6 Sights in Datong, China (with Map and Images)

The Hanging Temple, also Hengshan Hanging Temple, Hanging Monastery or Xuankong Temple is a temple built into a cliff near Mount Heng in Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province, China. The closest city is Datong, 64 kilometres (40 mi) to the northwest. Along with the Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Temple is one of the main tourist attractions and historical sites in the Datong area. Built more than 1,500 years ago, this temple is notable not only for its location on a sheer precipice but also because it is the only existing temple with the combination of three Chinese traditional philosophies or three religions (三教): Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The structure is kept in place with oak crossbeams fitted into holes chiseled into the cliffs. The main supportive structure is hidden inside the bedrock. The monastery is located in the small canyon basin, and the body of the building hangs from the middle of the cliff under the prominent summit, protecting the temple from rain erosion and sunlight bake.

Wikipedia: Hanging Temple (EN)

The Yungang Grottoes, formerly the Wuzhoushan Grottoes, are ancient Chinese Buddhist temple grottoes near the city of Datong, then called Pingcheng, in the province of Shanxi. They are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture and one of the three most famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of China. The others are Longmen and Mogao.

Wikipedia: Yungang Grottoes (EN), Website

The glazed Nine Dragon Wall of Datong is a so-called Yingbi. It was built around 1392 in front of the now destroyed palace complex of Prince Hongwu. The prince was the 13th son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. On the wall, which is 45.5 m long, 8 m high and 2 m wide, there are depictions of various animals, including nine dragons. Dragons are an imperial symbol in China; the number nine, on the other hand, indicates longevity. The wall served as a privacy screen and was also intended to deter evil spirits. The Nine Dragon Wall of Datong is considered the oldest and largest in China. In front of the wall there is a pond with a small stone bridge.

Wikipedia: Neun-Drachen-Wand (Datong) (DE)

Li Yumei Tomb is located in the northeast of Hunyuan County, Shanxi Province, China, is the tomb of Li Yumei, a minister of the Qing Dynasty, commonly known as Lijia Tomb, which was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Shanxi Province in 1965 and the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units in 2006.

Wikipedia: 栗毓美墓 (ZH)

Datong Museum is the only specialized organization in Datong, Shanxi Province, Republic of China. Founded in 1959, it is the second largest museum in Shanxi Province with a collection of more than 30,000 cultural relics. The new Datong Museum was opened on December 31,2014.

Wikipedia: 大同市博物馆 (ZH)

Hunyuan Yong'an Temple, located in Gulou North Lane, northeast of the county seat of Hunyuan County, Shanxi Province, is one of the national key cultural relics protection units of the People's Republic of China.

Wikipedia: 永安寺 (浑源) (ZH)