Datong Private Self-guided Tour with Chartered Car

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Hanging Temple, a national AAAA level tourist area, is located between the cliffs of Cuiping Peak on the west side of Jinlong Gorge in Hengshan, Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province. It was originally called "Xuankong Pavilion", with "Xuan" derived from Chinese Taoist teachings and "Kong" derived from Buddhist teachings. It was later renamed "Hanging Temple" because the entire temple is like hanging on a cliff. In Chinese, "Xuan" and "Xuan" are homophones, hence the name. [15] The Hanging Temple was first built in the late Northern Wei Dynasty (491 AD) and has a history of over 1500 years. It is a unique temple that combines Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The architecture of the "Hanging Temple" is highly distinctive, known for its precipitousness as if facing an abyss. It is known as the slang "Hanging Temple, half a day high, three horse tails hanging in the air", and is known for its precipitousness as if facing an abyss.

   3 h

2. The Yungang Grottoes were excavated over 1500 years ago during Alexander's Eastern Expedition ．There are currently 45 main caves, 252 niches of different sizes, and over 59000 stone sculptures, making them a treasure trove of Chinese cave art. The Yungang Grottoes, as the first royal authorized cave in China, reflect the political ambition of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Compared with many grotto temples in China, Yungang Grottoes have the most westernized style. Among them, there are elements of Indian and Western Asian art, as well as Greek and Roman architectural styles, decorative patterns, and visual features, reflecting the origin relationship with major civilizations around the world. This is unique in the treasure trove of Chinese art and is of great significance for the development of Chinese culture and art in future generations. In 2001, the Yungang Grottoes were listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

   3 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 14 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Datong

• Its from-price is 91% below the median of the 69 experiences we list in Datong.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 2 of 69.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Datong

Datong is an old coal-mining city in northern Shanxi, with a rebuilt Ming wall and the Yungang Grottoes and Hanging Monastery within reach.

Datong stands on a high plateau in northern Shanxi province, about 1,000 metres above sea level, not far from the Great Wall and the Inner Mongolian border. As Pingcheng it was the capital of the Northern Wei dynasty in the fifth century, and its Buddhist heritage dates from then. The Ming city walls have been rebuilt around the centre, and the Nine-Dragon Wall, a glazed-tile screen from 1392, is one of the largest of its kind.

Top-ranked sights in Datong: Yungang Grottoes (Yungang Shiku), Hanging Temple (Xuankong Si).

See all 69 experiences in Datong