Chinese Language Blog

Explore the old city of Datong in China’s Shanxi province in this short video. An overnight train from Beijing will get you there in just over 5 hours. Check out the old neighborhood and the newly rebuilt City Wall, in addition to some other places of interest such as the Drum Tower, Grand Mosque, and Nine Dragon Wall. Feast on some spicy chicken and fish, and then get rowdy in a pool hall/KTV bar at night.

北京站 – běi jīng zhàn
Beijing Railway Station

人太多了 – rén tài duō le
too many people

我们买了硬卧票 – wǒ men mǎi le yìng wò piào
We bought hard sleeper tickets.

大同 – dà tóng
Datong

山西省 – shān xī shěng
Shanxi province

城墙 – chéng qiáng
City Wall

青年旅舍 – qīng nián lǚ shě
youth hostel

快了宝贝 – kuài le bǎo bèi
Happy Baby

滑旱冰 – huá hàn bīng
rollerblading

鼓楼 – gǔ lóu
Drum Tower

清真大寺 – qīng zhēn dà sì
Grand Mosque

九龙壁 – jiǔ lóng bì
Nine Dragon Screen

清炒西兰花 – qīng chǎo xī lán huā
stir-fried broccoli

鱼香茄子 – yú xiāng qié zi
fish-scented eggplant

辣子鸡 – là zǐ jī
spicy chicken

烤鱼 – kǎo yú
grilled fish

吃饭以后，我么去打台球 – chī fàn yǐ hòu, wǒ me qù dǎ tái qiú
After dinner, we went to play pool.

Datong on the map

In the northern part of Shanxi province, not far from Inner Mongolia, you’ll find the city of Datong (大同 – dà tóng). Thousands of years ago – during the Han Dynasty circa 200 BC – it was known as Pingcheng (平城 – píng chéng), and it would eventually become the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏朝 – běi wèi cháo) from 398-494 AD. Since then, the city has had a tumultuous history, as it has been sacked, rebuilt, and subsequently sacked again on multiple occasions. In modern times, Datong has been known across China as the “Coal City,” thanks to its large reserves and the resulting dirty air that comes with them. Recently, the government has realized that having this big city rely completely on a non-renewable resource that heavily pollutes the air is not such a good idea. As such, there is an effort to rebuild and renovate Datong and have it eventually be known for more environmentally friendly energy production as well as tourism.

Panoramic view from the City Wall.

Pagoda atop the City Wall

To help bring in the tourist renminbi (人民币 – rén mín bì), Datong has recently been completely rebuilding historical sites that were destroyed in the past.  The ancient City Wall (城墙 – chéng qiáng), which isn’t quite finished yet, is now open for tourists to stroll along. Over one side of the wall, you can take in the views of the old city. Below, you see traditional one story homes – many of them are crumbling and others have already been completely torn down. Time will tell how Datong plans to fix up these historical neighborhoods. Over the other side, you see the rapid development of the city in action – cranes are everywhere, high-rise apartments are sprouting up, and massive shopping malls fight for attention amidst the hordes of people.

Old Datong

vs. New Datong

Strolling around the old city is the best way to get around at the moment, as many of the roads are completely torn up. It’s small enough to walk, and doing so will take you past plenty of other places of interest – the old Drum Tower, a mosque, and the Nine Dragon Screen (九龙壁 – jiǔ lóng bì). Clocking in at 600 years, apparently this is the oldest and largest glazed screen in all of China.

Drum Tower

Mosque

Nine Dragon Screen

At the end of the main pedestrian road in the city, you can find the Huayan Monastery (华严寺 – huá yán sì), which was also completely rebuilt just a few years ago. This Buddhist monastery was originally constructed during the Liao Dynasty (907-1125), whose emperors were strict followers of Buddhism.

Buddha statues in the monastery

After its recent facelift, this sprawling complex really is quite visually impressive. There are many halls to visit, all featuring a variety of statues and artwork. Visitors can also climb to the top of the pagoda to get a bird’s eye view of the old city. From here, you can spot even more cranes, and what appear to be the makings of more newly rebuilt historical structures. Looking down on the contrast below, it was here that I decided to dub Datong an “old, new, old city.” With thousands of years of history, construction and modernization everywhere you look, and the skeletons of ancient buildings coming back to life, it seemed like a fitting nickname.

The newly rebuilt Huayan Monastery

Getting There: There’s no airport here, so you need to get in by either train or bus. Trains from Beijing take about 6-7 hours, and a sleeper ticket is less than 100 RMB one way. Alternatively, you can take a train to the provincial capital (Taiyuan) first, and then switch to a bus.

Hard sleeper bunk on the train

Accommodation: There are plenty of hotels in the city, but there appears to only be one youth hostel. The Datong Youth Hostel is located above a children’s clothing shop in a nice central location down the street from the Huayan Monastery. On our stay, a private double room was 158 RMB/night, while a bed in a dorm room was just 50.

Youth hostel/children's clothing shop

Getting Around: As previously mentioned, many roads are torn up. This has altered several of the bus routes. The old city is small enough to walk around the whole thing. Cabs are cheap as well, starting at just 6 RMB. For the major attractions outside of the city, you can either take a public bus or easily hire a private car.

Walking home from school in Datong

Sights: The old-new City Wall will set you back 30 RMB for a ticket, while the newly remodeled Huayan Monastery costs a steep 80 RMB. The Nine Dragon Screen is a mere 10 RMB, which is good considering you won’t spend more than 10 minutes there. For a cheap day, simply stroll around the old neighborhoods or visit the park and square to live like a local.

From the southeast coast of China and Zhejiang province, we’re moving inland this time to explore Shaanxi province (陕西省 – shǎn xī shěng).

Shaanxi on the map.

This province holds a special place in Chinese history and culture, as it was the site of the capital for many of China’s ancient dynasties. Its current capital city was once the starting point for the ancient Silk Road, and the province has a history going back thousands of years, which is where we’ll begin our tour:

Take a video tour through Shaanxi province.

History

Lantian Man

Considered to be the cradle of Chinese civilization, it’s an understatement to say that Shaanxi has a long and important history. To take it all in, you can visit the Shaanxi History Museum in the capital city of Xi’an (西安 – xī’ān). There, you’ll find that fossils of Lantian Man (蓝田人 – lán tián rén), a subspecies of homo erectus that lived about a million years ago. Speaking of Xi’an, it is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China (中国四大古都 – zhōng guó sì dà gǔ dū). The current name, meaning “Western Peace,” has remained since the Ming Dynasty. In dynasties past, the city used to be called Chang’an (长安 – cháng’ān), or “Perpetual Peace.” In all, thirteen feudal dynasties called the city their capital.

Geography

A closer look at Shaanxi.

This inland province shares a border with: Shanxi, Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia. It is composed of three distinct landforms. In the north, you’ll find the Loess Plateau (黄土高原 – huáng tǔ gāo yuán), which accounts for 45% of the total area of the province. In the south, you’ll find the Qin Mountains (秦岭 – qín lǐng) that run from east to west. In between lies the central Shaanxi plain, also known as Guanzhong (关中 – guān zhōng). With deserts, mountains, plains, valleys, rivers, waterfalls, and much more, Shaanxi is a very geographically diverse province. The province is split up into nine prefecture-level cities, and one sub-provincial city.

Climate

As Shaanxi province is very long from north to south, covering a large span of altitude, the province experiences a variety of climates. Up in the north, the climate is cold arid/cold semi-arid. Here, winter is very cold and dry, and summers are hot. In the Guanzhong region, the climate is mostly semi-arid, while some areas are considered to have a humid subtropical climate. Hot and humid summers here often see heat waves. As for the southern part of the province, it’s much more humid. Winters are nice and cool here, and the summers are hot and long.

Population

As of 2010, the population of Shaanxi clocks in at over 37 million. Mostly all of the people in Shaanxi are Han Chinese, although some clusters of Hui minority people live in the northwestern region, where the province shares a border with Ningxia. Not surprisingly, most people live in and around Xi’an, while the areas in the north and along the mountain ranges are sparsely populated.

Culture

When it comes to culture, one of the first things that comes to mind is Shaanxi cuisine (陕西菜 – shǎn xī cài). Known for its strong flavors, Shaanxi cuisine makes elaborate use of garlic, salt, onion, and vinegar. As for meat, pork and lamb are most commonly used. As opposed to rice, the staple of Shaanxi is definitely noodles, which are thicker and longer than most other varieties of Chinese noodles. One of the most famous dishes comes from Xi’an – crumbled bread soaked in mutton stew (羊肉泡馍 – yáng ròu pào mó). On a cold winter day, there’s nothing better than a big hot bowl of this delicacy.

Shaanxi is also famous for qinqiang (秦腔 – qín qiāng), a style of Chinese opera that originated thousands of years ago.

Famous Places

Lantern Festival on the City Wall.

Of course, the ancient capital of Xi’an is the most famous place in the province. Thousands of tourists flock here everyday to see the sights, including the ancient City Wall (城墙 – chéng qiáng) and the Terra-Cotta Warriors (兵马俑 – bīng mǎ yǒng). Stroll along the City Wall and look down at Xi’an to see both the new and old city – locals playing cards in the park with cranes towering above.

Some of the many Terra-Cotta Warriors.

Outside of the city, you’ll find the incredible Terra-Cotta Warriors. Discovered in 1974 by a farmer, this archaeological wonder features the army of soldiers and horses that were buried with the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇). There are plenty of other notable sites in and around Xi’an city, such as the Muslim quarter, the Drum and Bell towers, the Wild Goose Pagoda, and much more. Shaanxi is also home to one of the Five Great Mountains of China, Mt. Hua (华山 – huà shān).

With an important spot in China’s history books, varied landscapes, dozens of fascinating sights, and delicious food, Shaanxi province is well worth exploring if you have the chance to visit China.