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View Plans & PricingArea: 14,176 km² (prefecture-level city)
Population: Approximately 3.1 million (2020 census)
Datong means "great unity" in Chinese. It was the capital of the Northern Wei dynasty and later a strategic northern garrison city on the Great Wall. It is famous for its Buddhist cave art.
7.3/10 — Datong is a northern city proud of its coal history, Buddhist caves, and ancient city walls. Locals are straightforward, love mutton noodles, and enjoy a city that mixes old and new.
Datong Yungang Airport (DAT) offers domestic flights. Datong Railway Station and Datong South Station are on the Beijing–Baotou and Datong–Xi'an railways. City buses and taxis are available.
Shanxi Datong University is the main local higher-education institution.
Datong lies in the Loess Plateau and Inner Mongolian plateau transition zone. It is a major coal-producing city with a dry continental climate.
Visit the Yungang Grottoes (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Huayan Temple, Hanging Monastery (Xuankong Si), Nine-Dragon Wall, and the Datong city wall.
Day 1: Visit Yungang Grottoes and Huayan Temple.
Day 2: Day trip to the Hanging Monastery and Yingxian Wooden Pagoda.
Try Datong noodles (Daoxiao mian), sheep offal soup, yellow millet, Shanxi vinegar dishes, and roasted lamb. The city is famous for wheat noodles and lamb.
Shanxi aged vinegar, Datong copperware, coal-themed souvenirs, Buddhist crafts from Yungang, and local noodles are popular buys.
Local Vibe: Datong was once a frontier capital of northern dynasties and a coal powerhouse. Today it's reinventing itself with restored city walls, temples, and the famous Yungang Grottoes.
Fun Facts:
• The Yungang Grottoes near Datong are a UNESCO site with over 50,000 Buddhist statues carved from sandstone cliffs.
• Datong's ancient city wall is one of the largest restored city walls in China, and you can cycle on top of it.
• The city was called Pingcheng in ancient times and was the capital of the Northern Wei dynasty.
Datong locals speak Jin Mandarin (Shanxi dialect), which sounds direct and warm. Useful phrases:
做甚 (zuò shèn) — 'What are you doing?'
可好 (kě hǎo) — 'Very good.'
来哇 (lái wa) — 'Come on!'
• Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei — Moved the capital to Datong and promoted Buddhism, leading to the creation of the Yungang Grottoes.
• Wang Jinxi — While more associated with Daqing, many Shanxi miners from the Datong coal region shared the same 'iron man' industrial spirit.
• Datong has produced Buddhist scholars and restoration experts who preserve the Yungang Grottoes.
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