Pingyao -- Romantic China

Arriving in Pingyao, the first thing you see are the impressive, intact and whole city wall.

Pingyao has a history of some 2,700 years and the walls were first constructed in the 1300's.

Here we are climbing up the wall at the South gate.

Myself and Alex M. (one of my favorite students!) enjoying a quick walk on the walls.  You'll note that the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom here in mid-April.  In full bloom, they are stunning!

So far the city walls don't really reveal the specialness of Pingyao.  It's ONLY when you look into the town itself and it reveals that ALL of the buildings in their original design are still intact and in place do you realize that Pingyao has been left behind by modern China.  None of the boxy modern buildings to be seen!

The view DOWN from the wall into town.

I am enchanted by Chinese style roofs.

So it turns out that Pingyao was THE center of finance during the Qing Dynasty.  As many as 20 financial institutions were based here, the oldest being the "Rishengcheng" bank.

Shi, Li, Chen and Li Laoshi sitting on a symbol of wealth.  We had one of these sitting in our house when I was a kid.

So as the Qing Dynasty went the way of history, so did the prosperity of Pingyao and it became unimportant.  This helped it preserve its architectural integrity.

As night descends on Pingyao, the lights come on!