The dubious honorific of "coal-mining capital of China" doesn't ruffle any feathers among Taiyuan folk—these are a hardy people, and their foggy city has endured more than its fair share of abuse over the years. Sitting in a valley beside the Fen River in the well-worn "invasion corridor" that bridges the lands of the north and south, Taiyuan's millenial battlegrounds have suffered the ravages of Mongolian hordes, maurauding Huns, nomadic Turks, the rise and fall of dynasties, the Boxer Rebellion and the Imperial Japanese.  The capital of Shanxi Province is now a sprawling industrial city that functions as the political, economic and cultural center of the province. And while Taiyuan won't top manyh lists of must-see destinations, it's not a bad place to spend a couple days while on route to the Wutai Shan or Pingyao. Downtown Taiyuan ... more >>

Once the financial center of China and birthplace of the first Chinese bank "Rishengchang," 18th century Pingyao (Píngyáo, 平遥) was China's "Wall Street," with large banks and exchange houses fueling the wealth necessary to build up the city's imposing walls, gates and grand residences, most of which are still extant in their original condition today.  As a result, the city offers surreal, movie-set like immersion into an Imperial Chinese atmosphere visitors often find highly transporting. With its extraordinary number of ancient sites both in and around the city, and well-preserved city walls, Pingyao was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. About 80 km from the provincial capital, Taiyuan, Pingyao still retains much of its Ming and Qing dynasty layout, one adhering to the classic bā guà (八卦) pattern, based on th... more >>

Datong's current role as a leading coal-production center won't inspire you to visit this growing metropolis, but its proximity to the awe-inspiring Yungang Grottoes, a cluster of caves brimming with over 51,000 Buddhist sculptures, should. Datong is a city surrounded by natural beauty, and visitors to this former seat of the Wei Dynasty have ample terrain to explore. You might start with Mt. Hengshan, one of China's five most sacred mountains, to view the 1,400-year-old, gravity-defying Hanging Monastery before going to hike in the shadow of the Great Wall on Yanmenguan pass -- one of the nine passes reputed to fall directly under heaven according to Chinese folklore. In the city, new boutiques aspire to the modern, whilst old markets offer relics from the past. Browse the Zhongxing Market for wool carpets -- a historic Datong specialty --&n... more >>