Beijing Datong 2 Day Tour by Flight

Day 01 Beijing   Datong

Pick up from your hotel in Beijing around 5:10am and escorted to Beijing Capital Airport. You will take the early morning flight departing around 7:00am from Beijing to Datong( the actual flight number, departure and arrival time will be reconfirmed by your trip advisor from Tour Beijing). The flight takes about 45 minutes.

Upon arrival in Datong Yungang Airport, you will be met by our English speaking tour guide and drive directly from Datong airport to Yungang Grottoes. In a valley at Yungang, some 16km west of Datong, there are more than 45 recesses dug into the hills and filled with Buddhist statues of various sizes and shapes, 51,000 altogether, later called Yungang Grottoes ( Cloud Ridge Caves ) listed UNESCO World Heritage in 2001.

After your visit to Yungang Grottoes, you will be returned to the city center of Datong and visit the Nine Dragon Wall, which used to guard the mansion or palace. In China, a big wall of dragons in front of the entrance should block evil spirits can only walk in straight lines. The wall is 8 meters high, 45 meters long, and has 9 different dragons made of 426 glazed tiles. It is the largest nine dragon screen in China.

Then move on to Datong Huayan Temple. Huanyan Temple, located in the southwest of Datong City, is one of the biggest temples in China built in Liao Dynasty. It got its name because it was and remains a major temple of the Huayan sect, a sub-category of the Buddhism popular in north China.

Then ascend the restored Datong Ancient City Wall to have a panoramic view of Datong. Today’ancient city wall in Datong is a recent restoration of the city wall in Ming Dynasty ( 1368 – 1644 ) when Datong was designated as one of the 9 military towns outside Beijing defending against the steppe nomads along the Great Wall of China. The ancient city wall is 14 meters in height and square in shape with a perimeter of 6.5 km.

Check-in at our designated hotel in Datong. Free for rest of the day.

Meals: Chinese lunch

Day 02   Datong    Hanging Temple     Yingxian Wooden Pagoda     Beijing

Pick up from your hotel Datong in the morning. First drive to Hanging Temple, 65 km away south-east of Datong. The temple hangs on the west cliff of a hill with over 50 meters above the ground, hence Hanging Monastery. Hanging Monastery was first built in 491. The present monastery was mainly rebuilt and maintained in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The biggest attraction of Hanging Temple is the fact that the temple includes Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

After lunch, move on to Yingxian County to visit the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, the oldest and largest wooden Buddhist pagoda in existence in the world. The pagoda is a 9 story octagonal building 67 meters high. It was was built without using any nails. It is admired as one of the “Three Wonders of Pagoda in the world” together with Eiffel Tower in France and leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. Lunch included.

At the end of your day trip to Datong, you are escorted to Datong Yungang Airport and take the later afternoon flight departing around 19:50 from Datong to Beijing (the actual flight number, departure and arrival time will be reconfirmed by your trip advisor from Tour Beijing). The flight takes about 45 minutes.

Upon arrival in Beijing Nanyuan Airport (Note: It is not Beijing Capital Airport), you will be met by our English speaking tour guide and returned to your hotel in Beijing.

Meals: Hotel breakfast and Chinese lunch