Dusty and dry Datong sees a fair number of western visitors due to its location relatively close to Beijing and because it's the first stop in China of the Trans-Mongolian Express. This medium-sized city has a couple of sights, of which the Yungang Grottoes are the most worthwhile. Bus 3-2 plies the 15 km from the train station and the city center to the grottoes.

It's a bit difficult to see the carvings in their right chronological order. After entering, you end up in cave 6, which is one of the most brightly painted and represents the 'Chinese' phase. Even the ceilings are full of little details. The neighbouring caves also are colourful and lively, like early versions of the Dazu rock carvings.

Walking westwards, I arrived at the five caves of the first phase. These are huge, solemn Buddha statues looking out from a window on the second floor. When you walk into the cave, you only see their legs.

Finally, I walked back to the eastern caves (1-5). Be sure not to miss these ones. Especially Cave 3 is interesting, as it is the largest cave of all. There are only 2 statues inside, but you can walk inside and enjoy the play of sunlight and shade.

My visit lasted about 2 hours, enough to take in all the major caves in detail and walk around once more to take it all in from a distance. After having visited Dazu and Longmen, I think Yungang has a good mix of the features of those two. I'm still not fed up with the Buddhist rock carvings and looking forward to visiting the Chinese Buddhist rock art site number 4: the Mogao Caves.