Yungang Grottoes and the Hanging Temple with China Discovery
Jason C

Jason C

USA

Reviewed on April 18, 2023

My wife and I had a short break and wanted to travel from Huizhou to Shanxi to visit some historical sites in Datong and Pingyao. We booked our flight to Datong and planned to travel on our own, but quickly realized that we might have difficulty navigating the area and fitting in everything that we wished to visit. With only a few days' notice, I contacted Johnson at China Discovery. I the time, I didn’t realize that he had helped me previously, in 2018, when booking a Yangtze River Cruise.

Johnson and I originally discussed the 4 Days Datong Wutaishan Discovery Tour, then adding the two-day Pingyao option, but then cutting it down to only two days, since I specifically wanted to see the Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Temple at Hengshan Mountain, and worried that the rest would be a challenge due to time constraints and it would be better to save it for another trip.

The entire experience with China Discovery was excellent. From Johnson’s help with the planning and scheduling to the actual experience at the sites with our tour guide Lucas. As noted, Johnson allowed us to modify the published tour to suit our needs, not only scheduling in a way so that what we needed would fit but allowing us to book our own hotels and choose the restaurants at which we wanted to eat. Our guide Lucas was awesome; he was friendly and knowledgeable. He considered our wishes and understood what we wanted to see, so we never felt rushed to move along. He also took great photos, so it was like having a photographer with me and my wife to help us capture the memories of the trip. In addition to Lucas, there was also a driver. He seemed nice, but we didn’t communicate with him much.

The first day started with a visit to the Hanging Temple. Since the Hanging Temple incorporates Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, Lucas helped us understand how different parts of the temple incorporated different aspects of the religions. We then headed to the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda but ate at a local restaurant prior to entering the religious site. Again, Lucas was both knowledgeable about the site and fun to talk with.

Day two was scheduled to include trips to the grottoes, some local sites in Datong, and a ride to the railway station. I let Lucas know that the grottoes were a requirement, but that I wasn’t concerned about the other sites if it meant that we would need to rush. Again, Lucas was familiar with the site and customs and helped us to understand a bit about Buddhism. He made sure that we were aware of the time and options all along but honored our wish to focus on the grottoes. He got us to the railway station a little early and stayed to show us some meditative forms, that increase blood circulation, from the style of martial arts that he studies.

I am glad that we chose to book through China Discovery and I will continue to reach out to Johnson traveling in China. I also hope to be guided by Lucas sometime in the future or at least to keep in touch.

Destination(s): Shanxi, Datong
Date of Experience: April 2, 2023
Trip Type: Traveled as Couples
Tour Customized by: Johnson

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