Welcome to China’s Coal Capital Datong! No matter you reach Datong by air or by rail, your local guide and driver will pick you up from the airport or railway station on time, and then transfer you to your hotel in downtown Datong. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Start your exploration from the No. 1 highlight attraction Datong has to offer, and that is Yungang Grottoes. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is one of four biggest and most famous ancient Buddhist grottoes sites of China (The others are Longmen Grottoes, Maijishan Grottoes and Mogao Caves). 

Yungang Grottoes enjoy outstanding achievements of Buddhist rock-cut art during 5-6th centuries of ancient China, which boast a rich mix of styles of west and central China as well as ancient India. Housing more than 250 caves and 51,000 statues, Yungang Grottoes will let you uncover the profound Buddhist culture and profile of social life in Northern Wei Dynasty. 

Then you will be led to admire the Nine Dragon Screen that dates back to Ming Dynasty. Served as a screen wall of an ancient noble’s mansion, it is a rare cultural relic famous for relief sculptures of nine dragons. At a close distance, you will find that the dragons are vivid in different postures and glazed in bright colors of yellow, green, blue and purple. 

After that, drop by the last stop of today’s sightseeing, Shanhua Temple, where you would be amazed at the exquisite architecture of Liao, Buddhist sculptures of Jin and mural paintings of Qing dynasty. 

Yungang Grottoes

Nine Dragon Screen

After breakfast, you will embark on a 3-hour land transfer to the renowned Hanging Monastery. Incredibly, the temple is built into a sheer cliff of Mount Hengshan and only supported by wood stilts slotted into holes on the rock. First built in 491, the Hanging Temple has clung to the precipice and stayed undamaged for more than 1,500 years. 

You can not only marvel at this architectural feat at a distance, but also have a chance to ascend for a panorama over the heart-stirring railings. Venturing into the temple, you would surprisely find China’s three different faiths coexist, including Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. 

Then continue your adventure to Yingxian County for a glance of the impressive Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Wooden Pagoda is also an architectural miracle since it is the world’s highest wooden structure connected only by mortise and tenon joints, without any metal nail used.

Built in 1056 AD during the Liao dynasty, the 9-storied wooden pagoda enjoys an overwhelming height of 67.31 meters. Now visitors are not allowed to enter, but you could still walk around to take some amazing pictures. At the end of the tour, you will be escorted back to Datong for your departure train or flight. Wish you a safe journey!