See the Amazing Ancient City of Pingyao, China with TourChina.com

Discover the beautiful city of Pingyao and its exquisite ancient beauty with TourChina.com. We bring you all the information you need to plan your trip online. Plane tickets, car rental, hotels and great package deals - make all your travelling arrangements in advance.

Pingyao is a small Chinese city located in the Shanxi province. It has gained its reputation as a well-toured site from its magical and well-preserved old city and its impressive ancient city walls. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and in even though it is not very large or as rich in modernized shopping centers and tourist entertainments as China's biggest metropolitans, many travelers to China make time to visit this enchanting place and explore it unique charm.

With a little under half a million residences, Pingyao has a very different atmosphere than other places in China. One of the key Chinese elements - great magnitude, is lacking in this place and the result is a lovely authentic China atmosphere, but without the overwhelming enormity that burdens tourists in other parts of the country.

The city's smallness also allows tourists to cross it by foot - a rare advantage in China with its massive urban areas. However, if you don't fancy walking, you can always pay one of the small "golf cart" style vehicles to take you to your destination, or rent bicycles and get around with ease.

Even though Pingyao is well preserved and tourists-friendly, it still manages to keep its original historical layout and characteristics, first determined in the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties. This former economical center still shows the old life style as it once existed within the Old City's walls.

The city has many attractions and archeological sites, but almost all of them are located in the Old City. This part of Pingyao is surrounded by a huge wall and includes ancient ruins and many preserved Ming- and Qing-style dwellings. But the most notable point relating this area is its authentic impression. The narrow streets still seem as if they are trapped in time and even though the stores offer modern merchandize made for the western shopper, the storefronts still look very much as they did 200 or 300 years ago. The bell tower, the city's gates and the majestic battlement - they help creating Pingyao's unique style and long lasting impression.

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