Seventy years ago, scholars like Liang Sicheng proposed the concept of "one axis, two cities." In the new century, Datong City, building upon this, proposed a city development strategy of "one axis, two cities, separate development; balancing the ancient and the modern, benefiting both the old and the new; inheriting cultural heritage, creating unique characteristics," comprehensively considering both the protection of the ancient city and the development of the new city. Today, everyone who comes to Datong can see ancient architectural complexes from the Liao, Jin, Ming, and Qing dynasties within the 7.24-kilometer-long ancient city wall. Outside the wall, high-rise buildings stand tall, neon-lit streets abound, and traffic flows freely.
Datong, home to World Cultural Heritage sites, is also setting its sights on the world. Currently, Datong City is leveraging its abundant cultural and tourism resources, continuing to promote its "4+1" cultural and tourism brand—Yungang, Hengshan, the ancient city, the Great Wall, and Pingxingguan—and further enhancing its brand as a cultural capital, a cool summer capital, and a culinary capital, striving to make Datong an internationally renowned cultural tourism destination. In May of this year, Datong was selected as one of the seven cities designated by the National Data Administration to undertake the construction of a data annotation base. Inside and Outside the Ancient City
Connecting the Ancient and the Modern
On an autumn morning, the ancient city walls stand majestically in the thin mist. Walking on them feels like standing on the boundary between ancient and modern civilizations. Outside the city lies a clear moat, reflecting the antique-style streetlights along the asphalt roads. Further away are bridges spanning the moat and towering skyscrapers. Inside the city, a chessboard-patterned stone-paved road winds alongside shops, courtyards, ancient temples, and the imposing Prince Dai's Mansion.
People in Datong describe the ancient city as having four main streets, eight alleys, and seventy-two winding lanes. Within the well-organized layout of Datong, there are 134 immovable cultural relics, including 6 national key cultural relics protection units, 11 provincial-level cultural relics protection units, 9 municipal-level cultural relics protection units, and 108 unclassified immovable cultural relics. There are also 11 museums and 28 intangible cultural heritage items, making it a historical and cultural city exceptionally rich in cultural resources.
"When visiting Datong Ancient City, you must see Huayan Temple. Here, you can personally experience the historical scene of 1038 AD," said Ma Jiaqi, a local cultural industry professional. Huayan Temple was first built in the seventh year of the Chongxi reign of the Liao Dynasty. The main hall of the upper temple, the Mahavira Hall, is magnificent and is the largest Buddhist hall in my country. The lower temple's main hall, the Bojiajiaozang Hall, features 38 multi-story wall hangings along its inner walls. This entire wall hanging system and the celestial pavilion are the only large-scale wall hanging system in China, described by the renowned architect Liang Sicheng as "a unique masterpiece in the country."
Besides Huayan Temple, Shanhua Temple, opposite the south city wall, also preserves artifacts from the Liao and Jin dynasties. The temple houses four Liao and Jin wooden structures, all with the highest-level hip roof in ancient Chinese architecture. In their "Report on the Survey of Ancient Architecture in Datong," Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin praised Shanhua Temple, stating, "Its main hall, Puxian Pavilion, Three Saints Hall, and mountain gate are all relics from the Liao and Jin dynasties. Unexpectedly, so many precious cultural relics were found within this single temple, far exceeding initial expectations."
Despite the dense concentration of cultural relics within the ancient city, a new, modern city lies outside. Antique-style streetlights extend for several kilometers from the ancient city gates, flanked by wetland gardens nestled among high-rise buildings. East of the Imperial River, a steel jungle stretches out, with brand-new shopping malls, hospitals, and schools. At night, people gather to dance in the newly built squares. Meanwhile, the ancient city on the west bank of the Imperial River retains its solemnity and tranquility.
Protecting Cultural Relics
Implementing a Digital Innovation Project
The Yungang Grottoes in Datong contain over 59,000 statues of varying sizes, a World Heritage Site and a treasure of Chinese sculptural art. (Continued on page 4)
(Continued from page 1) Maintaining these cultural relics is not easy. According to the exhibition boards within the scenic area, cultural relic conservation personnel need to conduct a series of tasks, including: inspecting caves to identify damage, conducting on-site investigations of damage, recording on-site data to develop a conservation plan, conducting on-site testing of conservation materials and techniques, providing on-site training to determine the conservation plan, performing non-destructive surface cleaning, applying weathering protection to damaged areas, filling and bonding conservation materials, applying maintenance materials, treating localized areas to match color, recording on-site damage repairs, and tracking and comparing data.
In addition, Datong City is continuously deepening its technological support for the protection of ancient cultural relics. It has now formed a digital technology route for high-precision acquisition and storage, primarily using 3D laser scanning and digital close-range photogrammetry. This has enabled the digital acquisition of cultural relics, the establishment of digital archives, and the display of digital results online through an online museum. Furthermore, the city has implemented an innovative digital conservation project for cultural relics, launching 17 digital conservation projects, including those for Datong Shanhua Temple, Huayan Temple, the Hanging Temple, and the Northern Wei Dynasty murals in the Shaling Northern Wei tomb. Multiple research projects, such as the analysis and research of Northern Wei glazed pottery unearthed in the Datong area, have also been conducted, allowing digital technology to assist in the refined restoration of cultural relics.
Over the past decade, Datong City has seen an increase of 8 national key cultural relics protection units, bringing the total to 30, and 48 provincial-level cultural relics protection units, reaching 63. The number of open museums has increased 4.4 times, now totaling 35. In particular, non-state-owned museums have flourished, increasing from 1 to 15. Datong's cultural heritage protection work has consistently ranked among the top in the province for many years, receiving numerous national and provincial awards.
Diversified Business Formats
Building a City of Leisure and Wellness
The domestically produced game *Black Myth: Wukong* became a huge hit this summer, thanks to its filming locations including Datong's Hanging Temple and Shanhua Temple. This led to a surge in tourism to Datong this year. In the Southeast Yi Historical and Cultural District of Datong Ancient City, there are numerous *Black Myth: Wukong*-themed photo spots. Visitors strolling through the courtyard-style buildings often see *Sun Wukong* cartoon slides on the walls. The district's public spaces feature stylishly decorated open-air cafes, bookstores, and cultural and creative shops, attracting young tourists.
The Southeast Yi Historical and Cultural District is now hailed by tourists as a "vibrant area that evokes both nostalgia and contemporary living." It is said that the district, while strictly adhering to the original street layout and scale, has restored all historical buildings to their original form and details, using recycled materials and traditional craftsmen to achieve a state of preservation. Furthermore, while respecting the original character, modern design elements have been appropriately incorporated to create a harmonious blend of tradition and modernity, making it a pleasant place to visit.
The success of the Southeast Yi Historical and Cultural District is just one example of Datong City's efforts in protecting and utilizing cultural relics. In recent years, Datong has implemented the new era's cultural relics work policy of "protection first, strengthened management, value exploration, effective utilization, and bringing cultural relics to life," ensuring that cultural relics retain their original appearance and charm while creating vibrant and fresh neighborhoods, keeping the ancient city alive.
It is reported that Datong City is currently accelerating its development into an "internationally renowned tourist city" and an "international tourist hotspot gateway city," using leading scenic spots such as the Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Temple of Hengshan Mountain, and the ancient city of Datong as carriers; accelerating its development into a nationally renowned "city of museums," focusing on art forms such as sculpture, ancient architecture, collections, and exhibitions; accelerating its development into a "city of culture and art," supported by industries such as music, calligraphy and painting, drama, film and television, and performing arts; and accelerating its development into a "city of leisure and wellness," integrating hot spring therapy, leisure and vacation, homestay experiences, and science popularization and research, through the integration of various industries.
Core Computing Power City Surrounding the Capital
On November 1st of this year, Zhang Qiang, Deputy Secretary of the Datong Municipal Committee and Mayor of Datong City, Shanxi Province, introduced at a press conference that Datong will accelerate the transformation of its energy advantages into computing power advantages, strive to promote the transformation of its industrial structure from "watts" to "bits," and its economic growth mode from "transporting coal and electricity" to "transporting computing power and services," thereby accelerating the construction of a nationally influential core computing power city surrounding the capital. It is reported that since Datong first introduced the Qin Huai Data project in 2018, it has built approximately 234,000 standard racks and put 558,000 servers into operation. Its electricity consumption is expected to exceed 4 billion kilowatt-hours this year. In the "China Comprehensive Computing Power Index (2024)" report recently released at the 2024 China Computing Power Conference, Datong ranked third nationwide in the city's computing power sub-index.
