Yungang Grottoes — Attraction in Datong

One of the 4 Buddhist Grottoes in China, work on the Yun Gang Grotto was first started in AD460 and certainly one of the largest of its kind with a total of 45 grottoes. In each grotto you will find carvings of Buddha or several Buddhas.

There is no hack for this 5A tourist site. At all times of the day, long queues form at the more popular ones to enter the grottoes. Yun Gang Grottoes opens at 9am (8am during summer) and hordes of visitors are already at its gates one hour before. So be prepared to queue up to one hour to enter a grotto and take care of your personal belongings and safety.

We arrived at 10am, trying to time our entrance between the departure of the first wave of visitors. Partially successful, our longest queue was about 15 to 20 mins only. The space inside the grottoes is very small so those who are claustrophobic or have enochlophobia (fear of crowds) are advised not to enter the grottoes.

But for the one who braved the crowded grottoes, you are rewarded immensely with views of majestic and intricate carvings.

Prepare to spend 3 to 5 hours here, depending on the queues and no, you will not be able to cover all 45...

Yungang Grottoes in China's Shanxi Province, Datong City in the western suburbs, mainly built in the Northern Wei Dynasty Xing'an two years (453 years) to Taihe between nineteen years (495 years) [1] , is presided over by the royal family of the first Chinese dignitaries cut a large grotto. The entire group of caves is divided into three parts: east, middle and west. Grotto mostly eastern pagoda -based, also known as the tower hole; Central "Tan Yao five Cave" is the Yungang first cut, the daring, the largest group of caves; age group in western cave a little late, most of the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang after work. Mountain caves dug in Wu Zhou River 1 km stretch north shore things up to 51 major caves (which preserved approximately 20  ), the whole group a total size of Buddha Cave squatting more than 1,100, the size of more than 51,000 Buddha statue The largest Buddha statue is 17 meters high and the smallest Buddha statue is only 2 centimeters high. The largest grotto is the 6th Grotto (the Northern Wei Emperor Xiaowenexcavated), from the ground to the top of the cave up...

I'll be honest, I've seen the world. China is my 50th country. It is very hard to impress me these days. These caves and carvings are mind-blowing. Truly incredible. Honestly I would say this is up there with some of the most mind-blowing things on Earth I've ever seen, like the Taj Mahal, Borobudur, Angkor Wat. It is absolutely mind-blowing. The cost to get in is reasonable. I visited on a day trip from Beijing. To get here, buy a ticket for the high-speed rail to datong South station. It takes 2 hours and the train costs about 23 USD. From the railway station, go to the bus area and find the tourist bus that comes to Yungang. It costs 10 Yuan for the bus. The bus drops you directly at the entrance to the grottos. The entrance costs $13 USD. I really really highly recommend visiting here. Even if you are just doing the 240-hour tourist visa and spending a few days in Beijing, I think it is worth it to buy tickets for the train to Datong to come here. It is truly one of the wonders...