Tourism history of Pingyao ancient city

Pingyao was a small town in the Ming and Qing Dynasties: 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan, Shanxi.

Pingyao ancient city was built in the Western Zhou Dynasty, with a history of more than 2,000 years. It has the best preserved ancient city wall with masonry structure in the early Ming Dynasty, the ancient wooden structure built in the Five Dynasties-Zhenguo Hall, and the Confucian Temple Dacheng Hall built in the Jin Dynasty. In addition to these cultural relics, Pingyao City has another feature: quadrangles. There are 3797 traditional quadrangles in the city, most of which are still in use. From these houses in Gaomen Courtyard, we can see the prosperity of Pingyao in history.

In the Qing Dynasty, Pingyao was called "Little Beijing" because there were powerful businessmen here. Among them, eight banks, led by Rishengchang, operate foreign exchange business in 45 cities in China, and even the name of Rishengchang can be seen in San Francisco and new york in the United States, showing its deep pockets. Treasure house of cultural relics, pearl of the world? The long history has left Pingyao with rich and colorful cultural relics. At present, there are more than 300 cultural relics units in China, and 99 cultural relics units are listed as key protected by governments at all levels. Among them, there are 3 national temples: Zhenguo Temple (Five Dynasties and One Qing Dynasty), Shuanglin Temple (Ming Dynasty) and Pingyao City Wall (Ming Dynasty); 6 at the provincial level: 90 at the county level. The ancient city of Pingyao was planned and built according to the traditional "ritual system" of the Han nationality. The shape of the ancient city adheres to the principle of "courtesy" and fully embodies the historical and cultural characteristics of the Han nationality in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Pingyao County is famous for its native products, with a wide variety. Pingyao Beef, Pingyao Tuguang Lacquerware, Pingyao long yam, Pingyao Wantuoze, Haowen Village Crispy Pear, Guozigou Penang, Nanyijian Apple, Mengshan Vinegar Willow (Hippophae rhamnoides) Juice and Fenhe Sorghum all have their own flavors and are well-deserved. Pingyao beef with unique flavor, when enjoyed by Empress Dowager Cixi in Pingyao in the Qing Dynasty, "smells its fragrance and lifts its spirit, tastes its flavor and solves its difficulties", and is regarded as a good product for tribute to the palace after eating it. Pingyao traditional folk houses are the carrier of history and culture. Many folk houses have historical and cultural value, folk research value, architectural art value and practical value, and they are still inhabited by urban residents. Today, they have become the architectural cultural heritage of this historical and cultural city.