What kind of city is Datong?

Datong, as an ancient capital with a long history and splendid culture, faces the valley in the east, the Yellow River in the west and the desert in the north. The screen of the imperial capital is the guarantee of the Central Plains. After thousands of years of construction, the scale of Datong ancient city is rare in the north of China. The old streets, hutongs and quadrangles in the city are intertwined, and there is a saying of "four streets, eight lanes and seventy-two lanes".

Datong City Wall was built in Ming Dynasty 1372. In the Qing Dynasty, Dourgen cut off the city wall five feet to vent his anger, which was called "Datong Massacre" in history. 1900, Eight-Nation Alliance attacked Beijing, and Empress Dowager Cixi fled through the big way and marveled: "Datong can be a blessed land." After several years of great construction, the ruins of that year have now been restored to the original appearance of the Ming Dynasty.

There are many scenic spots and historical sites in Datong, and the famous cultural relics and historical sites include Yungang Grottoes, Huayan Temple, Shanhua Temple, Hengshan Hanging Temple, Jiulongbi and so on. Huayan Temple, located in the ancient city, is often listed as the first choice by travelers. This temple is a royal temple in Liao Dynasty, with amazing Liao plastic products.

The most famous bodhisattva in the temple is enshrined in the Bhagavad gita Hall in Tibet. This statue of Buddha, praised by Guo Moruo as Venus of the East, is based on a girl from Qidan. The proportion of the whole statue is natural and reasonable, vivid and vivid, as if listening to the teachings of the Buddha. As for why Huayan Temple offers a grinning Buddha statue, it is still an unsolved mystery.

Yungang Grottoes, listed as a world cultural heritage by the United Nations, are located at the southern foot of Wuzhou Mountain in the western suburbs of Datong City, Shanxi Province. About 1600 years ago, it is one of the largest ancient grottoes in China. It, together with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Luoyang Longmen Grottoes and Tianshui Maijishan Grottoes, is called the four major grottoes in China.

Yungang Grottoes, with its magnificent statues and rich contents, is known as the crown of stone carving art in China in the 5th century. Especially in Cave 13, this mysterious Bodhisattva statue, which is as high as 13.5 meters, was supported by a Hercules under his right arm due to mechanical reasons, and a piece of "Blackstone" was embedded in his right foot, which was verified by experts as the "Emperor Stone Statue" carved by Wen Chengdi in 452.

Snacks are also an important factor to attract tourists. Datong brings together the food culture of east, west, north and south, and there are many delicious foods worth exploring carefully. One of the most famous is the Baihua steamed dumplings in Fenglinge. There are 9 kinds of meat stuffing in the transparent and shiny thin skin, and 9 kinds of flower shapes on the top of steamed dumplings, each with its own characteristics, fresh but not greasy, fragrant but not vegetarian.

Shanxi is the hometown of pasta, the most famous of which is Datong Daoxiao Noodles, which can be called "Wang Zhongwang of pasta". There is a slippery inner rib at the entrance of the knife facet, which is soft but not sticky. The more you chew, the more fragrant it is, making people unforgettable. A good meal in the noodle restaurant costs only eight or nine yuan, which is not enjoyed in other places and reflects the reality of Datong people.