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Published: November 17th 2012
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CHINA: Yungang at minus 20 C. Midnight train from Beijing...soft sleeper...nil sleep...Italians from Milan snoring in the top bunks...like Dr Zhivago outside...icy wastes of Inner Mongolia...then into Shanxi Provence...felt like Siberia.
Train pulls into Datong at 7 a.m...dark...icy...cold as...follow the Italians...then Denise & I alone in the snow...the glow of a few lights...people scurrying...fog streaming from their mouths.
A sound breaks through the darkness
..."Taxi?"...a face enquiring
..."Yes please". Our packs grabbed and put into the boot of a taxi...doors opened...into the back...the man then disappearing.
We sat in the back...and sat...other taxis pulling away...we looking at each other...where's our driver?
"I know how to get him back" I said as I stepped out of the taxi.
And just like that he was back...leaving his mates to secure his fare..."
Datong Hotel please"...showing him the name in Mandarin...hoping he can read it as the local dialect is Jin.
It was snowing as we crossed the city...an austere town in comparison to the glitz of Beijing...but this was the place of Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Monastery, Mu Ta...ancient treasures...now a coal mining centre.
"Commercial centre" the driver says waving his hand.
Ping brain engaged...he speaks
some English...look at Den...knowing look.
So I arranged for our driver to take us to Yungang Grottoes and the Great Wall split by a gorge...his taxi for 200 RMB (AUD$33) for the day...OK...much cheaper than Beijing...no bargaining required.
His name was Cheng...used him again for the next 2 days...even taken to his home.
Pull up at our hotel...Cheng waiting for us to have breakfast...the lack of sleep kicking in...tiredness evaporating when I saw the Italians...had to tell them what price I had scored for the day.
Paulo & Sandra...10 days in China...they 1 day in Datong with guide...5,000 RMB (over AUD$830) for the day...booked from Italy...me enjoying the look on their faces as I told them as nonchalently as I could that we were paying 200 RMB!!!
Yungang Grottoes As a woodcarver at home exhibiting in Shows, the whole concept of carving in stone really fascinated me...so I was excited to be about to see one of the Top 5 carved grotto sites in China.
But like all great destinations, being there thrashed all preconceptions.
We were heavily rugged up...several layers...fur hats...still bloody cold...minus 20C on my thermometer on my
jacket...Cheng in light trousers, shirt & sports coat.
Cheng was happy to stay with his taxi but I persuaded him to join us paying his entry fee.
A low sandstone cliff...1 km long...honeycombed with holes not unlike a wasp nest...53 grottoes...51,000 statues...the largest 17m tall, the smallest 2 cms.
Towards the end of the 4thC A.D. the Toba tribe moved SW and following wars with other tribes controlled what is now northern China. They established their capital at Pingcheng (now Datong) in 398 A.D.
This had been a garrison town since 475 B.C. and was situated between the inner & outer Great Walls.
The Toba became the Northern Wei Dynasty.
They were initially interested in Taoism, Buddhism & Confucism but in 446 A.D. began a period of persecution of the majority Buddhist Han.
The next emperor relaxed the repression and the result were the Yungang grottoes which were built between 460 to 524 A.D.
The emperor in the Wei histories was referred to as "the Buddha" by the Buddhist Church thus strengthening Buddhism as the state religion...(ancient back scratching).
In 494 A.D. the Northern Wei moved their capital to Luoyang (in
Henan Provence) and carved the famous Longmen grottoes.
Having been to both, I say Yungang is the better site & best preserved but this is because much of Longmen has been vandalised by Western forces & collectors in the 19thC and the Cultural Revolution in the 20thC.
Over the centuries monasteries flourished and fell at Yungang. The Liao built 10, the Jin burnt them down. The Ming built...the Manchu Qing burnt them down when they occupied Datong...then built the present one in 1651.
And in the 21stC the two D's arrived...through the wooden entrance temple...Cheng suggesting we start here on the right...Cave 6 then Cave 1.
It is impossible to forget the thrill of entering that first grotto...I could not believe my eyes.
Inside were 2 demon gods then a massive buddha surrounded by intricate carvings...even on the roof...then a passage around a central square column with a large buddha inset in each side with elaborate carvings all around...some coloured...illuminated by the odd incandescent bulb...difficult to photograph with my pocket camera...simply stunning.
All carved in situ in sandstone...the skill...wow...the dedication...the detail...wow!
I was in Heaven...and we were the only tourists there!
Videoed as much as I could...until my video froze
from the cold.
My pocket camera struggling...held next to my heart between shots...gotta keep the battery lifeblood flowing.
Poor Cheng hiding in the toilet...now I know why he wanted to stay with his taxi...why he's only wearing a light shirt & sportscoat...probably got a heater!
So Den did likewise...little shop found...Den & Cheng refusing to join me for the grottoes on the left side...too cold to venture further.
It was bitterly cold...but I was so invigorated I felt strong & well!
I visited all 53 grottoes...gobsmacked...my highlight of China so far.
And across the road...miles & miles of Datong coalmines...coaltrucks using the road just there...an energy hub of China...the biggest danger to the preservation of the treasures of Yungang.
The eternal question...PROGRESS -v- TRADITION.
Back in the taxi...the cocktail of no sleep, the exhileration of Yungang...and the slap of cold when my adrenalin ebbed...we were stuffed.
So we didn't bother with the Great Wall ...the section split by a gorge into Inner Mongolia...really wanted to go...sorry too stuffed...the sections of the Wall atop Yungang will have to do at the moment.
Tomorrow Cheng is taking us to the Hanging Monastery
& Mu Ta...long day expected...300RMB...no bargaining required.
I was expecting Shanxi to be the hardest part of this
David Hoo Tour (Your Travel Experts with Minimal Experience but Maximum Optimism)...but its falling into place nicely.
Relax & Enjoy,
Dancing Dave
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Brrrrrrrr.....
Another wonderful, Chinese history lesson and more great pics from the Dancing One, I love it :) Sounds like you are a sucker for punishment though Dave. I'd rather go in the spring or summer.... Yes, one trick I learnt in the Arctic wastes of Sweden was to always keep your camera battery close to your skin until you are going to use it. Not that I ever want to venture into such desolate places again of course :)