Dopo la prolungata pausa a Pingyao, siamo arrivati a Datong, unacitta' inquinata e di per se piuttosto poco interessante. Siccome in Cina si usano quasi solo contanti e noi li avevamo finiti, quasi una intera giornata e' andata alla frustrante ricerca di un bancomat che accettasse una delle nostre carte, per poter pagare il conto di un ristorantino dove Suzie e' dovuta rimanere in ostaggio. Il giorno successivo, appena usciti dall'albergo siamo stati accalappiati da un tassista che ci ha proposto un tour dei posti che gia avevamo deciso di vedere. Sebbene fossimo timorosi fosse una truffa abbiamo infine accettato dopo aver tirato sul prezzo. Cio ci ha permesso di sperimentare le innovative auto semplificate cinesi: hanno solo l'acceleratore ed il clacson. I posti che abbiamo visitato hanno dell'incredibile. Abbiamo visto caverne con sculture buddiste mastodontiche scavate nella montagna, oppure cesellate con migliaia di piccole sculture i cui colori si sono conservati per molte centinaia di anni. Poi abbiamo scalato il lato diuna montagna per raggiungere dei monasteri letteralmente appesi alla roccia. Lo spettacolo mozzafiato che aspetta il turista dai balconi del tempio e' qualcosa che raccomando a chi non soffre di vertigini!
After the extended break in Pingyao, we got to Datong, a polluted and unappealing city. Since in China you can only pay in cash and we had run out, almost a whole day went in the frustrating search for an atm that would accept any of our cards, in order to pay the bill of a little restaurant. While I was rushing around, Suzie was kept hostage there.
The next day, just outside our hotel we got snatched by a taxi driver that proposed us a tour of the places we had chosen to visit. Although scared it would be a scam, we eventually accepted after some bargaining with a lot of italian gestures and after attracting a crowd of curious spectators. This allowed us to experiment the innovative simplified chinese cars, equipped with only accelerator and horn.
The places we visited were quite amazing. We saw caves with massive buddhist monuments carved into the mountain, or dotted with thousands of little statues. Sometimes an entire cavern was filled with a six storey tall statue of buddha. Each statue was finished off to minute details and some retained their original paint. Then we climbed a high cliff to reach some monasteries that were built on the side of the mountain so that they literally hanged from the cliff face. The breathtaking view you can have from the top is something I recommend to anyone who does not suffer from vertigo!
After the extended break in Pingyao, we got to Datong, a polluted and unappealing city. Since in China you can only pay in cash and we had run out, almost a whole day went in the frustrating search for an atm that would accept any of our cards, in order to pay the bill of a little restaurant. While I was rushing around, Suzie was kept hostage there.
The next day, just outside our hotel we got snatched by a taxi driver that proposed us a tour of the places we had chosen to visit. Although scared it would be a scam, we eventually accepted after some bargaining with a lot of italian gestures and after attracting a crowd of curious spectators. This allowed us to experiment the innovative simplified chinese cars, equipped with only accelerator and horn.
The places we visited were quite amazing. We saw caves with massive buddhist monuments carved into the mountain, or dotted with thousands of little statues. Sometimes an entire cavern was filled with a six storey tall statue of buddha. Each statue was finished off to minute details and some retained their original paint. Then we climbed a high cliff to reach some monasteries that were built on the side of the mountain so that they literally hanged from the cliff face. The breathtaking view you can have from the top is something I recommend to anyone who does not suffer from vertigo!
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