Downtown Datong, bounded by square walls, is split by Da Bei Jie and Da Xi Jie , two dead straight streets on north-south and east-west axes, which intersect at the heart of the city, just north of the old Bell Tower. The tourist sights are all within walking distance of the crossroads, while the two main tourist hotels are considerably farther south.

Datong's train station is in the city's northern outskirts, at the end of Da Bei Jie, far from any of the sights. A major railhead at the intersection of a line to Xi'an and the line between Beijing and Baotou, this is the first stop in China for trains from Mongolia, and it makes a harsh, disorientating introduction to the country for passengers stepping off the train from Ulan Batur. Grimy and cavernous, the station is usually thronged with passengers, many of them peasants migrating in search of construction work, their possessions tied up in grain sacks. Hotel touts wave signs at the crush of arriving passengers emerging from the platform gates on the station's west side. They mostly represent places which won't accept foreigners, though often they'll tell you they do. More usefully, you may be grabbed by a representative of the extremely helpful station CITS office , at first indistinguishable from the pushy touts and taxi drivers. If he misses you, the office, inside the station on the west side, is a recommended first stop, a good place to get your bearings and meet other travellers and, unusually, to receive advice and information.

Long-distance buses terminate just south of the train station on Xinjian Bei Lu. The airport, south of town, was not operating commercial flights at the time of writing, although a service may be up and running soon. The train station is the origin of Datong's clutch of bus routes . Annoyingly, no single bus travels the length of the city's north-south axis, along which most places of interest to visitors are located. Bus #4 will get you from the station to the main crossroads, where it turns west, past the Huayan Si, before terminating just outside the old city walls. To get from the crossroads to the southern hotels, take bus #17 from its terminus on the east side of Xiao Nan Jie. To get to these hotels direct from the train station, take bus #15, which travels south down Xinjian Nan Lu, then turns east on to Yingbin Xi Lu. A few meterless taxis cruise the streets; the fare for any destination within the city should be ¥15. Walking around the city is tiring, as it's quite spread out - over 8km from the station to the hotels - and roads are tediously straight. Keep to the main streets after dark; at night Datong is not always a friendly city.