Day 32: Datong

Primero, fuimos a las Grutas de Yungang (cuevas). El lugar tiene 45 cuevas que contienen alrededor de 51.000 tallados antiguos budistas del siglo V. ¡Es impresionante! La estatua más grande de Buda mide 17 mtrs de alto.

Para almorzar, nuestro guía nos llevó a un lugar donde nos dieron una sopa. Adentro tenía un tipo de jalea hecha de papas. En China algunas personas utilizan esta jalea durante el verano en vez de tallarines (noodles). Es bastante rica.

Después, fuimos al Monasterio Colgante Budista, que fue construido en el lado de un acantilado. Da un poco de miedo ver cómo todo el monasterio está apoyado en zancos largos y delgados. Aparentemente, fue construido para evitar las inundaciones que eran regulares y para evitar la persecución oficial del budismo en el siglo IX. La vista es muy bonita pero no creemos que querríamos pasar la noche en el monasterio.

Our friend Da helped us organising this trip to Datong in the Shanxi province. It worked out really well. As soon as we arrived to the train station, we were picked up by this local guy. He didn’t speak one word in English but, as it’s becoming the norm, we were able to communicate.

First, we went to the Yungang Grottoes (caves). The place has 45 caves containing around 51,000 ancient Buddhist carvings from the 5th-century. It’s impressive! The biggest Buddha statue measures 17 m high.

For lunch, our guide took us to a place where they gave us a soup. Inside it had some type of jelly made of potatoes. In China some people use this jelly during summer instead of noodles. It was quite nice.

Afterwards, we went to the Buddhist Hanging Monastery, which was built into the side of a cliff. It was a bit scary to see how the entire monastery is supported by long and thin stilts. Apparently, it was built in this way to avoid the regular floodings and to avoid the official persecution of Buddhism in the 9th century. Nice view but we don’t think we would like to stay the night at the monastery.

Yungang: carvings - tallados

Huge Buddhas - Budas inmensos

Buddha - 17 mtrs high - altura

Potatoe Noodles - Tallarines de papa

Hanging Monastery - Monasterio Colgante

View from the monastery - Vista desde el monasterio

Stilts supporting the monastery - Zancos sobre los que esta montado el monasterio

Detailed decoration - Decoraciones detalladas