Datong

Best time to visit

1. Jan
2. Feb
3. Mar
4. Apr
5. May
6. Jun
7. Jul
8. Aug
9. Sep
10. Oct
11. Nov
12. Dec

From the airport or station to the city

Where you land, the ways into the city centre, how long each takes and what it costs.

Getting around

The walled old town is compact: Huayan Temple, Shanhua Temple, the Nine Dragon Screen and the city wall are all within walking distance, and you can cycle on top of the wall. Taxis and DiDi are cheap; city buses cost ¥1. Yungang Grottoes are 16 km west (bus 3 or taxi). The Hanging Temple (65 km southeast) and the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda (about 80 km south) are usually done together in one day with a car and driver or a local day tour. Datong is inside the 240-hour visa-free transit area; Yingxian belongs to Shuozhou, which is not. Carry your passport.

Book these before you fly

These sights need a reservation with your passport. Walk-ups are usually turned away.

• Yungang GrottoesReal-name booking only, 1–15 days ahead; same-day tickets are not sold. Book on the WeChat mini program “云冈石窟文旅” / “云冈研究院” (choose Passport as ID type) or on Trip.com. Foreign visitors enter at Entrance No. 3 with the original passport.
• Hanging TempleFrom 2 October 2026: foreign visitors book climbing tickets only on Trip.com, which gets 100 a day for foreign, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan visitors; the counter no longer sells to foreigners. Online sales open twice: 20:00–23:00 the day before, and 07:20–18:00 on the day (each window has morning and afternoon slots). Bring the passport you booked with. Without a climbing ticket you can still see the temple from below.

Top sights

云冈石窟Yungang GrottoesSome 250 caves and 51,000 statues carved in the 5th century by the Northern Wei, including giant seated Buddhas open to the sky.Booking required2.5–3 hours悬空寺Hanging TempleA 1,500-year-old temple clinging to a sheer cliff on wooden stilts, shared by Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.Booking required1–1.5 hours on site; about 1.5 hours’ drive each way from Datong应县木塔Yingxian Wooden PagodaThe world’s oldest and tallest all-wood pagoda, 67 m high and built in 1056 without a single nail.1–1.5 hours on site大同古城墙Datong City WallA 7 km restored Ming wall circling the old town, with gate towers and barbicans; walk or cycle the top.1.5–2 hours to cycle the loop华严寺Huayan TempleTwo Liao and Jin dynasty temples in one compound, with one of China’s largest ancient halls and serene 11th-century clay bodhisattvas.1.5–2 hours九龙壁Nine Dragon ScreenChina’s largest glazed-tile dragon screen, 45 m long, made in 1392 for a Ming prince and older than the one in Beijing.20–30 minutes善化寺Shanhua TempleA calm Liao and Jin dynasty temple near the South Gate, with original wooden halls and rows of colourful guardian statues.1–1.5 hours大同市博物馆Datong MuseumA free modern museum strong on the Northern Wei, when Datong (Pingcheng) was the capital, and on Liao and Jin art.Booking recommended2 hours代王府Prince of Dai’s MansionThe Ming-dynasty palace of the Prince of Dai, rebuilt in recent years on its original site behind the Nine Dragon Screen: large halls and courtyards, with costumed shows through the day.Booking recommended1.5–2 hours关帝庙Guandi TempleA free temple to Guan Yu, the deified general, with the old town’s only surviving Yuan-dynasty hall, a glazed-tile roof and Qing murals of his legends.Booking recommended30–45 minutes北岳恒山Mount Heng (Northern Sacred Mountain)The northern of China’s Five Great Mountains, with Taoist temples strung along the cliffs above the Hanging Temple valley; a cable car saves most of the climb.Booking recommended3–4 hours on the mountain大同火山群（狼窝山）Datong Volcano Group (Langwo Shan)A field of about 30 extinct volcanic cones in open farmland east of the city; a wooden boardwalk circles the crater of Langwo Shan, and Jinshan is a short drive away.2–3 hours得胜堡Deshengbao Great Wall FortA walled Ming frontier fort north of Datong, with a village still living inside; nearby, the Deshengkou gate cuts through the unrestored earthen Great Wall, and three more forts lie within 2 km.Half a day including travel大同市美术馆Datong Art MuseumA free art museum in the new eastern district, designed by Foster + Partners as a cluster of angular pyramid-like roofs, with changing exhibitions of Chinese art.Booking recommended1 hour北魏明堂遗址公园Northern Wei Mingtang Ruins ParkA park around the site of the ritual hall of the Northern Wei capital, when Datong was Pingcheng, with two free museums: the Mingtang Ruins Museum and the Northern Dynasties Art Museum.Booking recommended1.5–2 hours觉山寺Jueshan Temple and Liao Pagoda (Lingqiu)A mountain temple founded in 483 by a Northern Wei emperor, with a 44-metre, 13-eave brick pagoda rebuilt in 1089 under the Liao dynasty that still holds Liao murals inside.1 hour on site; a full day with travel大同鼓楼Datong Drum TowerA three-storey Ming-era wooden tower standing over the old town’s main south street; climb the steep stairs for a 360° view along the city’s central axis.30 minutes晋华宫国家矿山公园Jinhuagong National Mine ParkA former coal mine across the river from the Yungang Grottoes where you put on a helmet and ride down into real mine tunnels, plus a coal museum above ground.Booking recommended2 hours永安寺Yong’an Temple (Hunyuan)A quiet temple in Hunyuan town whose main hall, built in 1315 under the Yuan dynasty, is covered with vivid Water-and-Land ritual murals and painted beams.45 minutes–1 hour

Map

Further out, not on this map: Jueshan Temple and Liao Pagoda (Lingqiu)

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