An ugly city blackened by the coal dust of surrounding mines, Datong wouldn’t be at the top of many must-see sights in China lists. However it has two jewels that are as good as any other examples of their kind in the rest of China: the Yungang Grottoes and a monastery that hangs off a cliff. Unlike the far more famous grottoes at Dunhuang, at the beginning of the Silk Road, Datong’s caves are open caverns that allow the visitor to enter and walk between the enormous carved Buddhas and under the 50,000 or so tiny carved faces all over the ceilings and walls. The Hanging Temple, built during the Northern Wei Dynasty between 386 and 534 AD, is just an hour out of town.

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