As an ancient capital with a long history and splendid culture, Datong connects Shanggu to the east, Bingheng to the south, the Yellow River to the west, and the desert to the north.

It is the vassal screen of the actual capital and the guarantee of the Central Plains.

After thousands of years of construction, the scale of Datong Ancient City is rarely seen in northern my country.

The old streets, alleys, and courtyard houses in the city are intertwined, and it is said that there are "four main streets, eight alleys, and seventy-two continuous alleys."

The Datong City Wall was built in 1372 in the Ming Dynasty. Dorgon massacred the city in the Qing Dynasty. He once cut off five feet of the city wall to vent his anger, which is known as the "Slaughter of Datong" in history.

In 1900, when the Eight-Power Allied Forces attacked Beijing, Empress Dowager Cixi was passing through Datong when she was escaping, and she even praised: "Datong can be a blessed land and treasure city." After several years of extensive construction, the ruins have now been restored to their original appearance in the Ming Dynasty.

There are many historic sites in Datong, and the famous cultural relics include Yungang Grottoes, Huayan Temple, Shanhua Temple, Hengshan Hanging Temple, Nine Dragon Wall, etc.

Among them, Huayan Temple, located in the ancient city, is often listed as the first choice by travelers.

The temple is a royal temple of the Liao Dynasty and has stunning Liao sculptures.

The most famous Bodhisattva with folded palms and exposed teeth in the temple is enshrined in the Bodhisattva Tibetan Hall. This Bodhisattva, praised by Guo Moruo as the Venus of the East, is based on a Khitan girl. The entire statue has natural and reasonable proportions and is vivid and expressive, as if it is listening to the teachings of the Buddha.

As for why Huayan Temple enshrines a toothy smiling Bodhisattva statue, it is still an unsolved mystery.

The Yungang Grottoes, listed as a World Cultural Heritage by the United Nations, are located at the southern foot of Wuzhou Mountain in the western suburbs of Datong City, Shanxi Province. They have a history of about 1,600 years and are one of the largest ancient grottoes in China, together with the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Luoyang Longmen Grottoes and

The Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui are also known as the four major grottoes in China.

The Yungang Grottoes statues are majestic and rich in content. They can be regarded as the crown of Chinese stone carving art in the 5th century AD.

In particular, the 13.5-meter-tall mysterious Bodhisattva statue in Cave 13 has a strong man as a support for mechanical considerations under its right arm. There is also a "black stone" embedded in the right foot. According to expert research, it dates back to the year when Emperor Wencheng restored the Dharma (452

The "Emperor's Body Stone Statue" was excavated in

The wide variety of snacks is also an important factor in attracting tourists. The food culture of Datong, east, west, north and south converges, and there are many delicacies worthy of your careful exploration.

The most famous one is Baihua Shaomai in Fenglin Pavilion.

There are 9 kinds of meat fillings wrapped in the transparent and shiny thin skin, and the top of the shaomai is made into 9 kinds of flower shapes, each with its own characteristics, fresh but not greasy, fragrant but not plain.

Shanxi is the hometown of noodles, the most famous of which is Datong Sliced ??Noodles, which can be called the "King of Noodles".

The shaved noodles are smooth on the outside and stringy on the inside, soft but not sticky. The more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes, making it unforgettable.

A delicious meal in a noodle shop only costs eight or nine yuan. This is something you cannot enjoy in other places, which reflects the reality of Datong people.