Datong Travel Guide

Datong is known by Chinese as the coal capital for and one of China's most polluted cities. Few guide books take it as a travel destination. Despite all this travelers still have a few huge incentives to visit Datong, incentives that are all related to the city's ancient past. Situated in the far north on the fringe of Loess Plateau, Datong is the second largest city in Shanxi Province. The city has the outer Great Wall on its northern boundary line. Datong's splendid history spans over 2400 years. It boosts many cultural relics and historical sites, One of which has entered into the prestigious World Cultural Heritage.

Specifically, Datong's history has been an interesting and turbulent one to say the least. The city was first conquered by the Turkic Toba in the early 400s, who seizing on the conflict between central and southern China, established Datong as the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty in 398 AD. The Northern Wei made important contributions to China, such as the cave temples in Yungang, which is still a widely acclaimed and visited site in the country. Today, Datong has been renowned for its Buddhist sites, as well as its proximity to Heng Shan, which houses the five holy mountains of Taoism.

As it is a key resource city, transportation connections with Datong are quite convenient, especially by road and by railway. Datong has several fascinating attractions to see such as the 1,500-year-old Yungang Grottoes and 600-year-old Nine Dragon Screen, Hengshan Mountain, Wutaishan Mountain…There are also China's largest wooden shrine, Huayan Monastery; the Hangying Temple, a Buddhist temple complex built into a cliff face that is both a thing of beauty and a marvel of engineering; and Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, the oldest and tallest wooden pagoda in China. Welcome to read the detailed guide to Datong attractions below. We will provide the professional advice, individual itinerary and excellent travel service.