First stop Datong and the Yungang Grottoes. We went by train from Beijing, and shared a car with a very important high level military official. Datong is in Shanxi province, an area known for noodles. Hand cut noodles are fantastic! The Grotto tourist attraction is getting so over-developed, though the site itself is still very fascinating to see. Datong is one of many very fast growing smallish cities in China, and is rapidly transforming from a primarily industrial, mining oriented area.