The train ride to Datong was a little long but we met some nice Chinese folks on board, and chatted with them the whole time.

Datong is an industrial city, 3M people (small by Chinese standards), now beginning to be rebuilt for tourism. Most in-city attractions are closed for that, but the Buddhist grotto outside town is open and very interesting – unfortunately the relics are not in good condition.

Foreign tourists in Datong are still very few and neither the hotel nor the city have useful non-Chinese signage; almost nobody speaks more than a few words of English. Still, it was fun.

Today we go on to Wutaishan.