A Super Detailed Two-Day Tour Guide to Datong
Datong is a great weekend getaway destination for people from Beijing, Tianjin, and the surrounding areas. This time, taking advantage of the workday plus the off-season double buff, the experience concludes: Datong is worth a special trip!
🎈 Yungang Grottoes: Recommendation Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The murals and Buddha statues of the four major grottoes are unparalleled, and a thousand-year dialogue makes the trip worthwhile.
Special reminders:
1. The grottoes open at 9 am, don't go too early or you'll freeze! It's still quite cold in the morning now.
2. Tickets are 100, half-price for students at 50, make sure to bring your student ID.
3. The museum is not open.
4. Yungang Grottoes mini-program, search will redirect to Lijiang guide, which automatically explains based on your geographical location.
5. Generally, photography inside the caves is not allowed.
🎈 Huayan Temple: Recommendation Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tickets are 35. A thousand-year-old temple, the moment you step into the Mahavira Hall, you will definitely feel that the trip was worth it. You can climb to the top of the Huayan Pagoda! The underground palace contains relics, and the history of the Tripitaka is the oldest!
🎈 Shanhua Temple: Recommendation Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An ancient architectural complex with a hundred years of history, the Tang Dynasty style will refresh your senses, as if the heyday of the Tang Dynasty was just yesterday.
🎈 Ancient City Wall⭐️⭐️⭐️
Following the principle of 'since we're here, let's do it', if you have enough energy, go up and take a look. The sightseeing car is not necessary.
🎈 Nine Dragon Screen⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Old stuff, very big! Free!
🎈 Fahua Temple⭐️⭐️⭐️
Free! The front is beautiful, the inside is new, come out in 5 minutes.
🚞 Itinerary:
Day1, Yungang Grottoes — Huayan Temple — Lunch (Zini 369) — Shanhua Temple — Ancient City Wall — Nine Dragon Screen — Fahua Temple — China Sculpture Museum — Dinner at Longjuxiang
Day2, Follow a one-day group tour, Hanging Temple — Hengshan — Yingxian Wooden Pagoda — Datong City Area — Dinner at Xijindao
🌳 Some suggestions:
1. Datong is really worth a detailed visit, if you have enough time you can go to a few more attractions.
2. The overall cost of living in Datong is low, and the local customs are simple. The phenomenon of overcharging tourists should not be too serious. In particular, jaywalking is a serious issue in Datong, so pay attention to traffic safety.
3. Besides the Yungang Grottoes, I highly recommend Huayan Temple, Shanhua Temple, and Yingxian Wooden Pagoda! They are truly ancient buildings that have stood for a thousand years, friends, what else can you say but 'impressive'?
4. The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda I visited with a group included a guide, and I think this is the attraction that most deserves a guided tour! If you go there on your own, be sure to hire one, because the guide will explain in great detail and make you feel passionate and slightly regretful.
5. For Hengshan, take the bus to the mid-mountain and then climb up. It takes one hour to climb up and 40 minutes to come down. To be honest, the scenery is just average.
6. Personally, I feel that the 100 ticket for the Hanging Temple is a bit expensive, and going up just means being pushed around by the crowd.
🌳 Shanxi may not have a high profile, but it is truly worth a visit. You will feel the charm of ancient Chinese architecture, and it will definitely leave you with lasting memories!
DiscoveringNewHorizons_22
2
The overall experience is very good! The itinerary is free, relaxed and comfortable, and the car is clean and tidy. The tour guide driver Pang Master has a very good service, gentle and patient introduction of attractions, and warmly recommending restaurants, cost-effective! After going back, I will recommend it to friends who come to Datong to travel!
Wang Jing, Wang Daochao's professional and meticulous explanation reveals the rich historical knowledge he has. This northern Wei grotto group in Wang Dao's 3-hour intensive lecture, let me have a more understanding of this history. I can see the gods, hear the taste, too worth too much. . .
I made a temporary reservation on the same day, Mr. Wang's explanation was professional, and the whole process was close to 3 and a half hours. The evolution of the Buddha statues of Yungang Grottoes and the main characteristics of each grottoes were clearly explained, knowledgeable, and very rewarding. Recommend
How can you not go to Yungang Grottoes when you come to Datong? Yungang Grottoes, one of the three major grottoes in China. Just for this name, you must go. When you go to Yungang Grottoes, you must listen to the explanation, don't go around, let alone take pictures and leave. Going to Yungang Grottoes is to see its culture, not to see a Buddha statue. Try not to go on weekends or holidays because there are too many people. If you have to go when there are too many people, don't take a taxi because there will be traffic jams. You can take the 3 bus, the bus will not be so blocked. Although the tickets are a bit expensive, it is worth seeing. In summer, you must bring good sun protection, and the sun in Datong is too good. What I especially like is that the rest chairs in the whole scenic area can be seen everywhere, and there are many swing chairs, sitting on them, shaking, blowing the wind, it feels too comfortable.
I saw it on May 2, although there are many people and cars traveling during the May Day holiday, and every time I see a grotto, I have to queue up, but the first time I see the grotto is still very shocking and excited. Listening to the rambling of the explainer, it seems to be back to the Northern Wei Dynasty of more than 1,600 [cost-effective] years ago.
The grotto group in Beiwei is worth a look. The service center has a rented explainer, 30 yuan, the headset is dedicated, and it costs 13 yuan. The manual explanation has to enter the scenic spot, and you can see the small house after walking through the Foguang Avenue. I don't know why it is not set at the gate? Bus No. 3 goes directly to the scenic spot, and the traffic is very convenient.
The 16 to 20 caves are spectacular, the front is generally the same, inside you can hire a tour guide, you can rent a headset to explain, it is very good for people who like Buddhism and ancient culture. My parents don’t like it very much. There is nothing else except the Buddha caves and temples. The food in the scenic area is very expensive and the amount is small. It is 30 yuan and 8 pieces. It is still difficult to eat. Hunyuan Liangpi has no taste. It is okay to eat oily meat, but only half the amount of normal restaurants. The price is not high. Three people can’t eat more than 100. You can taste the fruit vinegar drink, 10 yuan a cup is quite good
On the first day of Shanxi, a female tour guide took us to Jinci. It was very good and shocking, so the tour guides in the next itinerary have some expectations and comparison cornerstones. The Yungang Grottoes, the tour guide contacted the day before, the sound was quite thick, I thought it was OK, the next morning after picking us up, I saw that it was a hairy boy, my heart was sinking, I don't know how the level is. In the whole three hours, the strength has changed our view. The knowledge reserve is very sufficient and the explanation is very meticulous. For example, the new exhibition area will also tell us that it was built later. The various scenes in the former grotto can be combined with the story one by one. The on-site explanation is indeed more real than watching the video or writing the introduction. We also have questions during the period, and they are also answered one by one. There is no interruption of the content and order of the introduction because of our questions. This still shows some strength. It takes three hours. I didn't pull it down for a minute. Guide Li worked hard. We are very satisfied. We will come again next time. If there are friends who want to come to Shanxi, we will recommend you to them. Thank you.