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Right after Hanging Monastery, we went to Yungang Grottoes which was located on the other side of Datong City. It was about a 2-hour ride from the monastery so we ate breakfast in the car and caught some snooze for a bit.

Yungang Grottoes

The UNESCO World Heritage Site Yungang Grottoes is located 16 km. west of Datong City in Shanxi Province. It was built in 453 and took 50 years to finish… actually it was halted due to uprisings. That’s what Wikipedia said anyway.

The Yungang Grottoes were built against the Wuzhou Mountain and spans about 1 kilometer. There are 53 grottoes in the area with 1,000 cubbyholes and a whopping 51,000 statues. However, most of the sculptures are already damaged due to heavy weathering.

The entrance is at the center via the Yungang Temple. You will first see Grottos 3, 4 and 5 which has a wooden facade that was built in 1950 to protect the sculptures from the elements.

Grotto No. 5 houses the tallest Buddha in the area which is 17-meters high. Unfortunately, there are now guards manning the caves and you can’t take photos anymore.

Head east first to see Grottos 1 and 2 where the sculptures are heavily damaged beyond recognition due to exposure of elements. It’s just a short walk but you will be saving the best for last.

Then head west where you will see most of the remaining and better preserved grottoes including No. 20 which houses the magnificent sitting statue of Sakyamuni. It is 13.7 meters high and is characterized by those big sagging ears.

Here are more shots of the Yungang Grottoes:

The place is huge and I realized that we didn’t take a lot of shots. It was too cold and windy and my fingers were getting numb that’s why we were rushing.

After that we head back to Datong City where we asked to be dropped at the mall for a late lunch. It was almost 3 PM when we finished eating but our train going back was still at 9:40PM!!! Good thing the mall is clean and filled with nice shops with free WiFi.

We had dinner at a nearby KFC and did our evening rituals (wash face, brush teeth, etc.) before taking a cab to the station. Hehehe.

Train Ride Back to Beijing

For our train ride back, we chose the “Soft Sleeper” which houses 4 people in two double-deck bunk beds inside a room with a door. We were late in getting tickets so we were separated from our sister who was in another room with strangers.

Soft Sleeper is much better but the smell of cigarette smoke in the hallway can still get inside the room. Good thing my wife sprayed the room with perfume. Hehehe. I don’t know how our Chinese roommates feel about that.

We got back at Beijing at around 5 AM and slept some more on a real bed. Temple of Heaven in the afternoon is up next.

TOTAL COST:
Entrance to Yungang Grottoes – 62RMB
Cab ride to train station – at most 10RMB

Part 7: Temple of Heaven

• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 5: Datong – Hanging Monastery
• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 4: Going to Datong
• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 3: The Olympic Green
• Touring Beijing in Winter Part 1: The Plan

Filed under: Travel