Datong
Originally constructed in AD 713 and today standing just inside the city walls, Shanhua Temple was rebuilt during the Jin dynasty. The grand wooden…
Must-see attractions in Shanxi
Shanxi
This comprehensive museum has three floors that walk you through various aspects of Shanxi culture, from Neolithic jade and Silk Road Buddhist statues to…
Shanxi
A favourite location for Chinese film producers, there are more than 400 rooms and halls to explore in the preserved section of this Ming town. You can…
Shanxi
This Buddhist temple, where Minister Chen studied, is dominated by its two magnificent brick pagodas. The 20m-high Shělì Tǎ (舍利塔) is almost 1100 years old…
Shanxi
Built in the Yuan dynasty but restored in the Ming, Shuxiang Temple contains Wutai Shan’s largest statue of Manjusri – 10m tall and riding a lion – the…
Rishengchang Financial House Museum
Pingyao
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…
Pingyao
Pingyao’s oldest surviving building is Dacheng Hall (大成殿, Dàchéng Diàn), dating from 1163. It can be found in the Confucius Temple, a huge complex where…
Shanxi
The double-eaved wooden hall in this Ming temple contains three magnificent statues: Samantabhadra (the Bodhisattva of Truth), Guanyin (the Goddess of…
Pingyao
This incongruously socialist-era concrete building houses one of the last operating cinemas from the 1960s in China. The building has recently been…
Ningwu
The Luyashan Scenic Area (芦芽山景区, Lúyáshān Jǐngqū) has an assortment of sights that includes hills, lakes, plains, waterfalls, valley and the famous Ningwu…
Pingyao
This graceful 10-hall Taoist temple at the end of Dong Dajie dates to the Tang dynasty. The most valuable relics here are the stone carvings and the stone…
Pingyao
This is the signature structure standing proud above Pingyao, the tallest building in the old town – snap a photo before passing under it en route to…
Pingyao
This network of defence tunnels stretching underground for 10km, are estimated to be 1400 years old and believed to be the longest of their kind in China…
Shanxi
Xiang Yu Castle's quiet Ming dynasty streets with ornamented arches and empty squares with long shadows are attractive. New buildings also exist here,…
Datong
A good place to see some raw sections of the Great Wall is Deshengbao, a 16th-century walled fort almost on the border with Inner Mongolia that is now a…
Datong
This scenic driving route, built in 2016, starts just north of Guanjiabao village (管家堡村, Guǎnjiābǎo cūn), 45km west of Datong, and runs eastwards parallel…
Shanxi
The buildings at Puhua Temple are relatively young (Republic era), but the temple is home to some interesting stone carvings and the longest screen wall…
Shanxi
This large urban park has landscaped gardens and a willow-fringed pond built in the Ming dynasty that in summer is thick with lilies. But the park is also…
Datong
This cavernous museum is built within the north Wǔdìng Mén gate section of the restored city walls, with seemingly endless corridors of contemporary…
Shanxi
This street is worth a wander to look at the grey brick historic church at No 5 and the nearby dilapidated remains of the Wanshou Temple (万寿宫, Wànshòu…
Shanxi
Yuanzhao Temple contains a 16m stupa surrounded by four smaller ones. It's believed to hold the ashes (舍利子, shèlìzi) of the Indian Buddhist monk Śāriputra…
Shanxi
The centrepiece of this temple, 5km from Taihuai, is a striking 9m-tall Tibetan stupa where the 3rd Changkya Khutukhtu is buried. The Changkya Khutukhtu…
Shanxi
Seven Buddhas Temple honours the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity; namely, Vipassī, Sikhī, Vessabhū, Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana, Kassapa and Gautama. They're…
Pingyao
Located close to the Confucius Temple is this magnificent glazed-tile screen wall featuring reliefs of nine different Chinese dragons. It was originally…
Shanxi
Several kilometres to the southwest of the village, Dragon Spring Temple was raised in the Song dynasty and restored in the Ming era; most of the wooden…
Shanxi
They say the acoustics of this Ming Taoist temple, with wonderful views of the Yellow River, were so excellent that performances held on its stage were…
Datong
Originally built in 1392 but burned to the ground in a huge conflagration in 1644 during the last gasps of the Ming dynasty, this vast palace complex (191…
Shanxi
Before you go looking for Father Christmas at Santa Temple, neighbouring Xiantong Temple to the west of Taihuai, you should know the name actually means…
Datong
Recently restored, this mosque is a particularly quiet and tranquil place. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the Prayer Hall (朝真殿, Cháozhèn Diàn), but…
Pingyao
First established in 1856, this former bank had underground vaults protected by live-in guards. After checking out the courtyard displays, descend into…
Datong
The recently restored Drum Tower sits on the central axis that runs through the north and south gates of the restored city wall. Two sets of very steep…
Shanxi
Located east of Xiantong Temple in the village, Guangren Temple was built in the Qing dynasty as an extension of its larger neighbour Luohou Temple, to…
Shanxi
For excellent views of the town and beyond, you can trek, take a chairlift or ride a horse (¥50 one way) up to the temple on Dailuo Peak, on the eastern…
Pingyao
With a white marble statue of the Virgin Mary outside, this historic, if dilapidated, church is the focal point for Pingyao’s band of Catholics. There's a…
Pingyao
By the police station, this is one of Pingyao's socialist-era buildings, home to a fire engine small enough to service the narrow streets of the town. You…
Shanxi
This Ming dynasty temple has features of both Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism, from the monks' robes to their prayers. The main hall is known as Bronze Tile…
Shanxi
Bifeng Temple sits atop a hill close to the train station. The temple itself is newly built, but the octagonal nine-storey pagoda dates to the Ming…
Shanxi
Buried away down a historic alley, the city's Confucius Temple is home to a spirit wall and a folk-art museum. As with most Confucius temples, it's a…
Shanxi
The Qing emperor Shunzhi, who ruled from 1644 to 1661, was said to have been a monk at this temple over the river and backing onto Dailuo Peak.
Shanxi
Wuye Temple is one of Wutai Shan's busiest, thanks to its reputed spiritual efficacy. Worshippers flock here to make offerings and light incense at the…
