5 Days Private Datong, Mt. Wutai and Pingyao Tour

After breakfast, your guide and the driver will greet you at the hotel lobby. Let’s set off to the Hanging Temple, designed to isolate practitioners from worldly distractions. How does it stand on the sheer cliffs? The answer lies in the ancient ‘expansion screws!’ Craftsmen first chiseled square holes into the rock face before embedding 27 anti-corrosion beams into them, then hammered specially made wedges into the beams, which support the main structure’s weight through exposed cantilever arms with the lever principle. Accompanied by your guide, ascend the steps that allow only one person to pass through at a time, during which you’ll truly comprehend this construction wonder. Remember to wear anti-slip shoes for your safety.
 Things to Know:
Please note that some steps incline over 70 degrees, and the narrowest path is under 50 centimeters (20 inches) wide, which requires squeezing through sideways or even using all four limbs. If you’re over 60 years old or have a fear of heights, consider your health condition and comfort level to decide whether to climb or not.

Next on our itinerary is the 11th-century Wooden Pagoda of Ying County, also known as the Pagoda of Fogong Temple, the world’s highest entirely wooden structure, about 22 storeys high. It has withstood the ravages of earthquakes, lightning strikes, and even artillery fire, but its endurance was reduced in the 1920s when a local gentry replaced outer walls and load-bearing beams with carved wooden doors and windows for visual effects. This ill-fated decision caused the pagoda to tilt, yet restoration efforts remain unfinalized due to concerns about its condition, which means that it’s best to visit it as soon as possible!

Finally, we’ll drive to the Mt. Wutai and check into a local hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Huahui Hotel, Mt. Wutai (4 stars)

In the morning, your guide and the driver will pick you up at the hotel and drive 15 minutes to the foot of Mt. Wutai, dedicated to the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, which is regarded as Mecca for Buddhist devotees. The mountain is adorned with many magnificent temples, funded by imperial patronage, where Han and Tibetan Buddhism coexist. 

 Warm Tips before Your Trip:
1. Mt.Wutai is closed from November to February each year due to heavy snowfall. Travel to the surrounding areas is also discouraged during this time because the mountain roads can be hazardous. 
2. Given the temperature difference of over 10℃ (50°F) in the mountains, please wear a down jacket or windproof coat to keep warm.

Start our visit with a hike to the Shuxiang Temple, whose main hall houses a sculpture of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom riding a green-haired lion. The figure wielding a sword symbolizes the cutting away of ignorance and the gift of wisdom. Witness the heartfelt parents flocking here, who pray with school supplies like pens and student ID cards, in hopes of blessing their children with academic success. Then, we’ll head to Xiantong Temple, the largest sanctuary in the mountain, featuring seven halls arranged along a central axis. Its sixth hall is crafted entirely from pure copper, where you can marvel at the 10,000 Buddha statues on the partition walls. 

After admiring the iconic Nepalese-style Great White Pagoda at Pagoda Yard Temple (Tayuan Temple), you’ll ascend the 108 steps leading to the Bodhisattva Summit (Pusading Temple), leaving behind the 108 worldly afflictions, and enjoy the surrounding valleys’ panoramic views. Perhaps you may encounter devout pilgrims who pause to prostrate with reverence at each step. Today’s sightseeing will conclude here, and your guide will escort you back to your hotel.

► Lunch Information: There are local vegan restaurants and a fast-food Dicos for your options, both of which use soy products or grains to imitate meat texture and achieve a nearly realistic taste. We’ll arrange one according to your tastes.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Huahui Hotel, Mt. Wutai (4 stars)

After the hotel pick-up, your guide and the driver will first accompany you to visit the Temple of Buddha’s Light (Foguang Temple), the only well-preserved wooden structure from the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD) in China, before transferring to Pingyao. Once settled into the local guest house, let’s step into the UNESCO-listed Pingyao Ancient City that dates back over 2,700 years, where its thriving past comes alive through museums set in preserved mansions.

Let’s stroll along the Ming and Qing Dynasties Street, the ancient city’s CBD due to the rise of local merchants, who usually operated as family units and traded salt, tea, pigments, and pawnshops throughout the country by treating integrity as their life. Following that, we’ll visit the Ancient Government Office. When ancient people’s interests were infringed, they would beat the drum in front of the office gate to request for fair judgment, and the county magistrate would then summon the plaintiff and defendant to the Primary Law Court for a hearing. You could see their deep knee prints and footprints on the ground here. If our visit happens to be 11:00 or 15:30, we can catch a real court trial performance.

Next, your guide will show you around the Rishengchang Former Bank, the birthplace of China’s financial system. Before its emergence, the local Shanxi merchants faced the daunting task of transporting silver cash across regions, a slow and risky endeavor. Discover how a shrewd manager introduced an innovative idea: depositing silver at one location with a draft and redeeming it at another, complete with a silk anti-counterfeiting logo at the drafts’ four corners, visible only in sunlight or under the counters’ light. Then, extend our visit to the Tongxinggong Escort Agency, where all the staff were trained kung fu masters. Their most impressive feat was escorting 930,000 taels of silver from Beijing to Xi’an for the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835 - 1908 AD).

After climbing up the ancient City Wall and overlooking the turtle-shaped layout of the whole city, today’s itinerary will end, and your guide will escort you back to your hotel just well located inside the ancient city.

► Night Activities Suggestion (at your own expense): 
If interested, you can further explore the ancient city by yourself. Consider treating your taste buds to local snacks like Bowl-shaped Noodle, Oat Noodle Rolls, and Vinegar Yogurt, all priced at about CNY 20 (USD 3) per serving. Then, stroll back to the south gate of the ancient City Wall for a 3D light show at 20:00, which showcases the tales of Shanxi merchants within 18 minutes. Finally, you can walk 15 minutes west back to your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Yide Guest House, Pingyao

After breakfast, you’ll rendezvous with your guide and the driver in the hotel lobby and head to Shuanglin Temple to appreciate stunning painted sculptures. Apart from an ensemble cast of hanging Bodhisattvas, statues here are also skilled in individual shows, represented by the Buddhist Patron Saint in the main hall. He stands at ease, with the body forming an S shape as it twists at the waist. What’s truly remarkable is the way his head turns at a sharper angle than the body, imbuing the sculpture with a living soul, as if prepared to dive into action at any moment. Gazing upon its glass bead eyes will leave you with an intense artistic shock.

From here, let’s visit the former residence of a local business tycoon, Wang Family Compound, which consists of nearly 230 courtyards and more than 2,000 rooms, 1.5 times larger than the Forbidden City in Beijing! After beginning their journey by selling tofu, the Wang Family expanded their fortunes through grain stores, pawnshops, and mule and horse transportation, ultimately reaching their zenith by blending business with governmental ties. As you wander through the mansion, take note of its meticulously designed layout, where higher courtyards indicate higher status according to the traditional hierarchy system. Observing the intricate carvings on pillars, roof ridges, and doorways is also interesting, reflecting the family’s ideal life and aspirations for noble character and an abundance of descendants through scenes of fishing and plowing, and symbols like bamboos and grapes.

It’s time to say goodbye to your 5 days Datong tour package, and your guide and the driver will escort you to the Pingyao Railway Station and see you off. If you want to extend your trip to the nearby Xi’an, don’t hesitate to contact our travel consultants.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch