The Yungang Grottoes, or Cloud Ridge Caves (云岗石窟 yún gǎng shí kù）are a collection of shallow caves located 16 km west of Datong. There are over 50,000 carved images and statues of Buddha and Bodhisattvas within these grottoes, ranging from 4 centimeters to 7 meters tall. Most of these icons are around 1000 years old. Within the city itself, there are a few surviving sites of historical interest such as the Nine Dragon Screen (九龙壁 jiǔ lóng bì）, the Huayan Monastery（华严寺 huá yán sì）, and the Shanhua Monastery（善化寺 shàn huà sì). Further a field is the Hanging Temple (悬空寺 xuán kong sì) built into a cliff face near Mount Heng. Most of the historical sites in this region date to the Tang and Ming dynasties.

Datong is one of the city famous for it's history and culture and is located at the northern part of Shanxi Province. Datong is 380 km (236 miles) west of Beijing and 352 km (219 miles) north of Taiyuan, and is an important traffic junction with great strategic importance. Consisting of four districts and seven counties, Datong covers an area of 14,152 sq km (3,497,032 acres) and has a population of over 3 million. Mt. Hengshan, Mt. Cailiang, Mt. Mafu and many other mountains and hills surround Datong combines with more than 20 rivers running through the region make Datong City a wonderful place with beautiful natural scenery. There are also abundant mineral resource of which the coal mine is the most famous which gives Datong the title Capital of Coal. The area enjoys the continental monsoon climate, winter of Datong is extremely cold and dry, and spring and fall are cool but the temperature varies sharply between day and night. The average annual temperature is 5.5 oC (41.9 oF), and the hottest temperature is 37.7 oC (99.86 oF) while the lowest -29.1 oC(-20.38 oF). During the summer Datong is a natural tourist resort because the average temperature is only 19~21 oC (66.2~69.8 oF). The best time to visit Datong is during July and August.