Shanxi

Our Datong adventure was kind of an afterthought. We had 2 days left in the itinerary and decided to add a stop to Datong in order to see some grottoes with statues in them. Like Xian, we didn't quite appreciate the historical significance of the place. Of course , there was the usual cursory Lonely Planet information which does give a very brief but interesting description. By that introduction we decided to stop in Datong on the way back to Beijing.

We won't attempt to provide too much history for Datong as you can get a better description from places like this. From the geography above you can see that Datong is close to the Mongolian border and just behind the Great Wall. The land here is arid and the wind blows huge swirls of dust much of the time. Hot as hell in summer, and cold as hell in winter. Enough said.

In order to get there, we had to take the train, so let's get going!