Datong, city, northern China, in Shanxi Province, a major coal-mining and rail center, near the Great Wall. Manufactures include railroad equipment, agricultural machinery, cement, processed food, and shoes. The Yun-kang caves, famous for Buddhist art carved into a hillside between AD386 and 534, are nearby.
Datong was founded as a fortress town in the 4th century and was the 5th-century capital of the Northern Wei Buddhist dynasty. Industrialization accelerated in the 1920s as railroads and coal mining were developed in northern China. Population (1991) 1,235,673.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Datong Information info
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