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How to visit Datong in one Day？

Sunday, June 19th, 2011

Hanging Temple

Planning your Datong Tour? If you have only one full day in Datong and you would like to feel, touch and see the essential Datong, the one-day itinerary in Datong below is my suggested example to plan your own memorable Datong one-day Tour.

Bus Tour : Mt. Hengshan, Hanging Temple, Yungang Grottoes

Mt. Hengshan
Get up early and have a fast breakfast, and board a local bus tour to Mr. Hengshan. Mt. Hengshan is located in Hunyuan County of Shanxi Province. You can get there around 8 am.

Mt. Hengshan is the Northern Mountain of the “Five Sacred Mountains”. Boasting 108 peaks and spanning 150 kilometers, it has an average elevation of 2,017 meters. Mt. Hengshan is famous for steepy ridges, splendid peaks, exotic-shaped temples, and gushing fountains, together with oddly-shaped stones and forests of ancient trees, which constitutes a beautiful landscape.

Hanging Monastery
Hanging Monastery stands at the foot of Mt. Hengshan. So when you arrive in Mt. Hengshan, you just arrive in Hanging Temple. According to the History of Hengshan Mountain, the Hanging Temple was first built at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The Hanging Temple was designed skillfully and constructed audaciously. The method is to chisel a horizontal hole in the cliff, and then put a beam through the hole out of the cliff, at last put board and pillars on the beam to build various beam frames and roofs.

There are all sorts of inscriptions, poems and another 78 statues of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism made of copper, iron, clay and stone, which are valuable cultural craftworks.

Datong Yungang Grottoes

Yungang Grottoes is the main reason that people make a trip to Datong. After lunch at noon, you should move on to Yungang Grottoes. Yungang Grottoes is located at the southern foot of Wuzhou Mountain some 16 km west of Datong City.

Yungang Grottoes were built against the mountain and extend about 1 km from east to west. The construction of the caves was started under the auspices of the noted monk Tan Yao in 453 and took 50 years to complete. The Yungang Grottoes are divided into three zones: east, west and central and numbered from east to west.

If you are planning a one-day private tour to Datong, you can arrange your own time well and visit one more attraction – Yingxian Wooden Pagoda.

Yingxian Wooden Tower

The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, also called Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple, is located in the Fogong Temple, Yingxian County, Shanxi Province. It is regarded as one of the “Three Pagodas in the World”.

Built in 1056, this wooden pagoda has a history of over 1000 years. It is built on a four-meter-high groundwork with a total height of 67.31 meters, and a diameter of 30.27 meters at its bottom. The tower adopts the structure of secluded chambers in design, presenting a distinctive national characteristic inherited from the Han and Tang Dynasties while leveraging the traditional architectural techniques to the fullest extent.

Enjoy your one-day Tour in Datong!

Datong tours starting from Beijing

Datong 3 Day Rail Tour from Beijing

Beijing Datong 2 Day Round Trip by private car or van

Beijing Datong 4 Day Round Trip by Daytime Train

Tags: Datong in one day, one day tour of datong, Travel Datong in one day
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Datong Tourist Scams, Tourist Traps in Datong

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

The earliest caved carved, incarnation of both Buddha and the first emperor of Bei Wei Dynasty - also representative of Yungang Caves

Plan your Datong Tour? Known as the “City of the Coal”, Datong is one of the 24 famous historical and cultural cities in China due to its ever prosperous history. It is generally a very safe place for tourists. However, on your Datong Trip, there are several tourist scams that visitors should be aware of. Always be careful with what you do and with who you can trust.

Super-cheap Tours Scam
In Datong, you may often encounter some cheap tours offerred to you when you arriving there. They will take you to shopping places and force you to buy a lot of things which you don’t want to buy, and you may spend more time at these places than at the places that you have intended to visit. What’s more, the services are not very good: dirty bus, bad lunch, for example. You should find a standard tour agency to start your tour in Datong.

“Black” Taxis
“Black” taxis can be found all over China, and Datong is not an exception. You may encounter them in sometimes when you need a taxi, including the train station, the city center, or around attractions. The drivers will approach you and asking “where are you going”. They will not only overcharge you but there have been reports of tourists taken out into the middle of nowhere where several of the black taxi driver’s friends showed up and took all of the tourists belongings. Don”t even talk to these people.

Attractions Shrinkage
Most of the visitors are the first time to many scenic spots in Datong, so they are not familiar with the traveling routes. The tour guide cuts off some content of the tours furtively to save money. They just introduce the attractions to visitors while the bus is driving. Visitors should write the travel plan and the visiting time in contrast in advance with the tour agent, so that they can safeguard the rights and interests of themselves.

Pickpockets
Pickpockets always can be found in the major tourist sites of China, Datong is also included. Always keep your eyes on your bags, and carry your wallets in a front pocket or a pocket inside your coat, especially in the late evening alone. This is one scam where a true tour guide is very helpful, as thieves will not target tourists with a tour guide that knows how to turn them in to the police.

Expensive Souvenirs
There are always many stalls which selling souvenirs in a ridiculous high price inside some scenic spots, Yanmenguan Pass, Yungang Grottoes, for example. These vendors always sell souvenirs to visitors, especially to foreign visitors who don’t speak Chinese. Just don’t buy them inside these scenic spots. If you want to buy some souvenirs of Datong, you can go to the markets there.

Child Beggars
Some children will beg for money, sometimes even grabbing onto your legs until you pay them some money in Datong. There are reports that these children may have been kidnapped from other places specifically to be used for begging purposes. If you give money to child beggars, you may have the risk of getting a swarm of them. Just avoid those child beggars.

Tourist Groups Becoming Together
For some tourist agents, sometimes they don’t have enough visitors and can’t make a group. So they transfer these visitors to other agents without telling the visitors. Visitors can’t enjoy comfortable service during their tour. The best way to avoid this kind of thing, visitors should make it clearly before setting off and take good care of their contrast

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Top Souvenirs & Local Specialities in Datong

Sunday, June 12th, 2011

Plan your Datong Tour? Datong is one of the cities famous for its history and culture and is located at the northern part of Shanxi Province. There are many exotic and unusual things to buy in Datong which make wonderful souvenirs and gifts for relatives and friends back home. If you are wondering what to buy during your Datong Tour, the following is a list of top souvenirs and local specialities of Datong for your reference.

Datong Copper Wares
Copper wares are unique treasures to Shanxi Province in north China. With a history of over hundred years, this folk craft has transformed into a national symbol representing exquisite Chinese art. Copper Hotpot is the most famous copper ware in Datong.

Datong Copper Hotpot is reasonably designed with six parts: chassis, body, fire seat, copper cover, fire storage and small cover. The bodies are carved with pictures or characters. It is not only popular in China, but also in many countries, including Japan, America, Singapore, German, Malaysia, etc.

Datong Carpets
Datong Carpets are made of wool. These carpets dated back more than 2,000 years. Known as one of Chinas most popular cities to find wool carpets, a number of factories have been established throughout Datong.

The carpets produced in Datong are known for their high quality, durability, unique patterning, rich colors and textures. Datong’s carpets have gained popularity not only throughout China, but also internationally in countries throughout Europe and Asia. The recommended purchasing site is Daxi Avenue of Datong.

Egg-engraving
Egg-engraving is regarded as one of Datong‘s most popular folk arts. Eggs are hollowed and sterilized before they are delicately carved. Designs include sculpted figures, landscape scenes, flowers, and birds. Eggs with thicker shells are often used to create designs that vary in surface texture.

After the carving is complete, a protective coating is applied to strengthen and preserve the dainty work of art. The pieces and the craft itself have been elevated over recent years to a level of fine art, deeply admired by both locals and visitors.

Yungang Silk Doll
Tradition surrounding the fine art of crafting Yungang silk dolls originated during the Qing Dynasty. The craft remains a proudly distinguished skill among women and girls throughout the region. A variety of uniquely detailed dolls each designed to portray a different dramatic role, style, or famous character are crafted for the use of theatrical or story telling purposes.

The dolls embody characters of ancient legends, allowing stories of the past to continue to be told in today’s China. Although clay dolls have dwindled in popularity over the centuries, silk dolls, commonly crafted using ghatpot, silk, brocade, and muslin, remain iconic cultural characters throughout Datong.

Paper Cutting
Datong Paper Cutting is famous for its rich content, exquisite craftsmanship, bright color, distinctive flavor of life and local style. Paper cutting is the art of cutting designs in paper (black, white, or colored), then gluing them to a contrasting surface or a transparent surface.

The art of paper cutting requires not only good paper and excellent tools, it also requires a steady hand and a good technique. Shanxi continues to produce exquisite paper cut arts and includes many styles for tourists to choose from.

Coal Carving
Coal carvings are folk craftwork originating from the ancient town of Datong, the production location for coal in China. The raw materials for coal carvings are dug from the mines 300 meters from the underground.

Coal is neither humid nor dry, neither soft nor hard. The folk craftsmen carve the coal in reference to items of interest, such as the historic Yungang statues, Liaoning Huayan sculptures, Henshan ancient temples, nine-dragon screens of the Ming Dynasty, famous paintings at home and abroad, and figures of leading individuals. Many people are fond of coal sculptures and like to present them to their friends.

Dough Figurines
Dough figurine is a traditional handicraft art in Datong with a history of more than one thousand years. Colored dough is made of flour, sticky rice flour, honey and preservatives, then steamed and kneaded with different colors. Dough figurine made of colored dough remains colorfast and intact without getting decayed for decades. You can buy them in the markets of Datong.

Art Porcelain
Originating more than 1,400 years ago during the Tang Dynasty, porcelain production has evolved from its original function in military affairs throughout the Song Dynasty into a fine art steeped in intricate details and unique designs.

Porcelain craftworks include cups, dishware, bowls, Buddha statuaries, traditional Chinese figures, and toys. Datong‘s porcelains take on a variety of shapes and levels of sophistication in design and detail.

Beijing Datong Pingyao Xian Luoyang Tour (various 5-8 day combo tours)