Welcome at Shanxi and Taiyuan

The marvellous complex of the grottoes at Yungang, at Datong county

Shanxi is a province in the northern part of China. Shanxi's name literally means “mountains west”, which refers to the province’s location west of the Taihang Mountains. The capital of the province is Taiyuan.

The Great Wall of China forms most of the northern border of Shanxi with the district Inner Mongolia. The Huang He (Yellow River) forms the western border of Shanxi with with the district Shaanxi.

Wutai Shan (Mount Wutai) is the highest point in the province and a major Buddhist pilgrimage destination because it is known as the residence of the bodhisattva Manjusri. There are many temples and natural sights.

Mount Hengshan (Heng Shan), in Hunyuan County, is one of the “Five Great Peaks” of China, and is also a major Taoist site.

The Hukou Waterfall in the Yellow River is with 50 meters high the second highest waterfall in China.

The octagonal Pagoda of Fugong Temple with nine levels (five are visible from outside), in Ying County, is a pagoda built in 1056 during the Liao Dynasty is currently the tallest wooden pagoda in the world.

It is also the oldest fully-wooden pagoda in China, although many no-longer-existing wooden pagodas have preceded it, and many existing stone and brick pagodas predate it by centuries.

Dazhai is a village in Xiyang County which is Situated in hilly, difficult terrain. It was a holy site during the Cultural Revolution, when it was set out to the entire nation as exemplary of the hardiness of the proletariat, especially peasants.

The Yungang Grottoes, also a World Heritage Site in Datong. They consist of 252 caves noted for their collection of 5th and 6th century Buddhist grotto sculptures and reliefs.

The Cloud Ridge Caves are shallow caves near Datong. There are over 50,000 carved images and statues of Buddhas and Boddhisatvas within these grottoes, ranging from 4 centimeters to 7 meters tall.

The Ancient City of Pingyao near Taiyuan is at the World Heritage Site of UNESCO. Once a great financial center of China, it is noted for its preservation of many features of northern Han Chinese culture, architecture, and way of life during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

At Hunyuan, not far from Heng Shan, the unique “Hanging Temple”, complex Xuankongsi is located on the side of a cliff and has survived for 1400 years despite earthquakes in the area.