Sights in Shānxī
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Twin Pagoda Temple/Yǒngzuò Temple Buddhist Temple
This gorgeous pair of namesake twin pagodas rises up south of the Nansha River in Tàiyuán's southwest. Not much of the temple itself is left but the area is well tended with shrubs and greenery; with the wind in their tinkling bells, the highlight brick pagodas are lovely. The 13-storey Xuānwén Pagoda (宣文塔; Xuānwén Tǎ) dates from the reign of Ming emperor Wanli and can be climbed. The adjacent pagoda dates from the same period but cannot be climbed. Take bus 820 or 812 from the train station.
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Slogans
Slogans Communist heritage
Pop into No 153 Xi Dajie for two red-blooded slogans from the Cultural Revolution that have survived on buildings within the courtyard. The one on the left intones: 工业学大庆 ('Industry should learn from Dàqìng'); the rarer slogan on the right proclaims: 认真搞好斗批改 ('Earnestly undertake struggle, criticism and reform').
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Shānxī Museum
This top-class museum has three floors that walk you through all aspects of Shānxī culture, from prehistoric fossils to detailed local opera and architecture exhibits. All galleries are imaginatively displayed and most contain English captions. Take bus 6 (Y1) from the train station, get off at Yifen Qiaoxi (漪汾桥西) bus stop across the river and look for the inverted pyramid.
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Shànhuà Temple
This temple was originally built in 713; the current temple is a Jin rebuild. The grandiose wooden-bracketed rear hall contains five beautiful central Buddhas and expressive statues of celestial generals in the wings.
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Rìshēngchāng Financial House Museum
Also not to be missed, this museum began life as a humble dye shop in the late 18th century before its tremendous success as a business saw it transform into China's first draft bank (1823), eventually expanding to 57 branches nationwide. The museum has nearly 100 rooms, including offices, living quarters and a kitchen, as well as several old cheques.
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Qīngxū Guàn
Shānxī dust has penetrated every crevice of this ancient and partly fossilised Taoist temple. With 10 halls and originally dating to the Tang dynasty, it's an impressive complex.
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Planning Exhibition Hall
Decorated with Maoist slogans, the vast 1950s socialist edifice north of Hóngqí Guǎngchǎng (红旗广场; Red Flag Sq) was designed around the same time as the Great Hall of the People in Běijīng. Its exhibition hall presents Dátóng's future guise in a huge illuminated diorama, but it's more interesting to look at the photos of old Dátóng. The vast building also houses the library and the town museum.
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Nine Dragon Screen
With its nine beautiful multi- coloured coiling dragons, this 45.5m long, 8m high and 2m thick Ming-dynasty spirit wall was built in 1392. It's the largest glazed-tile wall in China and is an amazing sight; the palace it once protected burnt down years ago.
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Huáyán Temple
This temple (shut for refurbishment at the time of writing) is divided into two separate complexes, one of which is an active monastery (upper temple), while the other is a museum (lower temple). Built by the Khitan during the Liao dynasty (AD 907–1125), the temple faces east, not south (it's said the Khitan were sun worshippers).
Dating to 1140, the impressive main hall of the upper templeis one of the largest Buddhist halls in China, with Ming statues and Qing murals within. The rear hall of the lower temple is the oldest building in Dàtóng (1038), containing some remarkable Liao-dynasty wooden sculptures. Side halls contain assorted relics from the Wei, Liao and Jin d…
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Confucian Temple
Píngyáo's oldest surviving building is Dàchéng Hall (大成殿; Dàchéng Diàn), dating from 1163 and found in the Confucian Temple (文庙; Wén Miào), a huge complex where bureaucrats-to-be came to take the imperial exams.
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City Walls
A good place to start is the magnificent city walls, which date from 1370. At 10m high and more than 6km in circumference, they are punctuated by 72 watchtowers, each containing a paragraph from Sunzi's The Art of War. Part of the southern wall, which collapsed in 2004, has been rebuilt, but the rest is original. Píngyáo's city gates (城门; chéngmén) are fascinating and are some of the best preserved in China; the Lower West Gate (also called Fèngyì Mén, or Phoenix Appearing Gate) has a section of the original road, deeply grooved with the troughs left by cartwheels (also visible at the South Gate).
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City Tower
Tallest building in the old town. Climb its smooth stone steps for fine views over Píngyáo's magnificent rooftops and inspect its ragged and forlorn shrine to a severe-looking Guandi.
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Chóngshàn Temple
Lovely and cool in summer, the double-eaved wooden hall in this Ming temple contains three magnificent statues: Samantabhadra (the Bodhisattva of Truth), Guanyin (the Goddess of Mercy with 1000 arms) and Manjusri (the Bodhisattva of Wisdom with 1000 alms bowls). The hall at the rear is in the first stages of a rebuild. The entrance is down an alley off Dilianggong Jie behind the captivatingConfucian Temple, the main hall of which has been converted to a museum to the Shāndōng sage.
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Catholic Church
With a brand-new snow-white statue of the Virgin Mary outside, this historic church is the focal point for Píngyáo's Catholic Christians.
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