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Voykit pocket guide · China
Datong
大同
Give Datong 2 nights: one full day for the Yungang Grottoes and the Ancient City, one day trip to the Hanging Monastery and Yingxian Pagoda.
Datong is a former Northern Wei capital on the northern Shanxi frontier, about 1 h 45 min from Beijing by high-speed rail. The Yungang Grottoes and the Hanging Monastery sit outside the city; the walled Ancient City is a rebuilt temple-and-shopping core. Two nights covers the essentials, three if you add Heng Mountain or Tulin.
- Country
- China
- Local name
- 大同
- Best months
- Apr–May, Sep–Oct
- Avoid
- Dec–Feb (very cold, dry), Jul–Aug rain
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CNY
- Money
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
- Daily spend
- Budget ¥250–450 excl. bed · Mid ¥450–900 excl. bed · High ¥900+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
- Emergency
- Police 110 · Fire 119 · Ambulance 120
- Plugs
- Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
- Water
- Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Bus ride | ¥1 |
| Coffee or tea in a café | ¥15–35 |
| Noodle bowl (knife-cut noodles) | ¥15–40 |
| Beer: draught in a restaurant / can at a shop | ¥15–30 / ¥5–10 |
| 5 km (3.1 mi) DiDi ride3.1 mi (5 km) DiDi ride | ¥15–25 |
| Nine Dragon Screen entry | ¥10 |
| Huayan Monastery entry | ¥50 peak / ¥40 off-season |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- DAT · Datong Yungang Airport
- About 18 km (11 mi) from the centre; domestic and regional flights only, no Beijing service — take the train.About 11 mi (18 km) from the centre; domestic and regional flights only, no Beijing service — take the train.
Typical fares
- Datong South → Beijing, high-speed rail
- about ¥150–200 second class, under 2 h (check)
- DiDi Datong South → Ancient City
- ¥30–45 (check)
- Bus in the city
- ¥1, exact change
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Buses cost ¥1 and need exact change — foreign cards cannot load a Datong bus card, so carry ¥1 notes. DiDi works well and is the easy way to reach the Hanging Monastery and Yingxian. Walking is fine inside the walls; outside them, blocks stretch and a 3-block walk can take 30–45 minutes.
See and do
Known for
- Yungang Grottoes (UNESCO)
- Hanging Monastery
- Yingxian Wooden Pagoda
- Ming city walls and Ancient City temples
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Yungang Grottoes | Bus or DiDi about 10 km (6.2 mi) northwest of the centreBus or DiDi about 6.2 mi (10 km) northwest of the centre | About 1 h each way |
| Hanging Monastery and Yingxian Wooden Pagoda | DiDi or hired car, about 65 km (40 mi) southeastDiDi or hired car, about 40 mi (65 km) southeast | About 1.5 h each way |
| Heng Mountain | Same road as the Hanging Monastery, then a cable car or a 30-min walk | About 1.5 h each way |
| Tulin (Devil City) | DiDi about 20 km (12 mi) southeast of the cityDiDi about 12 mi (20 km) southeast of the city | About 45 min each way |
Sleep
- Inside the Ancient City walls
- Walk to the Drum Tower, Huayan Monastery and the Nine Dragon Screen; best for a short stay.
- Datong South Railway Station area
- High-speed rail side, about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the walls; convenient for an early departure, thin on food.High-speed rail side, about 6.2 mi (10 km) from the walls; convenient for an early departure, thin on food.
- Datong Railway Station area
- Conventional trains and the older town; cheaper beds, a taxi or bus ride from the sights.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | 你好nǐ hǎo |
| Thank you | 谢谢xièxie |
| How much is it? | 多少钱？duōshao qián |
| I want to go here | 我要去这里wǒ yào qù zhèlǐ |
| Can I pay by card? | 可以刷卡吗？kěyǐ shuākǎ ma |
| Where is the toilet? | 洗手间在哪里？xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
- Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
- Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
- Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
- Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
- Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
- Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
- Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4
Scams and watch-outs
- Bring your passport: many sights, including free ones, check it at the gate.
- No change is given on buses — keep ¥1 notes.
- The Hanging Monastery ladders are slippery in rain or snow; skip it in bad weather.
- Only the ground floor of the Yingxian Pagoda is open.
- Winter is long and very dry, with lows well below freezing.
Datong is a low-crime city and the main risks are practical: winter cold, slippery monastery ladders, and long unwalkable distances outside the walls. Keep your passport on you and ¥1 notes for the bus.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Datong yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Yungang Grottoes (UNESCO)
- Hanging Monastery
- Yingxian Wooden Pagoda
- Ming city walls and Ancient City temples
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Yungang Grottoes official site: www.yungangmeta.cn/en/index.html
- Wikivoyage: Datong, revision 5297122 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5297122
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Datong大同
请到这个地址
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No US or UK embassy in Datong; the US embassy is in Beijing and the UK embassy in Beijing. Consulates-general sit in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang (check).
Passport needed at most sights; carry ¥1 notes for buses.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/datong). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.