Speaking of Datong, many people will immediately think that it is an important coal base in Shanxi and even the whole country. Besides coal, Datong has many historical sites to see. People who like history and tourism know that the cultural relics on the ground look at Shanxi and the underground history looks at Shaanxi. Datong is not only a coal energy city, but also the first batch of famous historical and cultural cities in China. It has been an important military frontier fortress since ancient times, because it was the ancient capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the capital of Liao and Jin Dynasties, and was once a frontier defense town of the Han and Ming Dynasties. It was known as the capital of three generations of Jinghua and two dynasties.
Datong has a profound historical and cultural background, and it will be mentioned in countless histories and legends. Datong occupied an important military and historical position in the Ming Dynasty and was once the key to the north, which played an important role in border defense in ancient times.
As a result, Datong has left many historical and cultural relics. The Great Wall site, which has an important protective function, and Yungang Grottoes, which witnessed the Buddhist culture of the Northern Dynasties, are rare wonders in the world. Today's Datong is a tourist city, a green energy city and a summer resort. In the hot summer, people want to find a cool and beautiful place, and many people will think of chengde mountain resort when they are in summer. However, the ancient capital Datong is also a rare summer resort, where Datong people with low prices, beautiful scenery, and more hospitable food are waiting to entertain guests from all directions.
Many people come to Datong for a two-day tour, rushing to Hengshan Mountain for half a day, visiting the city wall in the evening, going to Huayan Temple the next day, and going to Yungang Grottoes in the afternoon, and then leaving in a hurry. In fact, they did not enjoy the beauty and culture of Datong, which is a pity. If they have time, Datong is worth visiting and exploring carefully. In this yellow land, they can appreciate the history of Xianbei people in Liao Dynasty and feel the northern humanities of the Loess Plateau.
playing in Datong
Datong has a long history, many cultural relics and countless beautiful scenery to visit.
There are Yungang Grottoes with a history of more than 1,5 years, and Yungang Giant Buddha with a height of 17 meters. Hua Yan's ancient poems, which were founded in Liao Dynasty; The nine dragon wall, which is rare in China, is well preserved; The majestic Mount Heng and the Hanging Temple; Geopark of Volcano Group, a rare natural heritage in East Asia; Beautiful Wenying Lake Park; Tens of thousands of years of history have left Datong soil forest on the banks of Sanggan River. These beautiful scenery are waiting for people to explore and visit, and each place has a long history.
years have passed, and 15 years have passed. It is located at the southern foot of Wuzhou Mountain, 16 kilometers west of Datong. Yungang Grottoes have experienced many storms, frost, snow and rain, and have seen many vicissitudes of life. The grottoes are still the same. The Yungang Grottoes are carved along the mountain, stretching for about one kilometer from east to west, with magnificent momentum and rich content. There are 45 main caves, 252 caves and niches, and more than 51, statues, which represent the outstanding grotto art in China from the 5th to 6th century.
Many tourists come to Datong for the Yungang Grottoes. After seeing the Grottoes, they can go back to the city and visit the Upper and Lower Huayan Temple, which began in the Liao Dynasty, attracting many good men and women at home and abroad to worship here. Huayan Temple has been rebuilt several times, and now it has become more magnificent. The Huayan Pagoda in Huayan Temple was restored according to the historical records of the Liao Dynasty. The wooden tower is square in plane, with a total height of 43.5 meters, including the tower brake. It is a three-story and four-eaves pure wood tenon-mortise structure, with three rooms in width and depth on each floor, all built according to the architectural techniques of Liao and Jin Dynasties. The tower bottom covers an area of nearly 5 square meters and is made of 1 tons of pure copper. In the underground palace, various copper techniques such as carving, chiseling and forging are used for algae wells, tower columns and murals. When completed, it is the largest and pure copper underground palace in China. Climbing the pagoda can give you a panoramic view of Huayan Square and the main landscape of the ancient city, and you can see the Drum Tower not far away and the magnificent wall after construction.
If you are interested, you can take a tour bus around the city wall to get a clearer understanding of the ancient city.
Eating in Datong
Speaking of Datong cuisine, this is the thought of every tourist. Datong is famous for its mutton offal, Hunyuan bean jelly, fried oil cake in northern Shanxi, Daoxiao Noodles in Shanxi, steamed dumplings in Fenglinge and so on. Many people come to Datong to find out where they can eat authentic cuisine. There are many restaurants in Datong, and the prices in Datong are much cheaper than those in big cities.
There are many time-honored brands that eat delicious snacks all over the country. Datong also has its own time-honored brands, such as Datong Happy Smoked Chicken, Ma Bing Moon Cake, etc. These stores are scattered everywhere. If you want to eat authentic local characteristics, you may wish to go to some time-honored restaurants, such as Laoyemiao Hotel, Kunlun Hotel, Hongya Hotel, etc. These restaurants are relatively hygienic and reliable, and they have been operating in Datong for more than 3 years. The food is inexpensive and relatively cost-effective. A table of dishes costs two or three hundred yuan, and you can eat all kinds of snacks in Datong, such as bean jelly, mutton offal, Daoxiao Noodles, fried oil cake, etc., all of which are very authentic Shanxi flavor, especially the fried oil cake is particularly delicious. The oil cake is divided into three kinds of fillings, one is bean paste stuffing, the other is vegetable stuffing which is fried and mixed with vegetarian dishes such as eggs, and the other is water and oil stuffing which is prepared with black sugar and sesame dried fruit, and all kinds of fillings are steamed in a pot. When people who go out and walk outside are exhausted, they will eat a bite of mutton offal, taste the yellow flowers in Datong, eat a fried oil cake and taste Shanxi Fenjiu, and instantly feel full of energy and satiety.
While tasting delicious food in Datong, you can also learn some food culture in Datong, just like fried oil cake. Although it is a staple food, it also contains folk customs in Yanbei area of Datong. In Datong, fried oil cakes are made only for weddings, and people are invited to set up red tents in the community in advance. Friends and relatives are usually female family members to make oil cakes together, and hundreds or even thousands of oil cakes are made every time. These oil cakes are sent to neighbors, usually five or seven oil cakes plus a plate of cold dishes are sent to each family. Neighbors send at least one unit, and many people do things to send them to all residents in a building. In addition, they have to entertain guests. At this time, people fry oil cakes and send oil cakes, which is very lively. Even the golden oil cakes are indispensable on the wedding table, and the children are bound to fry oil cakes, because fried oil cakes place their parents' hopes and blessings.
playing in Datong
In addition to delicious food, there are many interesting attractions in Datong. Generally, foreign tourists come to Datong to see famous attractions such as Yungang Grottoes and Huayan Temple. In fact, in addition, there are many free attractions in Datong. For example, Datong Museum can see many treasures to learn a lot about Datong's history, such as Wenying Lake Park in Datong, Wenying Lake with a wide water area, and rent an electric bicycle to travel around the lake. The breeze is cool and comfortable, and you can stay at the lake when you are tired.
In addition to these Datong, there are Fangte Paradise, Tianzhen Hot Springs and Li Er Mouth Great Wall for you to explore. Go to the outskirts of Datong and come to the volcano group to climb the Wolf's Nest Mountain. Overlooking the volcanic mountains, you can see the hills such as Montenegro and Jinshan. You can see a datong county in Ma Pingchuan with blue sky and white clouds. Butterflies are flying in the rape fields at the foot of the volcano. You can walk along the trail to the foot of the volcano. You can see many red volcanic rocks here. Hundreds of millions of years ago, it used to be a sea of stars.
If you want to know the history of Datong, you need to take a slow turn and swim carefully, while enjoying the natural air conditioning with the daily temperature not exceeding 26 degrees, watching the blue sky and white clouds, tasting Datong food, exploring the history in the alleys of the Drum Tower, experiencing the simplicity of life in the north and understanding the happy life of the people in the ancient capital. The ancient city will definitely leave a deep impression on you.