Pingyao

Some 100 kilometers away from Taiyuan, Pingyao is situated in the middle of Shanxi Province. The State Council proclaimed Pingyao as a historical and cultural city in 1986. Now, there are altogether 3 key cultural relics sites under state level protection, three under provincial level protection and 90 under county level protection. The so many valuable relics in such a large scale are rare in all the counties throughout the country. The most valuable ones are the Ten-Thousand-Buddha Palace in the Zhenguo Temple, which was built in the 7th year (963) of the Tianhui reign in the Beihan Dynasty (951-979); the Double Forest Temple built in the 2nd year (571) of the Wuping reign in the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577); the Qingxu Taoist Temple, built in the 2nd year (657) of the Xianqing reign in the Tang Dynasty (618-907); the Dacheng Hall of the Wenmiao Temple built in the 7th year (963) of the Tianhui reign in the Beihan; and the Huiji Bridge built in the tenth year (16711) of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The relics of the ancient Pingyao is of the best reserve in the entire terrain of the People's Republic of China. It is a typical sample, representing ancient cities in the central part of the country. The first bank for foreign exchange and deposit was the Rishengchang, set up in ancient Pingyao in the 3rd year (1823) of the Dongguang reign in the Qing Dynasty. The setup of Rishengchang was a milestone of finance in the ancient times. It marked the birth of a new type of finance at the end of the feudal society with modern characteristics.

Up to now, the city wall, streets, houses, shops and temples have been almost kept intact. The layout and the flavor of the city have little changed. The valuables of the inner and outer city are under special protection and preserved intact. All these are inseparable components of the historical relics of the ancient Pingyao City and are living fossils for the research into the politics, economy, military, architecture and art of China.

Pingyao was listed on the World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, with remarks, "The ancient city of Pingyao is an outstanding example of Chinese Han Nationality cities in the Ming and Qing dynasties, displaying all the features of those periods. Pingya, in particular reveals a picture of unexpected cultural, social, economic and religious development in Chinese history".