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Datong location: Datong is an ancient city in the north of Shanxi province, about 380 km from Beijing, 350 km from Taiyuan, and 240 km from Hohhot.
Datong history: as a city with thousands of years, once served as capital city, it has left us lots of precious historical and cultural relics.
Datong highlights: Datong is a sacred place to religion. It has Mt. Hengshan, a holy mountain to Taoism, several old temples of Buddhism, and ancient buildings of great values in architecture and culture research.
Best places in Datong are listed as below, please do not miss them.
Yungang Grottoes(云冈石窟) located at the foot of Mount Wuzhou, is carved out of the mountain, with a length of 1 kilometer. It is an art treasury of grottoes, one of the Four Grottoes, and has 45 grottoes, over 51,000 stone sculptures of Buddhists. Due to its great value and a huge project to make, it has been listed as World Heritage, so go and have a visit.
Huayan Temple(华严寺) is located in Datong downtown, first built in 1038, rebuilt in 1140, and well preserved til now. It is composed of two parts, and the two parts center on respectively Mahavira Hall( Da Xiong Bao Dian) and Buddhist Texts Library, which are preserved their original architecture style.
The Hanging Temple(悬空寺), also Xuankong Temple, is a man-made splendid wonder, built out of a cliff in Mount Hengshan. The Hanging Temple, built in 491, consists of three parts, and has 40 halls and rooms. It is a temple of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, with halls of their styles, housing gods of the three religions, which has great significance to Chinese religions.
Yingxian Wooden Pagoda(应县木塔), located in Yingxian county, is a tallest and oldest wooden pagoda existing in China. The pagoda is built in 1056, with a height of 67.31 meters, in a shape of octagon. Except the foundation, every storey is built by wood, without using a iron nail and rivet. Inside the pagoda, there are Buddhist sculptures, Buddhism wall paintings, and calligraphy works.
Mount Hengshan(恒山) is located in the southeast of Datong, about 70 km away. It is one of the Five Great Mountains in China, and a sacred place to Quanzhen school of Taoism. Mount Hengshan has many peaks, and its main peak has a height of 2016 meters. It has great natural scenery and ancient buildings including The Hanging Temple, which is perfect for a hike.
Passport, tourist visa, credit card, mobile phone or other electronics , notes of emergency contact, & numbers of emergency calls.
book a flight, or a train, and maybe book yourself a hotel according to your itinerary.
Clothes, medicine, umbrella, sunglass, flashlight, whistle.
no lighter and knife on flight.
Spring and Autumn: sweater, coat, long sleeve shirts, trousers, sneakers
Summer: T-shirt, shorts, sunglasses, hat, sandal, slipper
Winter: down jacket, beanie, mittens, boots.
►Datong Weater Notes: Datong is a northern city in China, 40°N /113°E. It has a not-so-hot summer, and a cold, dry winter. December, January and February are cold months, and the lowest temperature could be -20℃(-4℉). June, July and August happen to be hot summer days, with a temperature around 28℃(82.4℉). It has a mild temperature in Spring and Autumn days. Please check Datong Climate & Weather.
Datong has one airport, one railway station, and several bus stations.
Datong Yungang Airport is located in Jiazao town, Datong, 15 km away from Datong downtown. From Datong Airport to downtown: take a taxi, or take an airport shuttle bus.Some big cities have direct flights to Datong, while some have stops in a third city.
| Direct flight to Datong Yungang Airport | |||||
| City | Beijing | Shanghai | Xi’an | Nanjing | Tianjin |
| Duration | 01:00 | 03:25 | 01:50 | 02:35 | 01:20 |
Datong Railway Station is located in Pingcheng district, 7 km to Datong downtown, and fast trains are the main type of trains used in this station.
From Datong Railway Station to Huayan Temple: take No. 30 public bus, or take a taxi
| Fast train to Datong Railway Station | |||||
| City | Taiyuan | Beijing | Shanghai | Xi’an | Hangzhou |
| Duration | 4.5-5.5 h | 6-7.5 h | 21.5 h | 16.5 h | 23.5-26 h |
| Hard sleeper price(CNY) | 89.5 | 99.5 | 353 | 207.5 | 381 |
Tourists could go to Datong by bus from cities like, Beijing, Hohhot, and Taiyuan, but it is not recommended to you. If you are in a budget, you could take bus to Mount Hengshan from Datong Bus Station.
Beijing to Datong, Xi'an to Datong, Taiyuan to Datong, are recommended to tourists and visitors.
The best time to visit Datong is from April to October, especially in May, June, September, and October, but please avoid 1ST-2ND , October, cause it would be crowded during the national holiday. In these months, the weather would be cool for travelling.
| May, June, September, & October |
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| December, January & February |
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How Many Days in Datong/ How Many Days Datong Needed
| One day tour |
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| Two day tour(a tight schedule) |
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► Notes:
This does not count your arrival time and departure time.
If you have much time, you could go to Mount Wutai and Taiyuan after a Datong tour.
►Close to Datong Railway Station and attactions.
►Close to Huayan Temple: Yungang International Hotel(云冈国际酒店).
►Hotels where airport shuttle bus stops: Datong Hotel(大同宾馆).
►Budget hotel: 3 star hotel, youth hostel.
Notes: There is only 7 km between Datong Railway Station and Huayan Temple, and Huayan Temple is in the city center, close to Nine Dragon Wall and Yungang Grottoes.
►Taxi: available in anywhere & anytime.
►Public bus: lots of buses shuttling around the city.
No. 15 public bus is available from Datong Railway Station to Datong Bus Station.
No. 30 public bus could bring you from Datong Railway Station to Huayan Temple.
Tourist bus No. 603 is from Datong Railway Station to Huayan Temple and to Yungang Grottoes.
To Hanging Temple and Mount Hengshan: charter a car( →How to Get to Hanging Temple from Datong).
Yungang Grottoes, Hanging Temple, Mount Hengshan
→Recommended reading: Best Places to Vist in Datong
Visiting Yungang Grottoes, Huayan Temple, Hanging Temple & Mount Hengshan
Hang around in Datong Qingyuan Xijie(清远西街)Eat
Datong local food and snacks
Ski at Wolongshan Ski Resort
Hot pot(火锅)
Sliced noodles(刀削面)
Noodles of lamb sweetbread(羊杂粉汤)
Xinmatai restaurant(新马泰饭庄）
Deyuelou restaurant(得月楼饭店）
Barbera restaurant(巴贝拉餐厅)
Yeyifang restaurant(乐意坊意大利餐厅)
Easy to go. Travelling on your own in Xi’an won’t be a problem to you, in that you will find modern facilities and English-speaking staff to meet you need.
English will do. Airport, railway station, metro use both Chinese and English signs, attractions have English-speaking tour guides.
Smart phone, big helper. Most staff on flights, trains, and in hotels, stores and restaurants can speak English, still body language, and smart phone will do you a big favor.
Useful apps. Google Maps or Baidu Map, Google Translate or Youdao Translate.
VPN. VPN is what you need to browse some foreign websites and log in some foreign apps.
If online booking of flight, train, attraction entrance ticket won’t work, please go to the ticket office.
If you are in need of a single tour service, like car rental, please contact us. We offer tour packages, and also single tour service.
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