Hanging Monastery

Dirty filthy backpacker

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September 5th 2007
I took the overnight train from Beijing to Datong to see the Hanging Monastery and Yungang Caves there. Datong is really just one big industrial town. It is the source of a big portion of China's coal and the city certain smells like it. The odor of coal permeates the air here. When I blew my nose and took a look at what came out, there were black specks of coal dust. I wonder what the life expect ... read more

Asia » China » Shanxi » Datong

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For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. A... ... read more