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Pingyao
Old Town
 The
Old Town of Pingyao is in Pingyao County,
in the center of Shanxi Province. It was
constructed during the reign of King Xuan
of the Western Zhou Dynasty (C.1100-771B.C.)
and has been the county seat ever since
the establishment of the prefecture-and-county
system in ancient China. Today, Pingyao
looks much the same as it did during the
Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties
and is the best-preserved historic town
in the regions populated by the Han ethnic
group.
Pingyao is known mainly for
three historical treasures: the ancient
large-brick city wall, the Zhenguo Temple,
and the Shuanglin Temple.
The city wall of Pingyao was
originally built with rammed earth and was
rebuilt with bricks in 1370, the third year
of the reign of Emperor Hong Wu of the Ming
Dynasty. The city wall extends for six kilometers
and testifies to the profound influence
of Confucianism in this region, as the disciples
of Confucius are said to be represented
by the 3,000 embrasures on the wall and
the 72 best disciples are represented by
the 72 small watchtowers. In the later period
of the Qing Dynasty, the Kuixing Pavilion
was built on the southeast section of the
wall and became a symbol of the flourishing
culture of the ancient city.
 The
Old Town of Pingyao was constructed according
to the traditional planning and building
style of the Han ethnic group and was laid
out according to the functions of its different
parts. Four large streets, eight smaller
ones, and 72 lanes made a neat grid. Symmetrically
arranged along an axis, the private houses
were constructed either in the style of
courtyard houses or in the style of manmade-cave
houses, all with local features. Today,
Pingyao still has 3,797 courtyard houses,
400 of them especially well preserved. In
addition, richly decorated temples and shops
are scattered all over the town. These old
buildings bring back a scene of the flourishing
town of Pingyao during the Ming and Qing
periods.
The Zhenguo Temple, located
in the northeast part of the city, was built
1,000 years ago, and its Hall of Ten Thousand
Buddhas (Wanfo) is the third oldest existing
wood building in China. The painted statues
from the Five Dynasties period (907-960)
inside the Wanfo Hall are listed as precious
works of sculptures.
The Shuanglin Temple, with its
ten halls, is located in the southwest part
of the town and was rebuilt in 571, during
the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577). The temple
houses more than 2,000 painted clay statues
from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) through
the Ming Dynasty and is known as the Treasure
House of Painted Sculptures.
Other treasures in Pingyao include
the Hall of Great Achievements in the Temple
of Confucius, reconstructed in 1163, and
the Qingxu Temple, originally constructed
in 657.
 Pingyao
occupies an important place in the financial
history of modern China. It was the location
of the Shanxi Commerce and Rishengchang
Piaohao, a kind of banking firm dealing
mainly in the transfer of money. The now-defunct
firm is considered to be the predecessor
of modern banks in China. During the Ming
and Qing dynasties, along with the development
of economy and commerce, several large commercial
firms of Shanxi Province opened branches
outside the province, thus establishing
a trans-regional business network. The circulation
of commodities and the transfer of money
gave rise to the piaohao.
In 1824, the Rishengchang Piaohao,
the first banking firm in China, was established
on what had been the site of the Xiyucheng
Pigment Shop on Xidajie Street. Three years
later, Rishengchang opened branches in Shandong,
Henan, Liaoning, and Jiangsu provinces.
In the 1840s, it expanded its operations
to Japan, Singapore, and Russia. Following
the example of Rishengchang, more than 20
piaohaos opened one after another in Pingyao,
turning the town into the financial center
of China.
Remembering Pingyao's glorious
past, the local people have protected and
preserved the old town. On December 3, 1997,
at the 21st session of the World Heritage
Committee of UNESCO, Pingyao was put on
the World Heritage List.
"The Old Town of
Pingyao is an outstanding example of the
Han cities in the Ming and Qing dynasties,
retaining all the features of these periods.
Pingyao presents a picture of unusual cultural,
social, economic, and religious development
in Chinese history."¡ªfrom
a report of the World Heritage Commission
of UNESCO.
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