Taiyuan
The bus arrived at 6.30 am in Taiyuan. I took a taxi to a hotel that was supposed to accommodate foreigners. This did not of course. After looking for a hotel for some time and a decent amount of rain poured down, I had found a hotel. Close to the train station and rather modern seems to be the formula for moderately priced hotels that host foreigners.
In the early afternoon I drove to the outstanding museum of Shanxi province. Admission was free; the museum is relatively new and has a largely interesting exhibition. The only thing I did not like was once again the behavior of most Chinese. While some, like me, took the time to look at the exhibit, a large part would just take pictures of each exhibit, but didn’t give it a second glance. This ignorance bothers me, but I was able to ignore it, since the museum was not as crowded as the Terracotta Army site on the day before.
Following heavy rainfalls in the morning, I was witness to the fact that there is no need for a functioning drainage system if one disposes over an almost endless amount of cheap laborer. A huge puddle, which occupied half of one of the main roads was swept away easily.
In the evening I was the victim of the paranoia of the Chinese government. Internet cafes have tp 0ask for a Chinese ID card, so you can surf there. Actually, they should also accept a foreign passport, but usually they don’t. Most of the time I could surf using the ID card of an employee. In Taiyuan, I was already sent away by two Internet cafes; in the third I was able to bribe the staff.
The next morning I got myself a Western breakfast in a huge supermarket and then went by bus to Datong.
Datong
In Datong, I invested a little more in my hotel room since it was pouring rain and I had no desire to look for alternatives in that kind of weather. It was a new hotel and breakfast included. The majority of my first day I spent in the hotel room, because of a slight cold and persistent rain. I left it in the evening to buy a train ticket to Beijing and to book a tour to the two great sights around Datong. At the only internet cafe in the vicinity of my hotel I was not allowed to use it without a Chinese ID card.
After breakfast I got around the restrictive policies of Internet cafes by asking the customer directly. So I was able to secure my accommodation in Beijing. Then I went to the meeting place, where the tour bus was supposed to leave. Actually I prefer to get to the sights on my own, but in this case I would have only been able to see one of the two sights. With the help of the tour bus I did see both the Hanging Monastery and the Yungang Caves. My tour group was European, except for a Dutch and an Italian family it consisted completely of native French speakers.
First we went to the Hanging Monastery some 70 kilometers away from Datong. It is located in a narrow valley with a river. In order to avoid damages from floods, the monks came up with a slightly crazy idea; the monastery was built in the middle of a solid rock wall. The monastery is not very big, but impressive because of its unusual architecture. Especially when standing at the edge of the low balustrade and looking down.
Having lunch at the tour restaurant was not an option for me because in my experience, the tour food is usually at best modest and the drinks are overpriced. Instead, I bought huge bag of baked goods for less than a dollar at a local bakery.
On the way to the Yungang Caves Datong’s split personality became apparent. Datong is a prime tourist destination on the on hand and the center of a vibrant coal mining industry on the other. We drove past a huge coal power plant. It was completely supplied by truck. In the area surrounding this power plant it was hard to see anything, because of the swirling dust from the trucks and the emissions from the plant.
A few kilometers further down the road, next to a coal mine is the World Heritage site Yungang Caves. Thanks to the Chinese government it is no longer possible to stop directly at the caves. Today the path to the caves leads through brand new temple and over an artificial lake with boat tours on offer. The majority of people seem to like this extension, most of the Chinese tourists and a large part of my tour group, took loads of pictures there. The Yungang Caves are a series of man-made caves with Buddhist sculptures in them. There are some large caves, which had been funded by royal family and many smaller caves of individuals. The variance of the Buddha sculptures ranging from 2 centimeters to more than 18 meters in size. The earliest sculptures have an Indian look, while newer once have more Chinese features. This place indeed deserves World Heritage site status and didn’t need the extension at all.
The bus ride back into town was a little delayed, after heavy rain flooded over an underpass. At the end of this exhausting day of sightseeing, I enjoyed my unusually luxurious hotel room for one more night and went on to Beijing on the next morning.
The bus arrived at 6.30 am in Taiyuan. I took a taxi to a hotel that was supposed to accommodate foreigners. This did not of course. After looking for a hotel for some time and a decent amount of rain poured down, I had found a hotel. Close to the train station and rather modern seems to be the formula for moderately priced hotels that host foreigners.
In the early afternoon I drove to the outstanding museum of Shanxi province. Admission was free; the museum is relatively new and has a largely interesting exhibition. The only thing I did not like was once again the behavior of most Chinese. While some, like me, took the time to look at the exhibit, a large part would just take pictures of each exhibit, but didn’t give it a second glance. This ignorance bothers me, but I was able to ignore it, since the museum was not as crowded as the Terracotta Army site on the day before.
Following heavy rainfalls in the morning, I was witness to the fact that there is no need for a functioning drainage system if one disposes over an almost endless amount of cheap laborer. A huge puddle, which occupied half of one of the main roads was swept away easily.
In the evening I was the victim of the paranoia of the Chinese government. Internet cafes have tp 0ask for a Chinese ID card, so you can surf there. Actually, they should also accept a foreign passport, but usually they don’t. Most of the time I could surf using the ID card of an employee. In Taiyuan, I was already sent away by two Internet cafes; in the third I was able to bribe the staff.
The next morning I got myself a Western breakfast in a huge supermarket and then went by bus to Datong.
Datong
In Datong, I invested a little more in my hotel room since it was pouring rain and I had no desire to look for alternatives in that kind of weather. It was a new hotel and breakfast included. The majority of my first day I spent in the hotel room, because of a slight cold and persistent rain. I left it in the evening to buy a train ticket to Beijing and to book a tour to the two great sights around Datong. At the only internet cafe in the vicinity of my hotel I was not allowed to use it without a Chinese ID card.
After breakfast I got around the restrictive policies of Internet cafes by asking the customer directly. So I was able to secure my accommodation in Beijing. Then I went to the meeting place, where the tour bus was supposed to leave. Actually I prefer to get to the sights on my own, but in this case I would have only been able to see one of the two sights. With the help of the tour bus I did see both the Hanging Monastery and the Yungang Caves. My tour group was European, except for a Dutch and an Italian family it consisted completely of native French speakers.
First we went to the Hanging Monastery some 70 kilometers away from Datong. It is located in a narrow valley with a river. In order to avoid damages from floods, the monks came up with a slightly crazy idea; the monastery was built in the middle of a solid rock wall. The monastery is not very big, but impressive because of its unusual architecture. Especially when standing at the edge of the low balustrade and looking down.
Having lunch at the tour restaurant was not an option for me because in my experience, the tour food is usually at best modest and the drinks are overpriced. Instead, I bought huge bag of baked goods for less than a dollar at a local bakery.
On the way to the Yungang Caves Datong’s split personality became apparent. Datong is a prime tourist destination on the on hand and the center of a vibrant coal mining industry on the other. We drove past a huge coal power plant. It was completely supplied by truck. In the area surrounding this power plant it was hard to see anything, because of the swirling dust from the trucks and the emissions from the plant.
A few kilometers further down the road, next to a coal mine is the World Heritage site Yungang Caves. Thanks to the Chinese government it is no longer possible to stop directly at the caves. Today the path to the caves leads through brand new temple and over an artificial lake with boat tours on offer. The majority of people seem to like this extension, most of the Chinese tourists and a large part of my tour group, took loads of pictures there. The Yungang Caves are a series of man-made caves with Buddhist sculptures in them. There are some large caves, which had been funded by royal family and many smaller caves of individuals. The variance of the Buddha sculptures ranging from 2 centimeters to more than 18 meters in size. The earliest sculptures have an Indian look, while newer once have more Chinese features. This place indeed deserves World Heritage site status and didn’t need the extension at all.
The bus ride back into town was a little delayed, after heavy rain flooded over an underpass. At the end of this exhausting day of sightseeing, I enjoyed my unusually luxurious hotel room for one more night and went on to Beijing on the next morning.
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