A two-day self-driving tour in Datong

We set off from Shijiazhuang to the Yungang Grottoes in Datong at 5:30 in the morning. We took a wrong turn on the highway and detoured to the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. After parking in the north parking lot of the Wooden Pagoda, we walked into the scenic area. About 13 minutes later, we entered the scenic area (if you don't want to go in, you can just take photos outside the fence). The ticket price is 50 yuan (if you want a paper ticket, you need to buy it at the ticket office and specify how many tickets you want in advance. If you don't specify, they will print one ticket indicating the number of people). Zhao Er's cold noodles at the entrance are delicious. Then we went to the Jingtusi Temple to see the little lion (the disheveled little lion seen by Mr. Liang Sicheng was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and only the general outline can be seen now), and the nine-eyed algae well in Jingtusi Temple is also worth seeing. The ticket price is 15 yuan. After leaving Jingtusi Temple, we drove to the Hanging Temple. We bought a ticket for 15 yuan. Since we didn't dare to go up, we didn't buy a climbing ticket, but those who are brave can buy a ticket to experience the aerial pavilions. We took a few photos below. Since it was getting late, we didn't go to the Yuangong Temple and Yong'an Zen Temple. After arriving in Datong after five o'clock, we checked into the homestay first, then went out to find something to eat near the Drum Tower. The cold noodles on Shixiao Street and the knife-cut noodles on West Street are very delicious, and the chili oil of the cold noodles is very fragrant. Longjuxiang's snowflake shaomai is affordable and tasty, and the sea buckthorn juice is delicious. Unfortunately, we couldn't go up the city wall that night, the taxi driver said that it was possible the day before. The next morning we went to the Huayan Temple, with a ticket price of 50 yuan. The visit takes 2-3 hours. You can climb to the top of the Buddha Light Pagoda inside the temple to overlook the ancient city of Datong. Then we went to the Datong Museum, which requires advance reservation, valid for the whole day, and the visit takes 2-3 hours. We saw the treasures of the museum (interestingly, one of the treasures, a bronze Boshan Incense Burner, was unearthed in Huai'an, Hebei). At noon, we drove to the Yungang Grottoes, first went to Lao Yang's knife-cut noodles for their signature knife-cut noodles, snowflake shaomai, and mutton offal, which tasted good but were a bit salty. The ticket for the grottoes is 120 yuan. The grottoes are severely weathered and looted, but still very impressive, with the highlights concentrated in caves 1-20 and 39, and the visit takes 2-3 hours. It's definitely worth hiring a guide to listen to. We left Yungang at five o'clock and returned to Shijiazhuang. Two days is a bit too tight, and we didn't have a good stroll around the ancient city of Datong. We should set aside a whole day to wander around the ancient city. Besides the attractions in the ancient city being relatively concentrated, other attractions are quite far away, so driving is more convenient.