Pingyao Ancient City

Being one of the four wholly-protected ancient cities in China, Pingyao Ancient City is thought of as the 'treasure house' of ancient Chinese architectures. The other three are Langzhong Ancient City, Shexian County and the Old Town of Lijiang. Pingyao Ancient City is situated in the south of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, the history of its original construction dating back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th Century BC -771BC ) and later being enlarged in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) for defense reasons.

Among the 'Three Treasures' of Pingyao, the City Wall is rated highest, the other two being Zhengguo Temple, and Double Forest Temple. Although there has been repeated renovations, the city walls, streets, shops, temples and other buildings are still in a very good condition.

With a total length of six kilometers (about four miles), the city wall is about 12 meters (about 40 ft) tall and 3 to 6 meters (about 10-20 ft) wide on top. The wall is of compacted earth covered by bricks and stones. From a bird's eye view the rectangular wall resembles a tortoise. There are six city gates, one each on the north and south walls, and two each on the west and east walls. The south gate is the head of the tortoise, the two wells outside being the two eyes of tortoise. The north gate, the lowest place of the city, is the tail of tortoise. Traditionally the tortoise was considered a symbol of longevity, so through ancient times the hopes were that Pingyao Ancient City would be permanently secure. There are 72 watchtowers on the top of city wall and 3,000 external battlements. It is said that the 72 watchtowers represent 72 people of great wisdom, the 3,000 battlements the 3,000 disciples of Confucius.

Tips: From Taiyuan City to Pingyao Ancient City, buses run every 20 minutes. You can catch a bus on Jianshe Nan Lu, opposite Taiyuan Railway Station and at the railway station in Pingyao Ancient City to return. The buses run from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The bus fee is CNY 10. Pingyao Ancient City is not very big, so you can take a wonderful rickshaw tour. Pingyao Ancient City is a popular destination for travelers, so you can find hotels with good facilities everywhere. Of course, hotels with the characteristics of ancient architecture are recommended, thus you will experience the atmosphere of ancient times. On the Ancient Ming and Qing Streets , you can find hotels that must be booked in advance and some local snacks such as Pingyao Beef that has been well-known from the Ming Dynasty, and Wan Tuo (a kind of delicious food made of flour).