Best Time to Visit Datong

The short answer

The best months are May, June, September and October. You get mild, dry weather, long daylight hours and manageable crowds. The peak crush is July–August and the Chinese public holidays, when the grottoes and the Hanging Temple fill up.

Datong sits at about 1,000 m on the northern loess plateau, so it is cooler than Beijing in summer and genuinely cold in winter, with a large day-to-night temperature swing in spring and autumn.

By season

Spring (April–May): warming up, some wind and dust, fewer visitors. Good light for photography at the grottoes.

Summer (June–August): the most comfortable temperatures of the year and the greenest landscape, but also the busiest and the most expensive. This is when the Hanging Temple climbing ticket is hardest to get. Check its official booking rules before you travel; the reservation window opens only seven days ahead.

Autumn (September–October): widely considered the best window. Clear, dry, golden light, and the crowds thin out after the National Day holiday in early October.

Winter (November–March): cold, sometimes below −15°C, and some facilities are quieter. The upside is that the caves and temples are almost empty and ticket prices drop to the off-season rate. Snow on the Yungang carvings is genuinely striking if you can handle the cold.

• Best overall: May, June, September, October
• Busiest: July–August, Chinese public holidays
• Cheapest: winter (off-season ticket pricing)
• Biggest temperature swing: spring and autumn

Peak season and ticket pricing

Datong attractions switch to peak-season pricing from 1 April. As of 2026 the Yungang Grottoes cost ¥120 in peak season and ¥100 off-season, and Huayan Temple is ¥50 in peak season.

The Hanging Temple is the one to plan around. Since 1 April 2026, climbing tickets have been capped at 2,475 a day: 1,200 online and 1,275 at the scenic-area ticket office. The official management-centre notice says online reservations for dates within the next seven days are available daily from 07:20 to 21:00 through the “Bei Yue Yun You” WeChat mini program; tickets for overseas visitors are authorized on Trip.com. The on-site morning allocation opens 30 minutes before the site opens, and the afternoon allocation opens at 12:00 noon. Both are first come, first served.

You need both the entry ticket and the climbing ticket to enter the temple, and ticketing and admission are real-name. The official notice says other online platforms are not authorized, so avoid resale promises. If you cannot get a climbing ticket, the separate entry ticket still lets you view the temple from below.

Timing your days

Start early. The Yungang Grottoes are best in the first light, when the east-facing caves catch the sun and the tour groups have not arrived. Most visitors spend 3–4 hours there.

Do the old city in the late afternoon and evening: the city wall is best just before sunset and after the lights come on, and Huayan Temple and the Nine Dragon Screen are both walkable from it.