Guide: The Three-Dragon Wall stands 6 meters high, 1.2 meters thick, and 12 meters long. The lower part is built with bluestone as the base, carved with patterns such as lions, flowers, and coiling dragons; the middle section features three yellow golden dragons on each of its two sides. The central dragon raises its head and stands proudly, appearing ready to soar into the sky, while the two side dragons are symmetrical to each other, with their heads all facing the center. The giant...
Guide: The Five-Dragon Wall is 7 meters high and 1.48 meters thick, divided into three sections: upper, middle, and lower. The lower part is a Sumeru pedestal, carved with over ten kinds of animals such as oxen, horses, snakes, rabbits, deer, dogs, lions, elephants, pangolins, and foxes, each in vivid and lifelike poses. The central section features a wide wall surface adorned with five four-clawed golden dragons soaring through clouds and mist,…
Highlights: The only pagoda in Datong. Introduction: Located on Tasijie Street in the northeastern part of the city. Originally built during the Qing Dynasty and later restored. Beneath the pagoda is a 3-meter-high hexagonal platform, surrounded by decorative flower walls. The entrance is a brick arched doorway with a plaque inscribed with the three characters “小洞大” (Small Cave, Big Meaning). In the past, Buddha statues were enshrined inside the cave. The cave…
Introduction: The Five-Dragon Wall of Tianzhu Temple is located in Sandao Yingfang Lane on Dabeijie Street within the city. It served as the screen wall in front of the mountain gate of Tianzhu Temple and was built during the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty. Its composition and layout are similar to those of the Five-Dragon Wall of Shanhua Temple, also being a colored glazed screen wall. Due to years of neglect and disrepair, the wall faced the risk of collapse. To properly protect this cultural relic, it was...
Introduction: Located in the eastern part of Datong City, Wenyin Lake was formerly known as "Wenying Lake." Backed by the Baideng Mountain and Cailiang Mountain, the lake presents a mirror-like surface, with shimmering waters and surrounding peaks competing in beauty. Since the Northern Wei Dynasty, it has been a favored spot for the city’s elite and literati to fish, relax, and seek inspiration. In recent years, recreational facilities such as lakeside villas, a leisure center, swimming pool, and horse racing track have been developed...
The "Ten Thousand People Pit" is an alternative name for the Datong Coal Mine Exhibition Hall, derived from its two caves that house the remains of miners killed during the Japanese invasion of China. The "Ten Thousand People Pit" earned its name after Japanese invaders occupied the Datong Coal Mine in October 1937 and brutally implemented a bloody policy of "exchanging people for coal"...
The Datong Drum Tower was originally built during the Ming Dynasty and underwent renovations during the Shunzhi and Qianlong eras of the Qing Dynasty. It is one of the best-preserved and largest Ming and Qing dynasty drum towers in Shanxi and even across China. The tower has three stories and features a hip-and-gable roof with a cruciform plan, with each facade spanning and extending three bays. The structure has doors on all four sides, surrounded by corridors and railings, and a wooden staircase on the ground floor. During the Ming and Qing periods…
Datong Museum is located within the Lower Huayan Temple on Xiasi Po Street, Pingcheng District, Datong City. Established in 1959, it is a comprehensive regional museum. The Lower Huayan Temple covers an area of 13,043 square meters, with a building area of 3,420 square meters. The Huayan Temple derives its name from the Buddhist scripture "Avatamsaka Sutra." Originally built during the Liao Dynasty, it was divided into upper and lower temples during the Ming Dynasty. …
The full name is the Epitaph of Feng Shi Jun, Governor of the Mounted Cavalry Regiment, General Who Establishes Might, and Governor of Luozhou, Marquis of Changguo. It was unearthed in 1980 near Xiaozhan Village, about 8 kilometers west of Datong City. The tombstone is 0.42 meters high and 0.32 meters wide. It features twelve lines of regular script, with twelve characters per line, totaling 141 characters. The stone is engraved with shallow (top character 'qi', bottom character 'shi') grid squares, each measuring 2…
Also known as the Yonggu Tomb, it is located on Fangshan Mountain, fifty li north of Datong City. According to the Book of Wei: “Construction began in the fifth year of the Taihe era and was completed in the eighth year. In the tenth month of the fourteenth year of Taihe, in the guiyou day, the deceased Empress Dowager Wenming was buried here, and the tomb was named Yonggu.” The Commentary on the Water Classic states: “On Fangling there is the tomb of the deceased Empress Dowager Wenming; to the northeast of the tomb lies the tomb of Emperor Gaozu.” The Old Records...
Located on the western bank of the Yu River in Xiaonantou Village, Shuipo Temple Township, Nanjiao District, Datong City, Longzhen Folk Culture Park covers an area of 60 acres. It was designated as a rural folk culture tourism route attraction by the organizing committee of the 3rd Yungang Tourism Festival. The entire folk park features structures such as Longzhen Temple, a theater stage, Wolong Park, a village culture exhibition hall, a folk cuisine restaurant, and a venue for folk performances…
Located southwest of Shijiazhai Village, about fifteen li east of Datong City. According to the Book of Wei, Sima Jinlong was the ninth-generation descendant of Sima Kui, the Marquis of Dongwucheng and younger brother of Emperor Xuan of Jin, Sima Yi. His father, Sima Chulu, surrendered to Northern Wei in the fourth year of the Taichang era and was granted the title of King of Langya. Sima Jinlong was the son of Sima Chulu and Princess He'nei, a noblewoman from the royal family of Northern Wei. This tomb…
Wen Zhengming (1470–1559), a renowned calligrapher and painter of the Ming Dynasty, was from Changzhou (now Wu County, Jiangsu Province). Known by his courtesy name Hengshan Jushi, he was grouped with Zhu Yunming, Tang Yin, and Xu Zhenqing as one of the “Four Talents of Wu Region.” His calligraphy excelled in running script and small regular script. The *Stele of Poems on Taihu Lake*, preserved in the stele corridor of the Datong Museum…
The Epitaph of Yuan Shu was unearthed in the early 1980s in Dongwangzhuang Village, located at the foot of Mount Baideng, ten kilometers east of Datong City. This epitaph was carved in the first year of the Yongping era (508 AD) during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The stele stands 0.74 meters tall (including the top section) and is 0.42 meters wide. The top section bears six seal script characters reading “Epitaph of Lord Yuan of Wei,” which are stylistically similar to the seal script on the memorial tablet of Sima Jinlong, though the calligraphy is slightly inferior. The main body of the epitaph is written in regular script, arranged in 24 vertical lines with 27 characters per line, totaling 511 characters. Each character grid measures two square centimeters. Except for the lower right and upper left sections, where over twenty characters have become illegible due to prolonged exposure to soil and wear, the majority of the characters are finely executed, with strokes still appearing sharp and clear. It is currently the Northern Wei stele unearthed in the Datong area with the largest number of surviving characters.
Yuhe Ecological Park, stretching 5.5 kilometers from north to south and 500-800 meters from east to west, covers a planned total area of 400 hectares. By mid-October 2004, the project was completed, reviving the once barren and desolate landscapes on both sides of the Yuhe River. Families flocked to witness the new river’s charm, marking a historic improvement in the natural ecological environment of Datong City.
In addition to the Northern Wei Dynasty steles, Datong also preserves many inscribed stone tablets from various dynasties that have survived to this day. Among the Tang Dynasty epitaphs unearthed in recent years, there are numerous masterpieces renowned for both their calligraphy and carving. The “Record of the Renovation of the Main Hall of the Great Puhui Temple in the Western Capital of the Great Jin,” composed by Zhu Bian of the Southern Song Dynasty and inscribed by Kong Gu in Shanhua Temple, stands alongside the Jin Dynasty stele “Inscription and Preface for the Rebuilt Statue of Sakyamuni Buddha Attaining Enlightenment at Puhui Temple in the Western Capital of the Great Jin,” whose title was penned in seal script by the great Jin Dynasty literary figure and calligrapher Dang Huaiying...
Confucius Temple (Third Batch of Provincial-Level Protected Sites) Era: Ming and Qing Dynasties Address: Southeast corner of central Datong According to the Datong Prefecture Records: “The former educational institute was located east of the prefectural office — that is, the middle school of the Yuan-Wei era, the national academy of the Liao Dynasty’s Western Capital, the Imperial College of the Jin Dynasty, and the Datong County School of the Yuan Dynasty. In the eighth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1375 AD), it was established as the prefectural school. In the twenty-ninth year (1396 AD), the prefectural school was designated as the educational institute of the fiefdom, and the Yunzhong Post Station was converted into the prefectural school — which is the current school.” The so-called prefectural school here refers to today’s Confucius Temple.
Era of Xingguo Temple: Ming Dynasty Address: Xiaoximen, Pingcheng District, Datong City. Built in the 23rd year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1595). Renovated in the 6th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1667). The temple faces east and sits west; only the main hall remains today. The main hall has two levels: the lower level consists of three brick-vaulted cave rooms, with the exterior arches designed in a wood-like architectural style and bracket sets carved under the eaves; the upper level is a wooden structure, three bays wide and two bays deep, with a double-eaved, nine-ridge hip-and-gable roof.
Datong Nine-Dragon Wall Datong Nine-Dragon Wall (Fifth Batch National Heritage Site) Era: Ming Dynasty Address: Southern side of East Street in Datong City According to the Datong Prefecture Records, it was built in the 25th year of the Hongwu reign during the Ming Dynasty (1392 AD) as a single-sided colorful glazed screen wall in front of the prince’s palace of Zhu Gui, the 13th son of Emperor Taizu of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang.
Former Site of the Third Provincial Middle School of Shanxi ProvinceFormer Site of the Third Provincial Middle School of Shanxi Province (Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units)Era: Republican PeriodAddress: Wuzhouchuan, at the foot of Xiyanshan in the western suburbs of Datong CityThe school originated as the “Datong Middle School,” established in the 31st year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1905), and has undergone several changes in location and name since then. In 1913, the Third Provincial Middle School of Shanxi Province was officially founded, and in the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934), it was renamed the “Datong Middle School of Shanxi Province.” In 1972, it became the “Datong Normal School,” the name which has been used ever since.