The area of present-day Datong was close to thestate ofDai, which was conquered by theZhao clan ofJin in 457 BC. It was a frontier land between the agricultural Chinese and the nomads of theGreat Steppe. The area was well known for its trade inhorses.
The area of present-day Datong eventually came under the control of theQin dynasty, during which it was known asPingcheng County (平城县) and formed part of theQincommandery ofYanmen.[4] Pingcheng County continued under theHan dynasty, which founded a site within present-day Datong in 200BC following its victory against theXiongnu nomads at theBattle of Baideng. Located near a pass to Inner Mongolia along theGreat Wall, Pingcheng blossomed under Han rule and became a stop-off point for camel caravans moving from China into Mongolia and beyond. It was sacked at the end of theEastern Han. Pingcheng became the capital of the Xianbei-foundedNorthern Wei dynasty from AD398–494. TheYungang Grottoes were constructed during the later part of this period (460–494). During the mid to late 520s, Pingcheng was the seat of Northern Wei'sDai Commandery.[5] During theTang dynasty, Datong became the seat of the Tang prefecture ofYunzhou, and the original Guandi temple was built.[6][7]
The city was renamed Datong in 1048. It was theXijing ("Western Capital") of theJurchenJin dynasty prior to being sacked by theMongols. Datong later came under the control of theMing dynasty, serving as an important Ming military stronghold against the Mongols to the north.[7] During the Ming period, many of Datong's notable historical structures such as the Drum Tower and the Nine-Dragon Wall were built.[8][9] Datong was sacked again at the end of the Ming in 1649, but promptly rebuilt in 1652.
By 1982 a portion of its city walls remained so it became one of theNational Famous Historical and Cultural Cities that year. Prior to 2008, about 100,000 people lived in the old city. In 2008 mayor Geng Yanbo decided to redevelop much of the inner city, with over 3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi) being redeveloped, and with Geng becoming known as the "Demolition Mayor". Geng and his group anticipated that 30,000 to 50,000 people would remain in the old city.
In 2013 Geng left his position. Su Jiede ofSixth Tone wrote that much of the city was still under construction at the time and that Geng's efforts resulted in "a half-finished city center and a complicated legacy" and that "To critics, the city had spent enormous sums of money without much to show for it."[10] By 2020 the population of the old city was below 30,000 and there were fewer governmental facilities available for the residents. That year Su stated that the old city "still presents a headache for the local government."[10]
Su Jiede wrote that sincePingcheng District, which had most of its urbanized area, had 1,105,699 people as of 2020, "Datong is a small city byChinese standards".[10]
Datong is the northernmost city of Shanxi, and is located in the Datong Basin, with an administrative area spanning latitude 39° 03'–40° 44' N and longitude 112° 34'–114° 33' E. The urban area is surrounded on three sides by mountains, with passes only to the east and southwest. Within the prefecture-level city elevations generally increase from southeast to northwest. Datong bordersUlanqab (Inner Mongolia) to the northwest andZhangjiakou (Hebei) to the east,Shuozhou (Shanxi) to the southwest, andXinzhou (Shanxi) to the south.
Datong has acontinental,monsoon-influencedsteppe climate (KöppenBSk), influenced by the 1,000 metres (3,300 ft)+ elevation, with rather long, cold, very dry winters, and very warm summers. Monthly mean temperatures range from −10.5 °C (13.1 °F) in January to 22.6 °C (72.7 °F) in July; the annual mean temperature is 7.33 °C (45.2 °F). Due to the aridity and elevation,diurnal temperature variation is often large, averaging 13.2 °C (23.8 °F) annually. There barely is any precipitation during winter, and more than3⁄4 of the annual precipitation occurs from June to September. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 54% in July to 66% in October, sunshine is abundant year-round, and the city receives 2,671 hours (about 60% of the possible total) of bright sunshine per year. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −31.9 °C (−25 °F) on 16 December 2023 to 39.2 °C (103 °F) on 29 July 2010.
Climate data for Datong, elevation 1,053 m (3,455 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present)
TheYungang Grottoes are a collection of shallow caves located 16 km (9.9 mi) west of Datong. There are over 50,000 carved images and statues of Buddhas and bodhisattvas within these grottoes, ranging from 4 centimeters to 7 meters tall. Most of these icons are around 1500 years old.
Within the city itself, there are a few surviving sites of historical interest such as theNine-Dragon Wall, theHuayan Monastery, and theShanhua Temple. Further afield is theHanging Temple built into a cliff face nearMount Heng. Most of the historical sites in this region date to the Liao, Jin and Ming dynasties, but the Hanging Temple dates to the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534).
The railway locomotive works (see below) began to attract increasing numbers of railway enthusiasts from the 1970s. When the construction of steam locomotives was phased out, the authorities did not want to lose this valuable tourism market, and pondered the possibility of developing a steam railway operating center as an attraction. A number of study visits were undertaken to theEast Lancashire Railway atBury, and a twinning arrangement was concluded with that town.
In 2010, work began on reconstructing the city's 14th century Ming dynasty defensive wall. The controversial reconstruction project was in its final phase at the end of 2014.[19] The documentaryThe Chinese Mayor[20] documents two years of vigorous and highly controversial (due to summary demolition of about 200,000 homes) effort by MayorGeng Yanbo to push the reconstruction project forward.
The GDP per capita was ¥17,852 (US$2,570) per annum in 2008,ranked no. 242 among 659 Chinese cities.Coal mining is the dominant industry of Datong. Its history and development are very much linked to this commodity.
Development zonesDatong Economic and Technological Development Zone
Due to its strategic position, it is also an important distribution and warehousing center for Shanxi, Hebei and Inner Mongolia.[22]
Datong is an old fashioned coal mining city, and still sits on significant reserves of this commodity. Consequently, it has developed a reputation as one of China's most polluted cities. The Datong Coal Mining Group is based here and is China's third largest such enterprise. Datong is indeed however an emerging economy, as the city seeks to loosen its dependence on coal, introduce more environmentally friendly and efficient methods of extraction and move into other areas of business services. The local government has continued to upgrade its pillar coal sector (and related industries like coal chemicals, power and metallurgy), while also developing "substitute industries" such as machinery manufacturing, tourism and distribution, warehousing and logistics services. This has had some impact. Datong's GDP grew by 5.1 percent in 2008 to RMB56.6 billion.[23]
While coal will continue to dominate, Datong has been identified as one of the key cities requiring redevelopment, with part of this being in environmental cleanup, rehabilitation and industrial refocusing. Datong is a pilot city for rehabilitation studies following years of pollution. To this end it has already struck up strong relationships with other cities worldwide with similar backgrounds, and has begun plans, for example, to develop a tourism base focused on steam engine technology with antique locomotives to be used along designated tracks.[24]
Datong has a large railway locomotive works 'Datong locomotive factory', where the 'Aiming Higher' (Chinese:前进;pinyin:Qiánjìn) class of steam locomotive was built as late as the 1970s. Steam locomotive production ended in the late 1980s and the plant's main products (as of 2010) is mainline electric locomotives.
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