Let’s take a look at the must-see attractions in Datong!

01 Datong Yungang Grottoes Datong Yungang Grottoes, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Luoyang Longmen Grottoes and Tianshui Maijishan Grottoes are known as the four major grotto art treasures in China.

There are 53 main caves and more than 51,000 stone statues. The smallest is only two centimeters and the largest is more than 17 meters high. It is one of the largest ancient grottoes in China and is also known as the "Great Miracle of the East."

According to the time of excavation, it can be divided into three phases: early, middle and late. The styles of grotto sculptures in different periods also have their own characteristics.

The Buddha statue combines the characteristics of Indian Buddhism and the Northern Wei Dynasty, highlighting the characteristics of being tall, majestic, upright and kind.

The "Tanyao Five Caves" were the earliest to be excavated, and they are majestic and have a rich and simple sentiment of the Western Regions.

The Yungang Grottoes combine carving art and painting, and are magnificent and beautiful.

The development and management of the scenic area is relatively complete. The grottoes and surrounding buildings are reasonably laid out to facilitate tourists. The scenic area has a large parking lot to facilitate self-driving tourists.

Coordinates: Yungang District, Datong City Ticket price: 12002 Hengshan Mountain, as the "Northern Mountain" among the "Five Mountains", is also a Taoist holy land. It is said that Zhang Guolao, one of the Eight Immortals, practiced Taoism in Hengshan Mountain.

It stretches more than 200 kilometers from east to west, and the main peak Tianfengling is 2,016 meters above sea level.

Scenic spots include Tianfengling, Cuiping Peak, Qianfo Ridge, etc.

There are two entrances to the scenic spot, one is the cableway entrance at the bottom of the mountain, and the other is the climbing entrance halfway up the mountain. There is only one route for climbing: Zhenwu Temple-Hufengkou-Guolao Ridge-Jiutian Temple-Hengzong Hall-Huixian Mansion-Miao

Youting-Tianfengling (main peak).

Compared with other mountains, the natural scenery of Hengshan Mountain is average, but I heard from traveling friends that the scenery of the back mountain is very beautiful, like a fairyland, but I didn't go there due to time constraints.

Coordinates: Hengshan South Road, Hunyuan County, Datong City Ticket price: Admission: 30, entrance fee 17; 03 Hanging Temple Hanging Temple "hangs" on the cliff of Cuiping Peak in Jinlong Gorge, Hengshan City. It is the only remaining Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian temple in my country. A temple that combines three religions.

The Hanging Temple is about 90 meters above the ground, and the highest point is about 90 meters above the ground. Over the years, the riverbed silt has accumulated, and now only 58 meters remain.

It was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty. It made clever use of the cliffs and adapted to local conditions. It has 40 palaces and pavilions, consisting of the east courtyard and the north and south floors.

In the temple, the Jade Emperor, Sakyamuni and Confucius stand side by side on high platforms, forming a scene of the integration of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

The entire building does not use a single iron nail. It relies on a mortise and tenon structure to be embedded into the cliff without falling. In 2010, it was rated as a dangerous building by Time magazine. It is the earliest and best-preserved high-altitude wooden cliff building in China.

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Hengshan Mountain and Xuankong Temple are not the same scenic spot, but they can be arranged to visit together.

Coordinates: 04 at the foot of Hengshan Mountain, Hengshan South Road, Hunyuan County, Datong City Huayan Temple is located in the southwest corner of the ancient city of Datong. It was built in the seventh year of Chongxi in the Liao Dynasty (AD 1038) and was named according to the Buddhist classic "Huayan Sutra".

It has the nature of an ancestral temple of the royal family of the Liao Dynasty and has a prominent status.

The temple faces west to east and is divided into upper and lower temples.

Shanghuayan Temple is dominated by the Main Hall of the Jin Dynasty (the largest existing Buddhist temple in the Liao and Jin Dynasties in my country). It is divided into two courtyards with a rigorous layout.

Lower Huayan Temple is centered on the Liao Dynasty Bojia Temple. The architectural style is lively and there are many statues of the Liao Dynasty. The "Bodhisattva with Cupped Palms and Teeth" is the most famous one and was praised by Guo Moruo as the "Oriental Venus".

The statues and murals of the Liao Dynasty here are rare art treasures. It is the oldest and most complete temple complex of the Liao and Jin Dynasties existing in China.

The pagoda in Huayan Temple is the second largest square wooden pagoda with pure wooden mortise and tenon structure in the country after the Yingxian wooden pagoda. The pure copper underground palace and relics under the wooden pagoda are worth seeing.

Coordinates: No. Xiasipo Street, Pingcheng District, Datong City Ticket price: 80 yuan 05 Shanhua Temple Shanhua Temple, commonly known as Nan Temple, was built in the Tang Dynasty.

The overall structure is relatively intact. The temple buildings are scattered in height, with clear priorities and symmetry. It is the most complete and largest existing temple building in China during the Liao and Jin Dynasties.

The mountain gate is the largest temple in my country. The three holy halls are dedicated to the three saints of Huayan. The main hall has 5 golden Buddha statues and 24 clay sculptures of heavenly kings. They are beautiful in shape and can be regarded as national treasures.

Coordinates: No. 6 Nansi Street, Datong Temple City Ticket price: Free 06 Datong Mosque is one of the two well-known ancient mosques in Shanxi. The temple has simple architecture and rigorous structure. On the central axis, there are main entrance, cross-passing pavilions, stone bridges,

The main building of the worship hall is composed of four groups of halls connected together. There are bathing rooms on both sides of the center line, forming a downhill slope from the temple gate to the worship temple.

The entire building has both the characteristics of ancient Chinese traditional wooden architecture and the Arabic style.

Most of the existing buildings are relics of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The pond, back arch bridge, meteorite platform, archway, stele tower, etc. were built by Ma Chongqi, the general town of Datong during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The square minaret inside is quite Islamic.

It is not large in area, but it has national characteristics and profound historical and cultural heritage. The meteorite inscriptions in the temple are the only Ahan inscriptions carved on meteorites in the country.

Coordinates: No. 5, Jiulou Lane, Daxi Street, Datong City. Ticket price: 10 yuan. 7 The Nine Dragon Wall was built in the late Hongwu years of the Ming Dynasty. It is a glazed screen wall in front of the palace of Zhu Gui, the thirteenth son of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. It has a history of more than 600 years.

It is 45 meters long and has a wall height of 8 meters.