Datong Travel Guide, China

One of the most important cities in the Shanxi Province, Datong, is strategically located in eastern China not far from Baotou and Taiyuan. Datong travel guide presents a few important facts about this historically and culturally important city.

Datong, Travel guide – Geography

The city is set into the Datong Basin and is surrounded by a range of volcanic mountains which create a gorgeous landscape. The high volcanic mountains impress with their spectacular peaks and numerous caves which house several monasteries with beautiful Buddha statues and other carved images.

The general climate is continental with four distinct seasons and an average annual temperature of about 6ºC. Winters here are sometimes very cold with scarce snowfalls but summers are quite warm and humid.

The hydrographic network is well represented within the city, mainly by the Yu River, an important economic and aesthetic element.

Datong, Travel guide – Flora and Fauna

Strongly related to climate and topography, flora and fauna are very present even within the city. Original flora is mainly composed of semiarid species like grasses, and bushes but smaller forest areas. For aesthetic purposes the city is decorated with numerous species of plants, bushes and trees.

Terrestrial fauna is mainly represented by raccoon dogs, weasels, hares, foxes and small rodents as well as different species of birds like partridge, pheasants, storks and more. Aquatic fauna present in the Yu River is represented by different species of fish and amphibians, some of them of economic importance.

Datong, Travel guide – Transport

Datong is a city with a rich and long history, which has always played an important role for China and has important mineral resources. As a result the entire area has a good transport infrastructure from railway networks, modern roads and airports making access very easy for tourists arriving from all over the world. The railway system connects Datong with almost every other important city in China and the roads play as well an important role, tourists having the option of traveling by car or bus. Datong International Airport is located only half an hour away from the city and access is made by bus.

Within the city tourists can only travel by public bus which covers the entire city with its routes or by taxi.

Datong, Travel guide – Population and Economy

Datong has about 1.052.000 inhabitants which are mainly working in the local mining industry, activity based on the local coal reserves. Buddhism has been the main religion here since ancient times when Datong was a flourishing city, thus tourists can admire numerous religious edifices located within the city and in the surrounding mountainous area. The languages spoken here are Mandarin but also English, so it will not be very hard to get any kind of information from the locals.

Nowadays Datong has lost some of its glory and brightness being very affected by the secondary effects of the mining activities and natural hazards. Population is struggling with poverty and pollution but Datong remains an important attraction point for tourists due to important sights located within or nearby the city.

Datong, Travel guide – Cuisine

The flavors of the local cuisine are unique and are given by ingredients like the soy derived products, local cereals and vegetables, rice, different spices and meat especially pork and chicken but also mutton, lamb, beef and fish. Some of the most popular dishes here are the Instant Boiled Lamb, which is raw lamb meat boiled when eating and dipped into a special sweet-salty sauce, different types of noodles or dumplings usually combined with vegetables or meat and accompanied by delicious sauces. Yellow cake is another delicious treat here found in two different options fried or steamed having a delicious crunchy crust in the first case and a soft delicate consistence in the second one.

As for the beverages, like all Chinese people the locals drink a lot of tea especially green and black tea as well as flavored or compressed ones. The most popular spirits here are the yellow wine produced from rice and other types of alcohol drinks produced from different types of cereals.