Editing Datong (section)

==Tourism==
The [[Yungang Grottoes]] are a collection of shallow caves located {{convert|16|km|abbr=on}} west of Datong. There are over 50,000 carved images and statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas within these grottoes, ranging from 4 centimeters to 7 meters tall.  Most of these icons are around 1500 years old.

Within the city itself, there are a few surviving sites of historical interest such as the [[Nine-Dragon Wall]], the [[Huayan Temple (Datong)|Huayan Monastery]], and the [[Shanhua Temple]]. Further afield is the [[Hanging Temple]] built into a cliff face near [[Mount Heng (Shanxi)|Mount Heng]]. Most of the historical sites in this region date to the Liao, Jin and Ming dynasties, but the Hanging Temple dates to the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534).

The railway locomotive works (see below) began to attract increasing numbers of railway enthusiasts from the 1970s. When the construction of steam locomotives was phased out, the authorities did not want to lose this valuable tourism market, and pondered the possibility of developing a steam railway operating center as an attraction. A number of study visits were undertaken to the [[East Lancashire Railway]] at [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]], and a twinning arrangement was concluded with that town.

In 2010, work began on reconstructing the city's 14th century Ming dynasty defensive wall. The controversial reconstruction project was in its final phase at the end of 2014.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fake it to make it |url= http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1627359/fake-it-make-it|newspaper= [[South China Morning Post]] Magazine|location=Hong Kong |access-date= 2 November 2014}}</ref> The documentary ''[[The Chinese Mayor]]''<ref>{{cite web|title=The Chinese Mayor|publisher=[[IMDb]] |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4056808/ }}</ref> documents two years of vigorous and highly controversial (due to summary demolition of about 200,000 homes) effort by Mayor [[Geng Yanbo]] to push the reconstruction project forward.
<gallery mode="packed" heights="130">
File:Xuankongsi.jpg|The [[Hanging Temple]]
File:Loess landscape china.jpg|[[Loess]] landscape near [[Hunyuan]]
File:Datong 06.JPG|A tower on the City Wall
File:Pagoda Huayanmonastery Datong Shanxi.jpg|Pagoda at [[Huayan Temple (Datong)|Huayan Temple]]
File:Datong Huayan Si 2013.08.29 09-37-05.jpg|Huayan Temple
File:Datong Yungang Shiku 2013.08.29 14-24-22.jpg|Lingyan Temple at [[Yungang Grottoes]]
File:Steps leading up to guard tower of Datong City Wall.jpg|Guard house on Datong City Wall
</gallery>