Highlights

Yungang Grottoes

A UNESCO-listed World Heritage site since 2001, the Yungang Grottoes are caves dug into cliffs of the Wuzuo Mountains and filled with carved Buddhas of various sizes, from tiny to taller than ten metres.

The caves and Buddhas were carved in three phases during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-535 AD).

The first two phases were paid for by the Northern Wei emperors, while Datong (then known as Pingcheng) was their capital. A third phase was paid for privately, after the Northern Wei capital moved to Luoyang. (Near Luoyang you’ll find the Longmen Grottoes, another of China’s Big 3 Buddhas-in-caves sites. And it’s not a coincidence there are caves there either—the early construction of those caves was also funded by the Northern Wei.)

Cave construction at Yungang finished in 525 AD because of uprisings and unrest in the area.

Later additions during the Liao and Qing Dynasties include temples and buildings in front of the caves, meant to protect the statues within.

We’ll visit the Yungang Grottoes on the first day of the trip, with a leisurely 3-hour tour that will show the statues, carvings, and murals inside the caves that are open to the public.

Great Wall hike

For our hiking day we’re going to go way out—a two-hour drive west from Datong city, where we’ll find an extremely weathered line of Ming Dynasty wall crossing the foothills of taller mountains.

It will be a lot like a regular Beijing Hikers hike—a two-hour drive out into the mountains, a 4-hour walk, and then a two-hour drive back home.

What will be different is the kind of wall we’ll see on this hike, a much different type to what we see nearer to the capital. The Great Wall here is not up on the ridgelines, and what’s left of the original wall is a now a low earthen berm with closely-spaced towers crossing farmland and foothills. A few of the towers are well preserved, but most are now just tall mounds of rammed earth.

Datong Ancient City

The original walls of Datong’s Ancient City were built while it was a Ming Dynasty military outpost. The walls we’ll see on this visit were rebuilt in the 2010s, during a large-scale redevelopment of the area.

We’ll visit the Ancient City two times during our visit, exploring on foot and enjoying delicious meals of local food.

On the first day of the trip we’ll take a stroll atop the walls before dinner. If time permits, we’ll try the full circuit of 7km. (If that seems a bit much, we’ll do a shorter walk.)

On the third day we’ll be back to explore within the walls.

We’ll see:

Huayan Temple, a sprawling complex of halls and towers that was built in 1038, during the Liao Dynasty, and expanded in the Jin Dynasty. The temple contains statues, murals, collections of sutras, and architectural details that highlight the skills, craftsmanship, and culture of the Liao and Jin.

Shanhua Temple, which dates back to the Tang Dynasty, with major renovations carried out during the Liao and Jin Dynasties. The main features are the large Daxiongbao Hall, Sansheng Hall, and several pavilions. Inside the halls we’ll see murals and many Buddhas, including a seldom-seen set of five Buddhas that represent Chinese Esoteric Buddhism.

As well as temple visits we’ll aim to fit in more of the key sights of the Ancient City, depending on available time and your interest. On the list will be the towers at important intersections on the main streets, and the Nine-Dragons screen wall.

Datong Museum

We’ll finish our trip with a visit to Datong Museum. The museum houses collections of artifacts that cover the area’s long history, with relics that represent the Liao, Northern Wei, and Jin Dynasties.