Datong---Travel In China

Datong (大同, Pinyin: Dàtóng) is a city in the northern Shanxi Province in China.

History
The town was founded in 200 BC during Han Dynasty and was called Pingcheng (平城, Pinyin: Píngchéng). It was sacked at the end of Eastern Han Dynasty.

Pingcheng became the capital of Northern Wei from 398 AD until 494 AD. The famous Yungang Grottoes was constructed in the later part of this period (460 - 494 AD).

The city was renamed Datong in 1048 AD.

The city was sacked again at the end of Ming Dynasty (1649 AD) but promptly rebuilt in 1652 AD.

Economy

The GDP per capita was ¥10550 (ca. US$1270) in 2003, ranked no. 242 among 659 Chinese cities.

Datong is situated in northern Shanxi Province. It is bordered by Inner Mongolia to the North and Hebei Province to the east. Covering an area of 14,176 square kilometers (5473 square miles), Datong has four districts and seven counties under its prefecture. It is the second largest city in Shanxi Province with a population of 2.99 million.


Known as the 'City of the Coal', Datong has developed into the second largest industrial city in Shanxi due to its advantage in energy. Its large reserves of coal make it a very important energy base for China. Since it is a key resource city, transportation connections with Datong are quite convenient, especially by road and by train. Series of railways and roads work as a huge net to connect Datong with many other cities.


Datong is one of the 24 famous historical and cultural cities in China due to its ever prosperous history. With a history of over 2400 years, Datong was the capital of Northern Wei (386~534) for 96 years, and the 'support capital' of Liao (916~1125) and Jin (1115~1234). It was the political, economic and military center of ancient North China, which attracted many people from various nations for trade or business. These prosperous days left Datong with a series of splendid historic and cultural relics like the Yungang Grottoes and Hanging Monastery. Most of them are the integration of minorities' cultural and Han culture.




Yungang Grottoes, Datong


Yanmenguan Pass, Great Wall
The scenery of Datong differs markedly from the delicate and pretty cities south of Yangtze River. Here, green hills and small clean streams are rarely seen. What you can find is continuous peaks rising one upon another; majestic old temples standing for thousands of years and the vast sky and light cloud over your head. All of this reveals a grand and infinite air.