Famous Landmarks in Datong

Famous Landmarks in Datong are considered the Name Card of Datong, like the Yungang Grottoes, Hanging Temple, Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, etc. ancient and new. They are somehow, represent a certain character or role Datong played to the world. Come with Top China Travel, to witness and appreciate those famous Datong Landmarks.

Yungang Grottoes
Yungang Grottoes, located about 16 km southwest of the city of Datong, is one of World Culture Sites and is said to be the best preserved sites in China with 53 caves containing over 51,000 stone carvings of Buddha and Buddhist.

Yungang Grottoes was mainly constructed between 460-525 AD, representing exceptional feat of Buddhist cave art in China in the 5th and 6th century. It has got a total number of 53 grottoes consisting of more than 51,000 Buddha statues and statuettes. The fusion of Buddhist religious symbolic art from central and south Asia with Chinese cultural tradition is the noted highlight of the site. It has been quite successful in vividly illustrating the power and endurance of the Buddhist belief in China. It is a must see destination for you if you are the one who loves to explore the architectural brilliance of the world.

Hanging Temple
Hanging Temple, the most famous scenic spot in Mt. Hengshan, has stood at the foot of Mt. Hengshan for over one thousand years. Leaning on the precipitous mountain face and facing a deep valley, the temple was constructed in a unique way, which is the buildings are supported by sturdy wooden pillars inserted in holes cut in the mountain body. Seeing it from the distance you could find it hanging in the mid air miraculously, hence the name "Hanging Temple".

Tourists can walk upwards along the steep stone pathway to visit some 40 exquisite and unique halls in the temple. This is the special monastery in which you could find not only the elements of Buddhism but also Taoism and Confucianism. There are around 40 halls with 80 sculptures which are vividly carved from copper, iron, terracotta and stone in this temple. A visit to the Hanging Temple will be a happy adventure at the same time. Seen from the buildings, it looks as if facing an abyss; seen from the bottom of the valley, the cliff is lofty like a rainbow; seen from the opposite side over the valley, it looks like a young flying phoenix on the cliff. It is just like what the inscription on the cliff of plank roads reads, People are more creative than nature.

Yingxian Wooden Pagoda
Yingxian Wooden Pagoda (Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple), built in 1056, is regarded as one of the three pagodas in the world, together with the Eiffel Tower in France and Pisa Leaning Tower of in Italy.

This impressive building is China's oldest surviving wooden pagoda and has a history of over 1000 years. It is built on a four-meter-high groundwork with a total height of 67.31 meters, and a diameter of 30.27 meters at the bottom. From the outside, it appears to have only five stories, though it actually has nine; and its complex system of supports includes 54 kinds of brackets. Frescoes on the ground floor and a gilded statue of Sakyamuni date from the Liao Dynasty. During a 1974 renovation, engraved sutras and documents related to the construction of the pagoda were discovered inside one of the statues of Buddha.


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