A City Between Empires
Datong sits in the Datong Basin, 250 kilometres west of Beijing, at an elevation of 1,040 metres where northern Shanxi Province borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west. For nearly two thousand years, this was frontier territory—a place where Chinese agricultural civilization met the nomadic Great Steppe, where empires rose, capitals shifted, and monks carved mountains into devotional art. Today it is a city remade, caught between its deep historical layers and recent radical reconstruction, offering visitors tangible encounters with the Buddhist sculpture of the ancient world, temples of exquisite craftsmanship, and the physical imprint of dynasties that most Chinese cities no longer preserve.
The Grottoes and Sculpture Beyond the City
The Yungang Grottoes, 16 kilometres west of central Datong, are the reason many visitors come. Here, over 50,000 carved images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas inhabit shallow caves—figures ranging from 4 centimetres to 7 metres tall, most around 1,500 years old. They were created between 460 and 494, during the Northern Wei dynasty when this city, then called Pingcheng, served as the empire's capital. The grottoes are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the scale of the sculptural programme—the sheer density of devotional labour—remains visually overwhelming. You will need your passport to enter.
The Hanging Monastery, further afield near Mount Heng, takes a different approach to sacred architecture. Built into a cliff face during the Northern Wei dynasty, it appears to defy gravity and the earth itself. Most sites in the region date to the Liao, Jin, and Ming dynasties, but this structure stands apart in its engineering ambition and its fusion of Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian elements.
Temples and Religious Architecture Within the City Walls
The rebuilt ancient city centre—surrounded by defensive walls that contain layers of construction from the Han dynasty through the Ming—holds a concentration of religious buildings that span centuries and traditions. The Huayan Monastery is the largest surviving temple complex from the Liao and Jin dynasties in China. Its upper temple contains the Mahavira Hall, built in 1140, which remains the largest existing Buddhist hall in the country and the largest single-eaved wooden structure of its age. The lower temple preserves 31 original Liao Dynasty painted sculptures and a caisson ceiling from 1038. The temple is divided into upper and lower sections; admission is ¥50 in peak season, ¥40 off-season.
The Shanhua Ancient Monastery, built in the Tang dynasty and rebuilt during the Liao and Jin periods, contains four buildings of high historical value—one Liao structure and three from the Jin dynasty. The Mahavira Hall here is also counted among the "Eight Great Liao Structures" of China. Entry is ¥50 in peak season, ¥40 off-season.
For a different scale and atmosphere, the Chunyang Taoist Temple offers a peaceful courtyard and smaller halls dedicated to Daoist practice. Completely rebuilt in 2010, it charges ¥30 full price. The Chunyang Palace, the largest Taoist temple in the ancient city, features three courtyards and Taoist-themed murals painted by students of the China Academy of Art and local folk artists; it is free to enter.
The Datong Guandi Temple preserves a Yuan Dynasty main hall—a rare surviving example in the ancient city—alongside Qing Dynasty porches and murals. It now also displays 26 contemporary statues by renowned sculptors and over 700 square metres of murals by China Academy of Art faculty and students. The temple is free. The Great Mosque, first built in the Tang dynasty and rebuilt during the Ming and Qing dynasties, exemplifies the fusion of Chinese and Islamic architectural styles, with both Qing Dynasty proportions and Arabic domed features. It too is free.
Several other temples and churches offer entry without charge: the Datong Confucian Temple, the first such place of Confucian worship established outside Qufu; the Emperor Temple dedicated to the Taoist deity of literary fortune; the Yuantong Temple, uniquely oriented to face north; the Christian West Church; and the Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, built in 1891 and rebuilt after Boxer destruction in 1906, now the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Datong.
Museums and the Material Record
The Datong Museum is the second largest in Shanxi Province and holds the region's archaeological finds. It is free to enter. The Ancient Bronze Art Museum displays bronze ritual vessels imitating Shang and Zhou styles, as well as Xuande incense burners and scholar's objects made in Datong during the Ming and Qing periods—a reflection of the city's historical reputation for bronze production. The Datong Red Memory Museum, part of the larger museum complex, traces Communist Party and labour movements in the area from 1921 to 1949. The Memorial Hall of the Former Residence of Zhang Aitang showcases the life and calligraphy work of a master of Wei stele script, a style that emerged in northern China during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. All museum entries are free.
The Nine Dragon Screen and City Walls
The Nine Dragon Screen stands as a monument to Ming dynasty craftsmanship. The city walls themselves, though following a Ming-era layout, contain rammed earth layers dating back to the Han dynasty. Since 2008, restoration work has rebuilt the brickwork, gate towers, and four main gates—Heyang to the east, Yongtai to the south, Qingyuan to the west, and Wuding to the north—and dredged the moat. Access to the walls is free.
Climate and Seasons
Datong experiences a continental, monsoon-influenced steppe climate with long, cold, very dry winters and very warm summers. January temperatures average −10.5°C; July averages 22.6°C. Winter sees almost no precipitation, while more than three-quarters of annual rainfall arrives between June and September. The city receives 2,671 hours of sunshine annually—about 60 per cent of the possible total. Diurnal temperature swings are large, averaging 13.2°C year-round. Spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October) offer the most comfortable conditions for exploring temples and walking the walls. Summer afternoons can be hot; winter requires cold-weather preparation, though the abundant sunshine mitigates the chill. Any visit requires your passport for entry to many sites, even free ones.
Food
Datong is known for knife-cut noodles and Shanxi mature vinegar, both of which define much of the local cuisine. These are not boutique specialities but working staples of the regional food culture—eating them in Datong connects you to centuries of culinary continuity in this province.
The Redeveloped Ancient City
Much of what you see within the city walls is the result of a controversial redevelopment that began in 2008 under Mayor Geng Yanbo. Over 3 square kilometres of the inner city were rebuilt, creating a landscape that is partly contemporary tourist infrastructure styled in "ancient city" fashion (a common pattern throughout touristed China), punctuated by genuinely historic temples and walls. By 2020, the resident population of the old city had fallen below 30,000. The redevelopment remains contested in its legacy, but it has preserved significant religious buildings and created a walkable precinct where you can move between structures spanning centuries—from Yuan Dynasty halls to Qing Dynasty churches to contemporary sculpture installations.
Datong rewards visitors who come to see Buddhist sculpture from the ancient world and to walk through temples built during dynasties that shaped East Asian civilization. This is a city of specific, graspable historical depth rather than monumental spectacle. The grottoes are extraordinary; the temples are lived-in and carefully restored; the walls still enclose the same geographical space where emperors and monks, traders and soldiers, once moved. Begin with the Yungang Grottoes, then spend time in the quieter temples within the walls—the Huayan complex, the smaller Chunyang courtyard. Walk the defensive perimeter. The journey from Beijing takes three hours by rail or less by road, making Datong a plausible addition to a broader northern China itinerary.