Ancient City of Pingyao

Overview

The ancient city

Pingyao lies in central Shanxi on the east bank of the Fen River at the south-western end of the Taiyuan basin, and is the best-preserved ancient county town in China. Nicknamed the “Turtle City”, it keeps its complete city wall, more than 300 historic buildings and some 4,000 Ming and Qing houses.

Its Major Historical and Cultural Sites protected at the national level are the city wall, Zhenguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple, Cixiang Temple and the Confucian Temple. Pingyao was named a Historic and Cultural City in the second batch and inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997.

In the late Qing Pingyao was China’s financial centre, with more than twenty draft banks (piaohao); the most famous, Rishengchang, boasted that its drafts were honoured “throughout the realm”.

The County Yamen Museum, the Rishengchang Draft Bank Museum, the Confucian Temple Museum and the Shuanglin Temple sculpture gallery are rated AAAA attractions.

The local speciality is Pingyao beef, as in the saying “Pingyao beef, Taigu cakes”.

The present wall dates from 1370, when the rammed-earth wall was rebuilt in brick and stone; it is about 6.2 km round, with some 3,000 crenels and 72 watchtowers.

The city has six gates, one each in the south and north and two each in the east and west; by tradition the south gate is the turtle’s head, the north gate its tail and the other four its legs, hence the name “Turtle City”.

The Dacheng Hall of Pingyao's Confucian Temple is the original structure rebuilt in 1163 under the Jin, one of the oldest surviving Confucian temple halls.

Zhenguo Temple in Haodong village north of the city was built in 963; its Ten Thousand Buddha Hall and the 11 painted statues inside date from the Five Dynasties.

Shuanglin Temple in Qiaotou village 6 km south-west of the city, formerly Zhongdu Temple, holds more than 2,000 painted clay figures from the Yuan to the Ming.

Travel tips

Getting there: high-speed trains stop at Pingyao Gucheng station, a few kilometres from the old town, with buses and taxis to the walls; the conventional Pingyao station is close to the city wall. From Taiyuan the high-speed train takes about half an hour.

Inside the walls: the old town itself is free to walk into; one combined ticket covers the main sights, including the city wall, Rishengchang, the county yamen, the Confucian Temple, Qingxu Temple and the Market Tower. South Street is the busiest part.

City wall: you can walk on top; the circuit is about 6 km and takes one to two hours.

Shuanglin and Zhenguo temples: both outside the town. Shuanglin is known for its painted clay statues, Zhenguo for its Ten-Thousand-Buddha Hall of the Five Dynasties period. Go by taxi or hired car.

Time: a day to a day and a half for the old town, about two days with the two temples.

Nearby: the merchant family compounds of the Qiao family in Qixian and the Wang family in Lingshi are not far and can fill another day.

Season: spring and autumn are best; winter is cold and dry, summer fairly hot.

Where to stay: many inns in old courtyard houses inside the walls.

The Qiao Family Compound

The Qiao Family Compound is in Qiaojiabao village, Qi County, north-east of Pingyao, 12 km from the county seat and about 50 km from Taiyuan. It was the location of the film Raise the Red Lantern and is a national protected site.

The mansion of the Qing merchant Qiao Zhiyong, begun in 1756, covers 8,700 m² with 3,870 m² of buildings in six large courtyards enclosing twenty smaller ones and 313 rooms, the whole laid out in the shape of the character for “double happiness”.

Stamps

On 18 August 2000 China Post issued TP15 “Ancient City of Pingyao”, a set of ten 60-fen pre-stamped postcards: the city wall, the Shuanglin Temple sculptures, the Ten Thousand Buddha Hall of Zhenguo Temple, South Street, the Dacheng Hall of the Confucian Temple, Qingxu Temple, the Rishengchang bank, houses, folk festivities and a bird’s-eye view of the city.

In 2023 China Post issued 2023-27 “World Cultural Heritage: Ancient City of Pingyao”, three stamps: the Yingxun Gate, South Street and the former Rishengchang bank.

Banknotes and coins

The gold and silver coins “World Heritage: the Ancient City of Pingyao”, issued by the People’s Bank of China in 2019, show the old city, the Ten-Thousand Buddha Hall of Zhenguo Temple and Shuanglin Temple.

Map

Photo credits: Ancient City of Pingyao: Nicor (CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons); Ancient City of Pingyao: severin.stalder (CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)

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