Datong 大同

1

UNESCO World Heritage Site (2001); imperial grottoes of the Northern Wei, carved over five centuries. The Tanyao Five Caves (Caves 16-20) carve great Buddhas in the emperors' image as symbols of Northern Wei state destiny

2

Ming-dynasty wall of Datong Prefecture, expanded by Xu Da; 7.2km in circumference, restored and fully reconnected in 2016, with complete gate towers and barbicans on all four sides—a full display of the grandeur of this 'Lock and Key of the North,' a stronghold among the Nine Border Garrisons

3

Pinnacle of Liao-Jin Buddhist architecture; following the Liao-dynasty Khitan 'sun worship' custom, it sits west and faces east—an orientation rare among Chinese Buddhist temples

4

A Liao-Jin temple commonly known as the South Temple: the Mahavira Hall is a Liao-era structure, the Jin-era Three Sages Hall has dougong brackets intricate as flowers, and the Liao-Jin painted clay statues of the Twenty-Four Devas each differ in bearing — one of the largest and best-preserved Liao-Jin temple complexes surviving in China

5

The front screen wall of the Ming Prince Dai's mansion, built in 1392 and 45.5m long — the largest and oldest nine-dragon screen surviving in China, 300 years older than Beijing's Beihai Nine-Dragon Screen

6

The mansion of Prince Dai, a Ming vassal prince, was destroyed by war at the end of the Ming; some halls have been rebuilt to recreate the layout of a princely residence

7

The Ming Drum Tower is a landmark of Datong's old city, a classic example of the cross-through-tower design

8

The museum that tells the overall story of the Northern Wei Pingcheng era; the lacquer screen from Sima Jinlong's tomb (Northern Wei lacquer painting of the Illustrations of Exemplary Women) and the carved stone coffin bed are national-treasure artifacts, with rich galleries on Liao-Jin-Yuan Datong and dinosaurs

9

Built in 491 during the Northern Wei on the sheer cliff of Cuiping Peak in Mount Heng's Jinlong Gorge, more than 40 halls hang in midair on beams driven into the rock — the folk saying 'Hanging Temple, halfway to heaven, hung in midair on three horsetails' conveys its perilous wonder

10

The northern mountain of China's Five Great Mountains; its main peak Tianfengling rises 2,016.1 m, honored through the ages as the "Northern Pillar of Heaven and Man" and revered as the guardian sacred mountain of successive dynasties

11

Twin heritage gems of Hunyuan Ancient City: the Prefecture Office re-creates the layout of an ancient government office, while Yong'an Temple's Jin-dynasty main hall, the Chuanfa Zhengzong Hall, holds water-and-land murals dense with figures and exquisite in coloring — a celebrated masterpiece of northern Shanxi mural art

12

North China's largest Quaternary volcanic cluster: over 30 extinct volcanic cones are scattered across Datong County; Haotianshan and Langwoshan have well-preserved cones, and the Langwoshan crater trail lets you walk straight into the "bottom of the pot"

13

Pingcheng, capital of the Northern Wei, was the political center of northern China from 398 to 494; its 97 years as an imperial capital opened the chapter of Datong as the "ancient capital of nine dynasties"

14

A cluster of military forts along the Ming Great Wall's "Nine Garrisons"; the two characters "Baozhang" (Safeguard) on Desheng Fort's gate plaque are original Ming carvings, and the horse-market relics inside the fort bear witness to a century of Ming-Mongol border trade after the Longqing Peace Accord

15

A Ming Great Wall pass paired with apricot-blossom villages; in April the sea of apricot blossoms along the Wall forms a celebrated frontier spring scene that photographers return to year after year

16

Birdwatching for migratory birds at Sanggan River National Wetland Park, paired with the Datong Earth Forest (a Yardang landform wonder known as the "Devil's City beyond the Great Wall"); earth pillars stand in rows, their colors intense at sunset — a hidden photography gem in northern Shanxi

17

The food trail of one of "China's Nine Ancient Capitals": knife-cut noodles (Dongfang Xiaomian being the representative) fall strand by strand like willow leaves; lamb offal glass-noodle soup is an unmatched winter warmer; spicy rabbit head is Datong's late-night snack icon; Hunyuan liangfen (cold jelly noodles) served with lotus-flower beans (fried broad beans) is silky and refreshing