On New Year's Day 2020, Yuanyuan and I went to Pingyao and Xi'an.

Pingyao is cold and Xi'an is warm. I originally thought that the latitudes are similar and they are not far apart, so the temperatures should be about the same. But after looking at the map, I found that Pingyao and Shijiazhuang are close in latitude, and Xi'an and Zhengzhou are close in latitude. They are quite far apart.

I have been to all kinds of ancient water towns, except for the most famous Lijiang and Pingyao, in the past few years. I am a little tired of this type. However, Pingyao is close to Xi'an and it is in Shanxi Province that I have never been to, so I picked it up by the way.

Because it was a spur-of-the-moment idea, I didn’t do much homework. I only knew that Pingyao was a relatively well-protected ancient city and a world cultural heritage.

New Year's Day is the off-season in Pingyao, and we were the only ones staying in the inn. Although the ancient city was brightly lit at night, there were more shop assistants soliciting business than tourists.

As expected, we didn’t find the scenic spots in Pingyao Ancient City very interesting. We hired a tour guide to take us around the ancient city, taking a quick tour of the escort offices, ticket offices, county offices, and city walls. Otherwise, we might not even be interested in visiting.

No.

The next day, we chartered a car to go to the Wang Family Courtyard, Shuanglin Temple, and Zhenguo Temple. These places exceeded our expectations.

On the way to the Wang family compound, we passed through Jiexiu. The thick smog and the chimneys along the way were shocking. No one working on the roadside wore a mask.

Occasionally in the news, it is reported that the smog in Beijing has improved, and in the circle of friends, we often see friends in Beijing enjoying the blue sky with joy. There should be more places like Jiexiu in China, where no one pays attention to the smog, and for a period of time, no one pays attention to it.

No hope of getting better.

The driver said that it is impossible to move these factories, otherwise many people here will lose their jobs, taxes will not be collected, and something will happen.

The Wang family courtyard has a square layout, an amazing scale, and the carved beams and painted buildings are all very ingenious.

Thanks to the off-season, there were no crowds and noisy tourists. The tour guide told us many anecdotes about the Wang Family Courtyard. I admired the Chinese custom of asking for oral lottery.

There is a hot spring hotel close to the compound. It was said to be built on the dilapidated site of the previous compound. If I had known about it earlier, I could have stayed here on the first day.

Shuanglin Temple is not far from the ancient city of Pingyao. It is famous for its colorful sculptures, with magnificent colors and lifelike shapes. It is no exaggeration to say that they have more visual impact than other colorful sculptures I have seen in so many museums before.

The driver said that even in the peak season, not many people come here. Everyone always thinks that a dilapidated temple is not interesting. I think it is really good.

Even though the sign clearly says no photography is allowed, a few young tourists insisted on taking photos with flash, which was really annoying.

Zhenguo Temple is even more remote. The road has twists and turns, and it is near a farmland. Before going, the driver repeatedly confirmed with us whether we wanted to go, saying that most people can finish the visit in ten minutes, and it is not worth traveling dozens of kilometers back and forth. Of course,

This rhetoric will definitely not persuade me.

Zhenguo Temple was first founded in the Five Dynasties and has a history of more than a thousand years. It is famous for its Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall with a complete mortise and tenon structure. Ordinary tourists like us really cannot see the famous hall, but the glow of the evening that day, combined with the ancient locust trees in the temple

, especially simple and peaceful, another wonderful moment of travel.

Shanxi is famous for its pasta, but the ancient city is a tourist attraction, so expectations should not be too high. I ate some in various restaurants, which can only be said to be quite satisfactory. Unfortunately, I didn’t even get a bowl of delicious shaved noodles. Instead, I drank the red date vinegar and honey recommended by the store.

Vinegar, unexpectedly found it delicious and appetizing, so I bought a lot and sent it home.

The night before I left, I went to see "Meet Pingyao Again". It is a situational performance that has been popular in recent years. It didn't have many surprises and it didn't feel like a waste of money. It was a great way to end the trip to Pingyao.

I took the high-speed rail from Pingyao Ancient City Station to Xi'an North. When I came to Xi'an ten years ago, this high-speed rail station didn't exist yet.

At that time, Yuanyuan and I had just fallen in love. Xi'an was where she studied at university. Although she had graduated that year, she still did an excellent job as a host.

That summer, when we came out of Xianyang Airport, we took a taxi. When we got in the car, we discovered that the car windows had no glass. As soon as the car started, sand and soil poured in, making us laugh all the way.

There was no subway in Xi'an at that time, so you could only take a taxi or take a bus to visit tourist attractions. She took me to the Forest of Steles, Shaanxi Museum, Terracotta Warriors, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and Muslim Street. We rented a tandem bicycle and rode around the city wall to the train

Take a very shabby minibus to the foot of Huashan Mountain and start climbing in the evening.

The impression of climbing Canglong Ridge under the moonlight is still vivid in my mind. The butt is in front of me and the head is behind. There is no way out except climbing up.

When I turned around and looked around, my legs felt a little weak, but I just took another look at Canglong Ridge under the moonlight. It was so beautiful and worth it.

As a person with a slight fear of heights, I actually conquered the long sky plank road, just because Yuanyuan passed it effortlessly. As a boy, I am embarrassed and embarrassed... That summer, we rode a tandem bicycle around

Walking around the city wall, I didn't expect that it would take so long to go around the city wall. The wind was blowing and my whole body was sweating.

This time, the bicycles on the city wall were replaced by ones imported from Italy. The south gate section of the city wall was filled with unlit New Year lanterns. The season was changed to winter, and the T-shirts were replaced by down jackets. When the wind blew, the hand holding the

The handlebars were a little cold, and after riding half a circle, my nose couldn't stop running.

I specifically chose to go up to the city wall at almost 5 o'clock, when the sky slowly dimmed, the sunset appeared on the horizon little by little, and the lanterns gradually lit up. After so many years, we still love each other and know each other. I don't find it difficult, I just feel happy.