Datong



         


Alternative meaning: Datong (Taipei City)

Datong (Chinese: 大同, Hanyu Pinyin: Dàtóng, WG: Ta-t'ung, Tongyong Pinyin:DaTong) is a city in the northern Shanxi Province in China.

The town was founded as Píngchéng (平城) in 200 BC during the Han Dynasty. It was sacked at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Pingcheng became the capital of Northern Wei from 398 AD until 494 AD. The famous Yungang Grottoes (云冈石窟) was constructed during the later part of this period (460 - 494 AD). The city was renamed Datong in 1048 AD and sacked again at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1649 AD), but promptly rebuilt in 1652 AD.

The GDP per capita was ¥10550 (ca. US$1270) in 2003, ranked no. 242 among 659 Chinese cities.

See also: Capital of China

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