A 3-Day Datong Itinerary

How this itinerary is structured

Datong has two clusters: the Yungang Grottoes to the west of the city, and the Hanging Temple and Mount Heng about 60 km to the southeast. The old city is a third, compact cluster that is entirely walkable.

This plan gives each cluster its own day, which avoids the long cross-city transfers that ruin a short trip. It assumes you arrive the evening before Day 1.

Day 1 — Yungang Grottoes and the city wall

Morning: leave the hotel by 8am and head to the Yungang Grottoes (bus 603 from the railway station, taxi, or a pre-booked car). Enter as soon as it opens and work through the caves from east to west — Cave 5, Cave 6, Cave 12 and finally the open-air Cave 20 with its 17-metre Buddha.

Afternoon: return to the city, rest, and then walk the old city. Start at the Nine Dragon Screen, then Huayan Temple (¥50 peak season), then go up onto the city wall in the late afternoon.

Evening: stay on or near the wall for sunset and the illumination, then eat nearby — Datong is known for its knife-cut noodles.

• 08:00 depart for Yungang Grottoes
• 08:30–12:30 caves (3–4 hours)
• Afternoon: Nine Dragon Screen + Huayan Temple
• Late afternoon to evening: city wall at sunset

Day 2 — Hanging Temple and Mount Heng

This is the long day: about 1.5 hours each way to Hunyuan County.

Go straight to the Hanging Temple. The climbing ticket (¥100, on top of the ¥15 entry) is capped at 2,475 a day. The scenic-area management centre currently allocates 1,200 tickets online and 1,275 at the ticket office. Online reservations for dates within the next seven days run daily from 07:20 to 21:00 through “Bei Yue Yun You”; overseas visitors can use the authorized Trip.com channel. The on-site morning allocation opens 30 minutes before the site opens and the afternoon allocation at 12:00 noon. Both are first come, first served, and require real-name booking.

Buy the entry and climbing tickets separately as needed, and do not assume a reseller can secure a ticket. If the climb is unavailable, the entry ticket still lets you see the temple from below.

After the temple, continue to Mount Heng (¥45). Datong government notices have listed direct tourist-shuttle routes from the city and Datong South Station to the Hengshan visitor centre, but schedules vary with demand and season. Check the official JinYouBao Scenic Shuttle mini program for the outbound and return legs before committing to this day; the shuttle and the temple alone can fill a full day.

If you have energy left, the digital experience centre at the Hengshan visitor centre adds context on the temple’s construction.

• Check the current direct shuttle departure and return time before choosing this day
• Morning: Hanging Temple (climb)
• Afternoon: Mount Heng + shuttle bus
• Evening: return to Datong (≈ 1.5h)

Day 3 — The old city, unhurried

Use the last day for what you missed and for the parts of the old city that are not headline attractions: Shanhua Temple, the mosque and the restored streets inside the walls, and the Datong Museum if you want the archaeology behind the grottoes.

If you are continuing to Taiyuan and Pingyao, this is the day to take the high-speed train south.

• Morning: Shanhua Temple and old-city streets
• Optional: Datong Museum
• Afternoon: high-speed train onward to Taiyuan / Pingyao

If you only have one day

Choose the Yungang Grottoes plus the old city. The grottoes are the reason Datong exists on the traveller map, and the old city is compact enough to cover in an afternoon and evening. The Hanging Temple requires a full day of travel and is best saved for a longer trip.