A volcano in Datong city [Photo/dt.gov.cn]

The Datong volcano group is one of the volcano clusters formed during the Quaternary period in China.

There are more than 30 known volcanoes in the city, mainly distributed in the eastern part of the Datong Basin. They can be divided into four areas: the eastern volcanoes in the vicinity of Xubao and Shenquansi villages, the western volcanoes in Xiping town, the volcanoes south of the Sanggan River and the volcanoes north of Datong city.

Based on their external appearance, the Datong volcano group can be divided into four categories: dome-shaped without craters, shell-shaped, semicircle-shaped and horseshoe-shaped.

The seven most enormous and famous Datong volcanoes are Gelao Mountain, Black Mountain, Langwo Mountain, Jinshan Mountain, Pailou Mountain, Haotian Temple Mountain and Mati Mountain, all of which are extinct volcanoes.