Brilliant Buddhist Art
Want to have an in-depth cultural exploration after your Beijing Discovery? Don’t miss Datong – one of the famous old cities dotted with lots of historical treasures!
This 2 days tour from Beijing provide the bests of Datong to you. You will spend two full days appreciating the cultural sites, including World Heritage site Yungang Grottoes, architectural miracle Hanging Temple, time-honored Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, etc. which all tells the old splendor of this attractive city.
Highlights of this tour
Get up early, you will be escorted to the train station and take a high speed bullet train to Datong from Beijing (about 2-2.5 hours). Upon arrival, be met by your local tour guide, and start to explore Datong highlights.
First site to visit is the famous Yungang Grottoes, a World Heritage site dating back to 5th century. Containing 254 Buddhist caves, Yungang Grottoes stretches about 1 km long. It is filled with about 5,100 precious sculptures - the height of the largest Buddha statue reaches 17 meters and the smallest is only 2 centimeters tall. Most of the sculptures are Buddhas, from which you can be awestruck at their life-like features and blissful smiles. You won't miss Cave No.5 and Cave No. 6 - the highlights of Yungang Grottoes with the entire interiors carved and colored. Facing these jaw-dropping celestial beings in different shapes, you can imagine the painstaking effort taken to produce them.
In the afternoon, drive to Datong city to visit Nine Dragon Screen Wall, made of colorful glazed tiles and depicting nine dragons. It once served as a temple's spirit wall placed in an entrance to inhibit the evil spirit's coming. Now it is the biggest and oldest glazed dragon wall in China. Next, you will visit Huayan Temple - the largest and best preserved monastery built by Khitan during Liao Dynasty. Unlike most traditional Chinese buildings, it interestingly faces east not south, because the Khitan were also sun worshipers. Indulge yourself in the palatial buildings, exquisite frescoes, valued inscriptions in the temple.
Check in to your hotel in Datong downtown.
Nightlife idea (on your own): take a leisurely walk or ride a bike on restored City Wall of Datong. Both new and old city of Datong can be viewed on the wall, showing a drastic difference. The night view seen from the City Wall is more amazing.
After breakfast, you will move to Hanging Temple, after 1.5 hours' driving (80 km). Built in 491 during Northern Wei Dynasty, it enjoys a history of over 1,500 years. Miraculously carved into the sheer cliff of Hengshan Mountain, Hanging Temple is one of the most incredible sights in China. Its 40 perilous halls and pavilions lean straight over the canyon. Seeing it from the ground, travelers can't help admiring at the ancient people's wisdom. Moreover, Hanging Temple is featured as the only existing temple with the combination of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. So various sculptures are enshrined in the temple. You have enough time to unlock the mystery of why this unusual temple could stand in the precarious position and explore China's religious culture.
After the exciting experience in Hanging Temple, drive 1 hour to Fogong Temple. The highlight of Fogong Temple is Yingxian Wooden Pagoda - the oldest and tallest wooden multi-storey structure in the world. Built in 1056 during Liao Dynasty (907 ~ 1125) and standing at 67.31 meters high, it shocks travelers most that the whole structure was made without any nails, screws, or bolts. There are lots of elegant Buddha statues and Bodhisattva statues to worship. Among them, an 11m high Sakyamuni statue is sitting solemnly in the pagoda on the first floor, it is the grandest one, and fortunately, it is accessible to the visitors. (The others are on the other floors, which are not open to public for a better preservation of the pagoda.)
After the sightseeing, you will be transferred to the airport or train station to catch your flight or train to your next destination. Service ends.
Optional Activity: Apart from the amazing building techniques, Fogong Temple is of great importance to Buddhists as there preserves two tooth relics of Sakyamuni, which is very rare and valuable. If you are interested, it is available to pay extra CNY100 for a respectful glance at them.
Beijing, the 'forbidden' city, now is open to the world!
As the capital city of China for more than eight-hundred years, Beijing possesses rich cultural deposits of China. You will need at least 3 days to explore its best highlights. Here is the plan - Day 1 is for you to visit the imperial historical sites, including Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Summer Palace; Day 2 is to hike the magnificent Great Wall while Day 3 is for you to have a half-day visiting of the Temple of Heaven,local Hutongs, and depart from the city.
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