Day 90 (4 September): Buddhist Caves

In Datong today we saw the Yunang Grottos which are essentially caves with thousands of sandstone Buddhas carved into the walls ranging in size from 17 m to 2 cm. After seeing that we saw sights in Datong city (the Huayan Buddhist Monastery and the Nine Dragons Wall) before catching another overnight train to Bejing which is my last stop before returning to the US on 7 September.

Observations:
1) Motorized bicycles. A large number of the bicycles in China now have small motors on them that allow them to function as part bicycle, part moped. This is yet another sign that people here even outside the costal cities are moving up the economic ladder.
2) Pollution. Its pretty bad in Datong as this is also one of the largest coal mining cities in China. Our guide said there are 13 coal-based power plants located here including the ones that power Bejing. Nonetheless, the government had the forsight to reroute one of the major coal roads so the pollution wouldn't damage the Buddhas in the Yungang Grottos too much more.
3) The infrastructure in Datong is behind that everywhere else we've been so far and the city looks much more like what I would have expected in communist Russia than today's China. Nonetheless, there are function markets everywhere.