Superb Datong and Pingyao tour with Odynovo - Datong and Pingyao were two of nine destinations we visited during our three week China vacation. We used Odynovo tour company. After two days in Beijing we were driven four hours to Datong. One week before our trip the flight was cancelled so Odynovo provided car transportation at no additional cost. This is important since the car was more expensive than the flights since the Beijing guide and driver needed to stay overnight in Datong before driving back to Beijing. It was a very peasant drive. Once we settled into the Garden Hotel in Datong we took a walk into the town center. The next morning we were met by our Odynovo guide Andy Wong and driver Hai Geng who we spent the next four days with. We visited the Yungang Grottes, Huayan Temple, Shanhua Temple, Datong City Wall, nine dragon screen, and while it was raining the China Sculpture museum. The museum was excellent and we were almost alone to enjoy the incredible art. And this was only the first day! The next morning we began our drive toward Pingyao. First stop was the incredible Hanging Temple followed by the Wood Pagoda in Yingxian County. Following lunch we completed the drive to Pingyao where we stayed at the wonderful Yide Hotel. The next morning we drove to the Wang Family Compound which is like a town but was built for one extended family. Very unique. After lunch we drove to Mianshan which was incredible. Not many non-Chinese tourists go there but it was a highlight driving along a sheer cliff. It is an important Taoist and Buddhist site with many beautiful temples. It rained the next day but that did not stop us from visiting the Ancient City Wall, Ming and Qing Streets, Rishengchang Financial House museum and Chang Huang Temple. It had gotten pretty cold so we went back to the Yide Hotel and relaxed. Later that evening we found a pizza place for a change of pace and on the way back to the hotel we stopped into a karaoke bar and ended up dancing with the locals and had a blast! The next morning we checked out of the hotel and it was on to the Qiao Family Compound. It is more famous than the Wang Family Compund since the Red Lantern movie was filmed there. We would recommend the Wang Family Compound if you were making a choice between the Wang and Qiao Compunds. We then stopped at Shuanglin Temple and there were only a few tourists. It is 1500 years old with 2000 incredibly beautiful clay statues. It was then on to the train station for our trip to Xi'an. Thank you Andy Wong and Peter Liu our incredible guides, Hai Geng our driver, and Odynovo tours for a wonderful time in Datong and Pingyao.