Explore Datong ancient capital city on a private walking tour

The Ancient City Wall of Datong has beared significant strategic importance since ancient times, particularly since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Therefore, countries at that time took the city defense construction very seriously. The city's military history specifically includes a history of city defense. The city wall was built as a clay building by the Northern Wei state (386-534) during the Southern and Northern Dynasties(420-589). Its layout has changed during four dynasties of Tang, Liao, Jin, Yuan, and finally settled to what it is seen today in the Ming Dynasty. During the fifth year of Hongwu (1368-1398), General Xu Da enlarged the clay wall, covering an area of 2.63 square kilometers. It is tall and majestic, solid, and steep. The base was made from stone strips, slates, and blue bricks. Materials were classified by size, which was selected and used according to different parts. Fortunately, the outline of the wall remains with strong traditional features. In order to rescue and protect this historical and cultural heritage, the Datong government carried out a restoration project in April 2008. The recovery of the East Wall has been completed in December 2009, including one gatehouse, two turrets, 12 watchtowers, one embrasure watchtower, and two command towers. The large-scale recovery of the South Wall and the North Wall have been completed in 2010.

Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of 1,040 metres and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east.

Drum Tower, which is 18.33 meters long from east to west, 14 meters wide from north to south, and 20meters high, is located in the cross road of south Danan Street. It was built in Ming dynasty and underwent several renovations during the Qing dynasty. This building has three storeys. The first storey is built of bluestones, and the second and the third storey are built of wood and bricks. Around the main body of the tower, there is a wooden corridor on each storey for people to overlook the scenery near the tower. At the top of the tower, there is a huge drum. In ancient time, this drum was used for telling time for people at nights. And of cause the name of this tower is got from the huge drum in it.

According to Datong County Annals, “the temple was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but was later ruined long and only its brick tower remained.” The tower is the center of the temple. Other buildings include a Bell Tower, a Scripture Hall, a Giant Buddha Pavilion and two Side Halls. They are arranged in line from south to north. The tower is mainly used for the collection and worshipping of the bone relics of the eminent monks. The original Buddhist temples are called pagoda temples, for the pagoda is the most important building. To better protect this precious temple derived from early Tibetan Buddhism, the city government reconstructed Fahua temple to its original state in 2008.

Huayan Temple or Huayan Monastery is a Buddhist temple located in Datong, Shanxi, China. Huayan Temple has been burned down and rebuilt several times. The Mahavira Hall and Buddhist Texts Library still preserve the architectural style of the Liao and Jin dynasties (907–1234). It is an artistic complex of ancient Chinese architecture, sculpture, frescoes and inscriptions, as well as a cultural synthesis of religion and politics.

A Nine-Dragon Wall or Nine-Dragon Screen is a type of screen wall with reliefs of nine different Chinese dragons. Such walls are typically found in imperial Chinese palaces and gardens. Early reference to the tradition of putting a screen wall at the gate is found in the Analects, 3:22: therein, it is mentioned as a trivial ritual norm ("The princes of States have a screen intercepting the view at their gates". 邦君樹塞門, trans. by James Legge).

Shanhua Temple is a Buddhist temple located in Datong, Shanxi Province, China. The temple was first founded during the early 8th century of the Tang Dynasty, but its earliest surviving building dates from the 11th century.