temporary forest watcher for the local forestry protection station to make ends meet. He earns 700 yuan ($107) a month at his job.

Due to the remote location of his village, Liu has to travel far to fetch water and purchase food, reported CCTV News.

An aerial view of Liu's village. Image: @CCTV NEWS/FACEBOOK

"Surviving here is not a problem for me, but I still prefer to move to a more populous area when the time comes," he said.

Liu works as a forest watcher to make ends meet. Image: @CCTV NEWS/FACEBOOK

Despite the loneliness, Liu told reporters that he saw some positives to having the village to himself — he could choose whichever house to live in, most of which still contained stuff that belonged to its previous owners.

In spite of his lonely situation, Liu sees a silver lining. Image: @CCTV NEWS/FACEBOOK

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