Datong to Guangwu Fort

Start a Thread Start a Poll

Datong to Guangwu Fort
Jul 17, 2004 08:04
ROSLYN Points: Join Date: Jul 17, 2004 Status: offline	I am heading to Shanxi Province in particular Guangwu Fort in September 2004, will have five days in Beijing first, before going to Datong and making our way out to the fort and ten days after to do whatever takes our fancy. Any "do not miss this" travel tips will be appreciated. I prefer interaction with people and am very interested in local art. Thank you

Jul 23, 2004 10:34

DAISY
Points:
Join Date: Mar 30, 2004
Status: Offline

Will you want to visit the Yanmne Pass, the famous one of Great Wall's passes, as important as the Jiayu Pass and Shanhai Pass. But I don't think it deserves your visit, because it is not well-preserved as the two passes mentioned above. What you will see is just the ruin after the history's erosion, and what you will feel is the dreariness.

If you go to Datong, I will strongly recommend the Yungang Buddhist Grottoes (Yungang shiku). It is not the city's sights, however, but the areas outside that are of deep cultural interest. Obvious in this category is the Yungang Buddhist Caves, that is of comparable beauty only with its cousins in Dunhuang, Luoyang and Tianshui. This 1km cave complex holds over 50,000 statues. The other main sight, that can be done on a CITS tour with the Yungang Grottoes, is the Hanging Monastery, that clings to a rockface of the sacred Hengshan mountain range. An inventive architectural design, an innovative religious mixture and some incredible gorge views make this monastery fantastic.

Post a Reply to: Datong to Guangwu Fort