Trip to Datong China

Back in March our family visited Datong, China and we saw some of the coolest stuff! It is about a 5 hour drive from Beijing and all along the way are old villages with house carved out of the dirt. There were also thousands of graves (dirt mounds w/ paper on top) along the road the entire way. We finally stopped at one of the rundown villages to take some pictures and while I was exploring I met an old Chinese man and we started talking (in Chinese of course). He invited me to come and see his home. I went and found Mike, our boys and our friends the Angels who were with us and in we went into this awesome OLD DIRT Chinese home. We love any chance to see real Chinese life. He had a little farm (garden and animals) in his little front court yard and inside the house was very simple. Before we left we took his picture. It was the first time he had ever had his picture taken and he had to be between 60-70 years old.
While in Datong we also visited one of China's Hanging Monasteries. This was built in the year 491 and is built into the side of a huge cliff 50 meters above the ground. We went up inside and were amazed that this ancient structure could still hold people. There was not a lot of room but the monastery did hold 40 small rooms full of Buddist, Toaist and Confusianist carvings and statues. It is very rare for one temple to contain all of these religions. So cool. Finally we visited the Datong Catacombs where we saw big and small caves full of old stone carvings. There were Giant Buddahs, 4 stories high and endless intricate carvings for almost a mile. China is so full of amazing things to see and we love getting out and experiencing this awesome history. (more pictures below)