Datong
This fantastic, bright and cheery spot alongside the Hóngqí Hotel and a short hop from the train station can look a little intimidating with its big round tables better suited to functions, but solo diners can pull up a chair no problem. There’s a huge range of tasty, well-presented dishes on the picture menu, suiting all budgets.
Dip in to the rear of the menu for the cheaper dishes and pick from a selection of dumplings, soups and vegies.
9 MILES
One of China’s most supreme examples of Buddhist cave art, these 5th-century caves are simply magnificent. With 51,000 ancient statues and celestial…
3.95 MILES
Housed in a contemporary building inspired by a dragon totem, this wonderful museum is chock-full of relics – religious, funereal, military, imperial and…
1.97 MILES
Built by the Khitan during the Liao dynasty (AD 907–1125), this 66,000-sq-metre temple faces east, not south (it’s said the Khitan were sun worshippers)…
1.9 MILES
Emblazoned with nine coiling dragons picked out in coloured glazed tiles, this is one of the finest yǐngbì (影壁) spirit walls in China (it has two…
2.42 MILES
This incredible city wall has been rebuilt from the soles up in what must be one of the most ambitious feats of engineering to hit Datong since, well,…
1.98 MILES
Datong’s old town has been extensively resurrected at colossal expense to put Datong back on the map. The former mayor ploughed a fortune into trying to…
Zhenghongbao Canyon Great Wall
22.56 MILES
Some 70km northeast of the city is this sleepy farming village just off the highway, set within the ruins of a bǎo (fort) that once served the Great Wall …
1.92 MILES
This working cathedral – also called the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary – is an astonishing sight once you find it and stand before its twin…
1.3 MILES
This cavernous museum is built within the north Wǔdìng Mén gate section of the restored city walls, with seemingly endless corridors of contemporary…
1.8 MILES
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…
1.9 MILES
Emblazoned with nine coiling dragons picked out in coloured glazed tiles, this is one of the finest yǐngbì (影壁) spirit walls in China (it has two…
1.92 MILES
This working cathedral – also called the Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary – is an astonishing sight once you find it and stand before its twin…
1.93 MILES
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…
1.97 MILES
Built by the Khitan during the Liao dynasty (AD 907–1125), this 66,000-sq-metre temple faces east, not south (it’s said the Khitan were sun worshippers)…
1.98 MILES
Datong’s old town has been extensively resurrected at colossal expense to put Datong back on the map. The former mayor ploughed a fortune into trying to…
2.03 MILES
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…