Day 01 Arrival Datong
Arrive in Datong. You will be greeted at the airport by your tour guide and transferred to hotel.

Suited at the center of Datong Basin, Datong is in the northern part of Shanxi Province. In ancient China, Datong was a place of strategic importance and a place where the Han people frequently exchanged with the ethnic minority peoples in north China. Datong was once served as the capital city during the North Wei Dynasty (386 AD-534 AD). The city had officially become the center of provincial government in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the tall city walls were fortified in the early Ming Dynasty. Datong is not only a Buddhist attraction but the nearest city to Mt.Hengshan, one of the four holy mountains of Taoism in China. Therefore this city is popular for its harmonious coexistence of religions, together with its strategic importance in geography and unique rugged terrain in scenery.

Day 02 Datong (B/L)
Take a city tour of Datong. Yungang Grottoes, Huayan Monastery and Nine Dragon Wall are waiting for your coming.

Today, you will have a chance to visit one of World Culture Sites- Yungang Grottoes. It is said that Yungang Grottoes are the best preserved sites in China with 53 caves containing over 51,000 stone carvings of Buddha and Buddhist. The grottoes were built between 460 AD and 494 AD in the Northern Wei just before the capital city of that dynasty was moved to Luoyang to build another set of grottoes (Longmen Grottoes) afterwards. These statues range from the tallest of 17 meters to the shortest of a few centimeters high with some of them still retain their original color. The lines of the statue's face are very graceful, with a pair of bright piercing eyes. In 2001, Yungang Grottoes was included in the UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List.

As another essential attraction in Datong, the complex of Huayan Monastery is located on the southwestern side of Datong City. The Monastery dates back to as early as the fifth century. It consists of two courts, the upper part with Grand Hall housing five large Buddha's of Ming Dynasty and the lower part being renovated and enlarged for several times till its present scale. It is one of the largest wooden Buddhist temples still in existence in China today.

Nine Dragon Wall in Datong was built during the regime of the first Emperor of Ming Dynasty. With 426 glazed tiles fired specially in five different colors, the exquisite design of green wave at bottom is as sea, blue background as sky and white as clouds. The glazed nine dragons on the wall are expressing their varying movements vividly, rising out of the sea and chasing the mythical suns with the supernatural ability to control the forces of nature. Being the oldest and largest glazed screen in China, though it has been standing over 600 years, yet it is still in a perfect condition today owing to its perfect architecture and craft work.

Day 03 Datong-Pingyao (B/L)
Continue your trip to Pingyao Ancient Town by bus. On the way to Pingyao, visit Qiao's Courtyard. Arrive in Pingyao.

It is not exaggerated that you will be go deeply into the most used-prosperous merchant's family by visiting Qiao's Courtyard on your way to Pingyao Ancient Town. It was the home of a powerful trading family with significant commercial influence even beyond Shanxi, as they were in the trade sector, a nationwide business.

Located 20km north of Pingyao, the compound is fortified behind a 10m high wall with battlements. The total amount of buildings was 60 courtyards, ten large courtyards, 19 courtyards, totaling 313 rooms. From the bird's-eye view, the layout is in the shape of a Chinese character -double happiness and selected from mould of castle. Inside the close brick wall, each two courtyards are linked tightly and each two rooms are like fish scales and comb teeth. Six buildings are divided into two by corridors. There are numerous courtyards and gardens in courtyards.

Move forward to Pingyao, your destination tonight. Once you enter this ancient town, you will find yourself in a live historical museum.

Day 04 (B)
Visit Pingyao Ancient Town. Rishengchang Exchange Shop and Ming Qing Street are two main attractions. Feel at leisure until be transferred to the next destination in the afternoon.

The past is still alive in Pingyao Ancient Town. Whereas other cities have embraced modernity often at the expense of their historical heritage, Pingyao Ancient Town tenaciously holds onto its past.

Watchtowers, cast iron cannons, intimidating wooden gates and sturdy walls render an impenetrable feel as you get ready to walk around the town. Laid at the heart of Shanxi Province between the central plain and the northern desert, Pingyao was China's premier banking center during the two dynasties. Its wealthy residents were comprised of merchants and businessmen who set about constructing sprawling mansions as expertly as they built up their business and trade.

There are so many mansions, temples, museums, inns and shops – where do you start exploring? The answer definitely is Ming Qing Street, the main downtown thoroughfare. This street has undergone major restoration and its attractions now include hotels offering traditional brick-oven beds, restaurants serving Pingyao's famous beef and shops hawking an astonishing array of art wares such as antiques, furniture, ancient coins, Chinese paintings, jadeware, lacquerware and traditional folk clothing. In the old period, over 700 shops peppered this same street and several remain exactly as they have for centuries. On this lively street, just shouting to be climbed, is the 18.5m high Town Tower – the tallest structure in town, where you'll want to catch the view of inundating tiled roofs of the entire city when you reach the top.

Of many banks in Pingyao, Rishengchang Exchange Shop, the first bank which was established in 1643, is the most famous. What started out as a single businessman's efforts to safely manage the accounts of his widely spread company, became a private banking enterprise that caught on like wildfire – a similar phenomenon occurred in Europe at the end of the Middle Ages. Now converted into a museum, the head office was as the same as it was in the Qing dynasty. There are 21 buildings surrounding three courtyards. On either side of the front yard are the counters. Main banking activities were carried out in the middle courtyard house, which functioned as an exchange center as nowadays.

Service Ends