Ancient City of Pingyao

MENG JIAXIN

THE ancient city of Pingyaois located in PingyaoCounty， Jinzhong City，central Chinas ShanxiProvince. It is considered one ofthe best-preserved ancient countiesin China， dating back around2，800 years to the Western ZhouDynasty （1046 B.C.–771 B.C.）.This county studded with historicconstructions epitomizes thearchitectural techniques and cityplanning ideas used by ancientChinese. It also reflects many featuresof Chinas traditional political，ritual， and cultural practicesas well as unique local culture ofmerchants， piaohao （private bank），and private security service.

This age-old city is a sizable architecturalcomplex composed ofnumerous ancient streets， dwellings，temples， shops， and otherbuildings. It is laid out symmetricallywith the South Main Streetserving as the axis and the MarketTower as the central point. Taoistand Buddhist temples， ritualtemples and government officesare arranged in compliance withthe traditional layout design ideasrooted in Chinese feudal systemof rites.

The city was built in the shapeof a grid which consisted of fourmain streets and eight smallerstreets， while another 72 alleyscrisscross the city. More than220 historic shops remain intactalong the major streets， andthere are over 3，980 ancient privateresidences with protectionvalue， of which 506 have beenwell preserved.

In December 1997， the ancient?city of Pingyao became one of twoancient Chinese cities inscribedon the World Heritage List ofUNESCO. It has been a populardestination for tourists fromhome and abroad for decades.Around 20 attractions are open tothe public， including the ancientcity walls， Pingyao ancient countygovernment of fice， City GodTemple， Confucian Temple， andRishengchang Piaohao .

Pinyaos Ancient City Wall

The ancient city wall is a mustvisithistoric site in Pingyao. Heretourists can stroll along the imposingwalls and have a panoramicview of the countys landscape.

These city walls were constructedin a rectangular patternwith a perimeter of 6.2 kilometers.The walls are about 10 metershigh， 8-12 meters wide at thebase， and 2.5-6 meters wide at thetop. There are six city gates， onein the north， one in the south，and two in the east and two in thewest. They are equipped with 72defense towers and 3，000 crenellationsand merlons.

It is said that the history ofthese walls dates back to theWestern Zhou Dynasty. The wallswere originally built out of earth，then reinforced with bricks on theoutside during the Ming Dynasty（1368-1644）， as confirmed by aninscribed stone monument. Thismonument is still standing on theEast Main Street in the ancientcity of Pingyao， with an inscriptiondescribing the wall-reinforcingproject carried out by the thencounty magistrate Meng Yimai.This well-preserved large-scalewall structure is significantly valuable?for research and protection interms of ancient military defenseand architectural techniques.

A dazzling light show that isheld every evening at the citywalls provides viewers with a delightfulexperience created by thecombination of modern technologywith historic buildings.

Ancient County Government Office，City God Temple，and Confucian Temple

Inside the city walls， there are anumber of sites of ancient governmentfacilities and ritual relics.

Pingyao Ancient County GovernmentOffice is one of Chinasbest-preserved and largest ancientcounty government offices. Coveringan area of approximately26，000 square meters， it is a courtyardcomplex designed with sixentries. Originally built duringthe Northern Wei Dynasty （386-534）， the extant structures tracetheir origins back to the Ming andQing （1368-1911） dynasties. Accordingto ancient Chinese systemof rites， its symmetrical layout ischaracterized by a central axis，which separates government departmentsin charge of personnel，revenue， and rites in the west ，and those responsible for military，justice and engineering in theeast.

Historical records documentthat 184 county magistrates assumedoffice at Pingyao from theHan Dynasty （206 B.C.-A.D. 220）to the late Qing Dynasty. This sitebears witness to the long historyof Pingyao as an administrativeunit in China. Today， this governmentcomplex has been converted?into a museum， and hosts performancesthat display the countymagistrates daily tasks of inspection，case ruling， and the signingand issuing of “city-entry passes.”

City God Temple is anotherpopular attraction in Pingyao.The City God， known as the localguardian god， was an importantdeity widely revered bythe ancient Han people. This7，300-square-meter temple isa time-honored Taoist templeused for official worship and isa textbook of rich historical andcultural traditions. The exact dateof its construction is unknown，but it was rebuilt during the Mingand Qing dynasties after being?destroyed in a fire.

A Confucian temple is located inthe vicinity of the City God Temple.This temple dedicated to Confuciusis the largest， best-preserved，and most distinctive of its kind innorthern China.

Constructed during the earlyTang Dynasty （618-907）， it coversan area of 37，000 square meters. Itsgrand and stately design bears astrong resemblance to an imperialpalace， fully reflecting people's reverencefor Confucianism and emphasison education at that time.With the exception of the DachengHall which was built during theJin Dynasty （1115-1234）， the otherbuildings in the temple complex?were built during the Ming andQing dynasties.

The Market Tower was once theseat of the government departmentfor regulating market activities. Today，visitors like to climb up to thetop of the tower to enjoy the viewof the surrounding county landscape.

Ma Family Compound

Rectangular courtyard housesenclosed with high walls are themost common residential buildingstyle in Pingyao. The Ma FamilyCompound is one of the signaturetraditional dwellings and is open tothe public.

It once was the residence of?a wealthy merchant named MaZhongxuan in the Qing Dynasty.Built during the late Qing Dynastyand expanded over the decades，it eventually developed into a6，000-square-meter complex composedof three large courtyards andsix small courtyards with over 190rooms.

Exquisite and sophisticatedarchitectural decorations， like carvingsmade out of brick， wood， andstone， can be seen everywhere. Thecomplex still houses many preciousantiques， such as finely carved andpainted cabinets， beds， dressingmirrors， bathtubs， and other furniturepieces. The compound is fullyequipped with halls， bedrooms，kitchens， study rooms， accountingrooms， pavilions， theatrical stages，and even a vinegar workshop anda personal security agency ownedby the Ma family. By means of varioustextual displays， visitors canlearn about the historical stories ofthe Ma family as they take a tourthrough the site.

Like most dwellings in Pingyao，the roofs of the east and westwing rooms in the compound aresingle-sloped， which help directthe rainwater to the courtyard. Additionally，according to this design，the outer walls are built higher， effectivelyblocking strong winds andsand.

Rishengchang Piaohao，Xietongqing Private Bank， and Private Security Agencies

The ancient city of Pingyao wasonce known as the “financial center”of China， where the country'sfirst “private bank” – RishengchangPiaohao – was established.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties，merchant groups emergedacross the country and were namedafter the region they came from.Among them， the largest and mostpowerful was the Shanxi merchants.Most of people in Pingyao did business.They often had to carry largeamounts of silver ingots， the prevailingcurrency at the time， with themfrom one place to another， whichwas very inconvenient. Piaohao serviceswere born in this context.

Piaohao was a private financialinstitution that provided check，deposit and loan services. Rishengchang，the first piaohao in China，held a significant position in thehistory of Chinese commerce andfinancial development. The layout?and appearance of Rishengchangduring its peak period have been wellpreserved to this day. Today， it is a2，400-square-meter museum that isopen to the public. During the periodfrom its establishment in 1823 to itsshutdown during the early Republicof China， its business reached as faras Europe， America， and SoutheastAsia. After Rishengchang was set up，54 other piaohao houses emerged inChina， 22 of which were headquarteredin Pingyao.

Xietongqing Private Bank isanother attraction known for itsmonetary roots. Founded in 1856，it had opened 33 branches by 1913when it closed， having branches asfar as Japan and Russia. It was oneof the largest and fastest expanding?piaohao houses in Shanxi. Coveringan area of 2，880 square meters， itconsisted of seven courtyards， witha massive safe in the backyard. Today，it is a public museum.

Being the “financial center” thatit was， Pingyao once had many privatesecurity agencies （or biaoju ）that provided protection for thetransportation of items and servicesof guarding courtyards. Theearliest private security business inChina appeared during the reign ofEmperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynastyand was founded by ZhangHeiwu from Pingyao. Zhangs practicewas known as Xinglong Biaoju .Subsequently， due to increasingdemand， more security agencieswere established， making greatcontributions to the commercialdevelopment and social stability inPingyao and beyond. Today， in theancient city of Pingyao， tourists canvisit the China Biaoju Museum， thelargest of its kind in north China，and Tongxinggong Biaoju ， amongother historical sites featuring thebiaoju culture.

Nowadays， well-developed tourismservices of transportation， accommodation，dining， and onlineticket-purchasing are available inthe ancient city of Pingyao. Theancient city also offers a rangeof new attractions by integratingmodern cultural and technologicalelements， such as a dancing playadapted from a real piaohao story，3D light displays， a tech-assistedimmersive experience center， andtraditional Chinese clothes experiencehalls. These modern servicesand creative activities help amplifythe appeal and diversity of this ancientcounty， drawing more visitorsto sample its cultural richness.