Pingyao is also known as "The Tortoise City'. It is an ancient small city of China, about 90 km away from Taiyuan and is well known for its well preserved city wall as well as the nearby Wang and Qiao family compounds. It is located at the banks of the Yellow River, enabling it to serve as an important communications and commercial hub. During the Qing Dynasty, Pingyao was a financial center of China. Pingyao city is the only city in China that has been completely reserved as it was hundreds of years ago, it has no modern buildings with only narrow stone-plate street with many Chinese-style shops on the two sides. It is outstanding example of Chinese Han nationality cities during Ming and Qing Dynasties. It has been listed as a World heritage Site since 1997. Pingyao (China) consists of almost 30 architectural attractions, including ancient temples and shrines.
Pingyao China Attractions:
The Ancient Pingyao City Wall:
The ancient wall surrounding Pingyao was first built during the Zhou Dynasty (11th century - 256 B.C.) and was expanded in 1370, the third year of the reign of Ming Emperor Hongwu. The wall is 12m high with an average width of 5m and is said to resemble a tortoise, the sacred symbol of Longevity in Chinese. Each corner of the wall has a watch tower, in addition to the 72 watch towers built into the wall at intervals of 40-60m, enabling the gaurds to get an excellent view of any enemies attempting to climb the wall. Right outside the ancient city wall is a moat, 4m deep and 4m wide serving as the first line of the city's defences and a reservoir too in case of a fire.
Museums and ancient Buildings of Pingyao China:
The city has six gates, two each on the east and west and one each in the south and north side. Several old courtyards have been turned into museums, most notably the homes and offices of Pingyao's old tongs, or banks. Rishengchang and the Baichuan Tong, two of the most powerful banks in the old days, are now small museums that are open for visitors. There are almost 4,000 ancient buildings and family compounds in the surrounding region. The two most popular amongst them are the Wang and the Qiao mansions. The Qiao compound has 313 rooms and covers an area of 3,528sq m. The Wang compound includes a massive mansion built as a monument of glory of the Wand family. Consisting of 54 courtyards and 1,052 rooms, the Wang compound is the epitome of Oriental domestic architecture. Some of the other popular compounds are, Chang's compound, Qu's Compound and Cao's Compound of China.
There are several stunning temples inside and around Pingyao, China. Shuangling Temple (Double Tree Temple), 6 km southwest from Pingyao is famous for its colorful sculpture. The Zhengguo Temple, 12km to the northeast features unique wooden structural architecture.
The ancient city of Pingyao (China) has become a popular travel and tourism destinations with tourists from all around the world. The best time to visit Pingyao (China) is spring and summer.
