The Other Sights Near and Around Datong

10 Friday May 2013

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Asia, China, Datong, Selfish Years, Yīngxiàn Wooden Pagoda

The city of Datong itself is currently under massive renovation and improvement. Mr. Selfish and I had our driver look for an ATM to withdraw some yuan, and we had great difficulty finding one. Most of the large banks in China had already set up locations but the ATMs inside were not yet functional. As I’ve stated previously, Datong is slowly but surely setting itself up to be a big tourist destination.

The Hanging Monastery and the Yungang Grottoes are reasons alone enough to visit Datong. Unfortunately, we didn’t find the other attractions in Datong that notable.

First, the other primary attraction is the Yīngxiàn Wooden Pagoda, which is about a two-hour drive from the Hanging Monastery. Built in 1056, it is the oldest and tallest wooden structure in China. However, due to its age, you can’t climb the pagoda but can only visit the ground floor. The pagoda has a Buddhist temple behind it with some interesting looking statues. Mr. Selfish and I only spent about half an hour at the Yīngxiàn Wooden Pagoda, so I don’t think it was worth the two-hour drive or the 60 yuan per person admission.

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Another Reason to Visit Datong: Yungang Grottoes

09 Thursday May 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China

≈ 3 Comments

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Asia, China, Datong, Selfish Years, Yungang Grottoes

As I went over yesterday, Datong is certainly a worthwhile destination if you are visiting China. Aside from Beijing, Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed Datong’s attractions the most, particularly the Hanging Monastery. The other primary attraction near Datong is the Yungang Grottoes, which are ancient Chinese Buddhist grottoes. Admission was 150 yuan per person, which was completely worth it.

The Yungang Grottoes has 252 grottoes with more than 51,000 Buddha statues. Some of the grottoes date back to the year 465 AD. You can’t visit all of the grottoes but it was still awe inspiring to see the ones that we could. The grottoes are, of course, in varying states of disrepair but the better preserved ones were Caves No. 5 and 6.

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“Why Are You Going to Datong, China?”

08 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China

≈ 2 Comments

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Asia, China, Datong, Hanging Monastery, Selfish Years

Shortly after Mr. Selfish and I had planned our trip to China, we started hearing reports of the horrible pollution in Beijing. Initially, we had wanted to spend an entire week there, but we decided to shorten it to four days. We had an extra three days and chose to visit Datong, which is a smaller city in the Shanxi province northwest of Beijing.

Most people in the States have never heard of Datong, and the locals we met in China were surprised that we were going there. Two Shanghainese locals even asked us, “Why are you going to Datong?” I now have the answer – because Datong is awesome!

Datong is located close to the Hanging Monastery and the Yungang Grottoes, both of which were the best sights we visited in China (aside from the Great Wall). Yes, they were much better than the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an and even better than holding a baby panda in Chengdu.

The sight that I enjoyed the most was the Hanging Monastery, which is about an hour and a half from Datong by car. It is a temple that was built 246 feet above the ground. Legend has it that the temple was built by one man, a monk named Liao Ran, more than 1,600 years ago.