The Great Wall of China stands as a world-renowned cultural heritage site. Designated as one of the first batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council in 1961, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. The ancient sections of the Great Wall in Datong constitute a vital component of this monumental structure, primarily distributed across seven counties and districts within Datong City: Tianzhen, Yanggao, Xinrong, Zuoyun, Hunyuan, Lingqiu, and Guangling. The Great Wall in Datong spans multiple dynasties, with the extant sections predominantly dating from the Ming Dynasty. Serving as a protective barrier for the imperial capital, the Ming Great Wall comprised an outer and an inner wall. Present-day Datong City lies between these two walls, with the administrative boundaries of its southern, northern, and western districts largely demarcated by the Great Wall itself.

According to the Great Wall resource survey data released in 2009, the Ming Great Wall within Datong City spans 343,167 metres, comprising 843 sites including beacon towers and ancient fortresses. On 18th August 1986, the Datong Great Wall was designated as a second-batch provincial-level cultural heritage site by the People's Government of Shanxi Province. Over 2,000 artefacts directly associated with the Wall, including murals, carvings, and inscriptions, are preserved here. Notable sites include the Jade Emperor Pavilion Border Watchtower at Xinping Fort in Tianzhen County, the Birch Gate Fortress perched atop a 1,736-metre peak, the densely fortified Changcheng Town in Yanggao County, the Fangshan Great Wall and Desheng Fortress among the five border forts guarding the Northern Wei Imperial Tombs in Xinrong District, the Ninglu Tower between the two commanding heights of Motianling in Zuoyun, and the Inner Great Wall at Niubangkou in Lingqiu all represent exquisite chapters of the Datong Great Wall.