Pingyao

Pingyao - historic city:

The first thing you notice is the 6 km long city walls that were built around the old center of Pingyao. Built during the "Ming" dynasty in the year 1370, these sloping walls are 10 meters high and are interrupted by 72 watchtowers.

It is the best preserved city wall of China. During the "Ming" dynasty, Pingyao became a very active trading town strategically located on trade routes between Mongolia on the one hand and the south of China on the other. When merchants, now in the "Qing" dynasty, had become so successful, they set up land's first bank in Pingyao to get the large numbers of silver from one place to another.

In the 20th century the place was destroyed and without money the city could not be refurbished. Reason why Pingyao still looks exactly the same. Within the city walls you can see a lot of buildings that are exactly the same when they were built in the "Ming" dynasty. There is the beautiful Rishengchang building where the oldest bank building in China was located. Built in the 18th century and functioning as a dye shop it was soon transformed as a bank. She would get 57 branches in China. Now it is a museum. 

You can also go to the former house of the founder of the above bank - "Lei Lutai" with beautiful and exceptional wall drawings, a courtyard in fashion of that time. Other interesting buildings within the walls are "Wen Miao" - a very active Confucian temple with beautiful images, the provincial government buildings, the court, the prison and the old city tower - the tallest building in Pingyao. Also the stage of opera and "Wang Jia Dayuan" "- an impressive housing complex around a courtyard are worth to see. Unsurprisingly, the entire walled city of Pingyao was put on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. 

Other attractions:

• About 7 kilometers south of Pingyao you will find the Shuanglin monastery: a very beautiful temple complex but no longer active.