DaTong Trip: YunGang Grottoes (YunGang ShiKu)

We checked-out of our hotel early Sunday morning. We saved more than a few kuais because the hotel only charged us for a night though we checked-in around 4 am Saturday.

We walked to KFC for breakfast then took a cab to YunGang Grottoes. We've planned to take the bus but I got a headache looking for the bus route. I had this map I bought Saturday which turned out to be outdated (published last 2000... go figure).

on the way

From Wikipedia: The Yungang Grottoes (simplified Chinese: 云冈石窟; traditional Chinese: 雲崗石窟; pinyin: Yúngāng Shíkū) are ancient Buddhist temple grottoes near the city of Datong in the Chinese province of Shanxi. They are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture and one of the three most famous ancient sculptural sites of China. The others are Longmen and Mogao.

map

near the entrance

From Wikipedia: The site is located about 16 km south-west of the city, in the valley of the Shi Li river at the base of the Wuzhou Shan mountains. The grottoes were mainly constructed in the period between 460-525 AD during the Northern Wei dynasty. They are an outstanding example of the Chinese stone carvings from the 5th and 6th centuries. All together the site is composed of 252 grottoes with more than 51,000 Buddha statues and statuettes. In 2001, the Yungang Grottoes were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Yungang Grottoes is considered by UNESCO a "masterpiece of early Chinese Buddhist cave art... [and] ...represent the successful fusion of Buddhist religious symbolic art from south and central Asia with Chinese cultural traditions, starting in the 5th century CE under Imperial auspices."

UNESCO World Heritage Site

From chinamuseums.com: Fifty-three grottoes remain at Yungang today, with some 51,000 statues. The tallest among these is 17 meters high, the smallest is only a few centimeters. Carving techniques build on and further develop the traditional arts of the Qin and Han dynasties, but also absorb and merge into these the artistic traditions of both India and western regions. The grottoes are divided into three distinct sections, east, central and west.

I didn't get to buy a lot of souvenirs because I don't have a bus ticket to Beijing yet, and it's kind of a far to walk back home...

Souvenirs galore

DaTong Trip: Sights within the City

The Nine Dragon Screen was built in the 25th year of the reign of Hong Wu of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1392). It was orignally situated in front of Dai-King Zhu mansion who was the 13th son of Zhu Yuab Zhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It dates back 600 years ago. It is 45.5 meters long, 8 meters high and 2.02 meters wide. This is said to be the largest glazed wall in China.

Datong Drum tower in the middle of the city. With the weather unusually cooperative, it's a very pretty sight.

DaTong Trip: Wooden Pagoda in Yingxian County

This place is not in DaTong but in Yingxian County, Shuozhou. Our cab driver recommended that we come here after visiting The Hanging Monastery in Heng Shan.

From Wikipedia: The Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple (Chinese: 佛宫寺释迦塔; pinyin: Fógōng Sì Shìjiā Tǎ) of Ying County, Shanxi province, China, is a wooden Chinese pagoda built in 1056, during the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty. The pagoda was built by Emperor Daozong of Liao (Hongji) at the site of his grandmother's family home. The pagoda, which has survived several large earthquakes throughout the centuries, reached a level of such fame within China that it was given the generic nickname of the "Muta" (Chinese: 木塔; pinyin: mùtǎ; literally "Timber Pagoda").

three wheeled car (or is it a tricycle?)

From Wikipedia: The pagoda stands on a 4 m (13 ft) tall stone platform, has a 10 m (33 ft) tall steeple, and reaches a total height of 67.31 m (220.83 ft) tall; it is the oldest existent fully-wooden pagoda still standing in China. Although it is the oldest fully-wooden pagoda in China, the oldest existent pagoda is the 6th century Songyue Pagoda made of brick and the oldest existent wooden buildings in China date back to the mid Tang Dynasty (618–907), which are Buddhist temple halls found at Mount Wutai.

Mushu? Is that you?

hutongs

buying a map

Train Ride and The Hanging Monastery (Xuankong Si)

At last I was able to go to Datong. Mel and I have been planning to go there for ages. We went last weekend with Day and Mario (Susy is otherwise occupied...). I got us 27 yuan train tickets from huochepiao.com delivered to my apartment. I can't believe how cheap the fare was - imagine 27 kuai for a 7-hour trip? (140 pesos lang 'yun, kulang pa papuntang Batangas!)

I should have known better. I immediately regretted being cheap when I saw the old train. It was crowded, the seats are narrow, people smoke, and it DIDN'T announce the stations it stopped at - we ended up counting the stops. It's kinda scary because Datong is only a stop in the 1185 train line, not a terminal. (I keep imagining waking up in Batou which is like 6 to 7 hours away from Datong, 13 hours from Beijing).


We arrived at 3:30 in the morning, asked a cab driver to take us to the hotel the elong reserved for us. Along the way, we called the hotel for directions only to be advised that there are no rooms available, and they have given our room away. It's a good thing that our cab driver knows this hotel near Jiu Long Bi (Nine Dragon Screen). We slept for 3 hours, and then we're off to the Hanging Monasteries.

From Wikipedia: The Hanging Monastery stands at the foot of Mt. Hengshan and is one of the most dramatic sights at Hengshan - a wooden temple clinging to the cliff side, appearing to defy gravity with only a few wooden posts as support. The Hanging Monastery, built in 491, has survived more than 1,400 years. The extant monastery was largely rebuilt and maintained in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The buildings were restored in 1900 and there are 40 wooden halls and structures linked by an ingenious system of pillars, posts and walkways.



The Hanging Monastery is an hour and a half ride from Datong City. Tickets cost 60 yuan plus 1 yuan insurance (in case you fall off the cliff, i think). The place is amazing but fell short of my expectations. We took a lot of pictures, though.