Yesterday we visited the Summer Palace, our last tourist stop in Beijing. The Summer Palace is very grand. It is difficult to imagine Dowager Cixi's (慈禧太后) lifestyle during her reign.
This morning we packed our bags and headed to the train station for our K613 train to Datong, a key coal mining town in Shanxi. It was our first time on the “hard seat”, and it was quite an experience. Although most people had assigned seats, many people had only standing tickets. So it was very crowded. The 2-seater across from us seated three people, and the 3-seater across the aisle seated four people. The precious aisle space was not wasted at all as people were standing or squatting. On top of that, the fan above us did not work and some people were smoking and drinking like there was no tomorrow. Picture yourself in that confined space for six and a half hours. Yup, that was our train ride to Datong.
According to Rough Guide, Datong produces a third of all China's coal, thus making it one of the most polluted city in China. Ironically it was our first time seeing the blue sky in China when we exited the train station in Datong. The air was not as bad as we expected. We actually thought the air was slightly better than Beijing. In Beijing, you can tell that the weather was hot (32+ degrees Celsius) and the sun was out there, but you just could not see it through the thick haze. The sky was shaded in permanent gray.
What drew us to the Coal Country is the Yungang Caves, a series of 45 Buddhist grottoes carved into the side of a sandstone cliff. More about the caves in our next entry.
Before we leave you, check out this popcorn vendor in Datong, making popcorn the traditional way. It was a great snack for our ride to Pingyao.
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