The Ancient City of Pingyao – A whisper from the Past
It was the Wall Street of the ancient Chinese civilisation. Today Pingyao is the only Chinese city to have maintained its original layout and structures for thousands of years. The Ancient City of Pingyao is the finest example of a Han city from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The urban layout was centred around the financial hub of the city and ultimately the economic centre of China on a whole. It is most renowned for its defensive lines, the extraordinary twelve metre high city wall. The Ancient City of Pingyao is located to the South of Taiyuan, in the northern Shanxi Province. In December 1992, it was entered into the World Cultural Heritage list compiled by UNESCO.
The city reflects perfectly the social, economical, cultural and religious history of the Chinese peoples. It presents an authentic example of the architecture of the period, with it symmetrical layouts of narrow streets, courtyards and an attractive array of rooftops. Its front gates overlook the splendid Fen River
Pingyao Town was expanded and its solid walls were raised in 1370, by the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang. It was constructed for fear if invaders surmounted the Great Wall. The Pingyao City wall surrounds streets, office blocks, commercial buildings and religious sites. When the Ancient City of Pingyao is observed from above, it reminds the viewer of a turtle, with the City Gates in place of the head, legs and tail of the animal. The turtle symbolizes longevity, and the residents believed that their town would last forever! There are four towers at the four corners of the city, with seventy two towers along the 6,000 metre perimeter. There are also 3,000 battlements. It is said they represent the 3,000 disciples and 72 sages of Confucius.
One of the most interesting sites in the City of Pingyao is the Rishenchang money house, established in 1824. Along with twenty one other ancient banks at the time, they made Pingyao China’s financial centre. These banks had hundreds of branches across China and in foreign countries. Though they are no longer in business, the structure of their compounds remains, with beautiful courtyards, offices and residences.
The structure of private homes within Pingyao was indicative of the wealth of most of its residents and the architectural rules of the time. Built with bricks, tiles and mortar homes were enclosed in walled compounds with the number of courtyards reflecting the wealth of the dwellers.
The courtyards of the Ancient City of Pingyao are like small museums. They display brick, stone and even wooden carvings of astonishing design and detail. Beautiful coloured paintings are abundant. Though many of the compounds have seen better times, over four hundred of them are in an excellent state of preservation.
There are many temples in Pingyao, as it has enjoyed a long line of spiritual dwellers. The Zhenguo and Shuanglin Temples were listed in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage register. The Zhenguo Temple is an amazing rendition of ancient wooden architecture. The Shuanglin Temple is a museum of fantastic treasured painted statures and sculptures. The Qingxu Taoist Temple is renowned for its unique architectural techniques of suspension beams and pendant columns. In Pingyao there is also a Pavilion dedicated to the God of Literature as the belief at the time centred on the strength of the army and the intellect of the leaders.
The Ancient City of Pingyao is an exceptional heritage and cultural site in China. Its preservation has defied nature itself, with even the ruinous areas offering a spectacular glimpse into one of the most peaceful and prosperous eras in Chinese history.
