Pingyao is located on the east bank of Fenhe River, at the southwest end of Taiyuan Basin, adjacent to Qixian County, another famous national historical and cultural city. Tongpu Railway and Universiade expressway run through the county. The economy is dominated by agriculture, mainly producing grain, cotton, beef and lacquerware. Among them, beef is quite famous, and there are folk lyrics of "Pingyao Beef Taikoo Cake".
Pingyao was once the financial center of China in the late Qing Dynasty, with the most complete ancient county structure in China.
The beautiful Pingyao belonged to the State of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period and to the State of Zhao in the Warring States Period. Tao Ping County, located in Zhongdu County in Qin and Han Dynasties, is the capital of clan acting as king. The Northern Wei Dynasty was renamed Pingyao County. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 20 banks headquartered in Pingyao, accounting for more than half of the country, also known as "China's ancient Wall Street". The largest of these is Rishengchang, the first bank in China, which was founded in Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty and is known as "Huitong World".
Pingyao has basically retained the embryonic form of the county seat in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and is known as the "turtle city". The street pattern is in the shape of "earth", and the architectural layout follows the direction of gossip, which embodies the urban planning concept and shape distribution in Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are more than 300 sites and ancient buildings inside and outside the city, and nearly 4,000 well-preserved Ming and Qing dwellings. The shops on the street all reflect the original appearance of history, which can be called a living sample for studying ancient cities in China.
Pingyao City Wall was built in the third year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, with 6 city gates, 4 watchtowers and 72 watchtowers. Among them, the south gate wall collapsed in 2004, and most of the rest are still intact. It is one of the large-scale ancient city walls with an earlier existing history and relatively complete preservation in China, and it is also the core component of Pingyao Ancient City, a world heritage. In addition, Zhenguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Confucian Temple are also included in the scope of world heritage protection.
One of the birthplaces of Shanxi merchants.
In the 4th year of Qing Daoguang (A.D. 1824), Rishengchang, the prototype of China's first modern bank, was born in Pingyao. Three years later, Rishengchang has set up branches in several provinces in China. From 65438 to 1940s, its business further expanded to Japan, Singapore, Russia and other countries. At that time, driven by Rishengchang Bank, Pingyao banking developed rapidly. At its peak, there were as many as 22 banks here, which once became the center of China's financial industry.
It is said that Pingyao has three treasures, and the ancient city wall is one of them. Pingyao county wall. Built in the third year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1370), with a circumference of 6.4 kilometers, it is the oldest and largest city wall in Shanxi. Both Ming and Qing dynasties have been repaired, but they are basically the shape and structure of the early Ming dynasty. The city is square, the wall is about 12 meters high, the outer wall is all brick, the crib is built on the wall, and there is a moat outside the wall, which is 4 meters deep and 4 meters wide. There are six gates around the city, two in the east, two in the west, one in the north and one in the south. The East and the West cheat to build urns to facilitate defense. There are 3,000 battlements and 72 watchtowers, which are said to symbolize 3,000 disciples of Confucius and 72 saints. After more than 600 years of wind and rain, the city wall is still dazzling.
The streets, shops and houses in Pingyao ancient city have maintained the traditional layout and style. This street is cross-shaped, and shops are built along it. The pavement is strong and tall, with colored paintings under the eaves and colored carvings on the beams, which are antique. The houses behind the pavement are quadrangles with blue bricks and gray tiles, and the axes are clear and symmetrical. The whole ancient city presents a quaint style.
There is Zhenguo Temple at the north gate of the ancient city, which is the second treasure of the ancient city. Built in the Five Dynasties (A.D. 10 century), the Buddha Hall of this temple is the third oldest wooden structure in China, with a history of over 1000 years. The colored sculptures of the Five Dynasties in the temple are rare sculptures.
Yuan Yucheng Inn was founded in the early years of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty (1663), which was a famous old commercial brand in Pingyao ancient city in Ming and Qing Dynasties. During the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, businessmen from all over the country and even foreign businessmen closed down here. Located at No.41Yamen Street, Pingyao Ancient City Tourist Area. Adjacent to the county government, you can walk for a few minutes to reach Rishengchang, Chenghuang Temple, Lei Lvtai's former residence, South Street Gushi Tower and other classic attractions. It is only 2 kilometers away from Pingyao Railway Station and 2 kilometers away from the intersection of Universiade Expressway, with convenient transportation and extending in all directions.
Yuan Yucheng Inn is a private hotel designated by China International Travel Service, and also a top-grade foreign-related hotel with the highest evaluation from Chinese and foreign guests. At any time, the inn provides you with many services, such as reservation, catering, reservation of tourist routes, tour guide, ticket purchase, air ticket, Taiyuan airport pick-up, bicycle rental, folk performing arts, business negotiation and so on.