Traveling to Taiyuan for BMX Worlds

Good evening everyone,

This is my first post on this forum but I am an avid tripadvisor member and have posted many a review particularly regarding the Domincan Republic.

My family and I will be traveling to Taiyuan in late may to attend the UCI BMX World Championships. My son qualified for the United States National team and will represent our country in the last qualifier before the Olympics in August.

We are staying in the SHANXI YINGZE HOTEL and wanted to gain some guidance as to sites and things not to miss while in this area. We will ot have a car and want to also make sure what we do we can do safely as my children are 12 and 14.

Traveling to Taiyuan for BMX Worlds

Sorry to disappoint you but there really isn%26#39;t much of interest in Taiyuan. I think almost all the provincial capitals in mainland China suffer from this problem, with the exception of some like Nanjing, Hangzhou, Xi%26#39;an, Kunming, Harbin and Shenyang.

However, if you%26#39;re exploring Shanxi province in general (ie you%26#39;re travelling around the province), and interested in history and architecture then you%26#39;d be in for a treat. Shanxi province is home to the oldest surviving wooden architectural structures in all of mainland China. It%26#39;s nicknamed the ';museum above ground'; -- neighbouring Shaanxi province is called the ';museum under ground';.

The most popular destinations in this province are Pingyao ancient town (about 1.5-2 hours by bus from Taiyuan), Datong%26#39;s Yungang Grottoes and Hanging Monastery, and Wutaishan (one of the 4 Buddhist mountains and the highest peak in this region of China).

The following URLs have more information about Taiyuan itself:

travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/鈥?/a>

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/taiyuan/

roughguides.com/website/鈥?/a>