Shanxi Province · North China

Pingyao travel guide

平遥

Pingyao's old town still has 3,797 traditional courtyard houses, most of which are inhabited. With its intact ancient city walls and the traditional residences where people still live,…

19 places · In the guidebook: pages 1801–1823

Plan a trip

Pingyao, Shanxi Province · AI illustration for China Trip

Quick itinerary

Pingyao in 1 days

Day 1
1. Pingyao Ancient City (Ancient City Wall→
2. Rishengchang Draft Bank→
3. Ming and Qing Street→
4. Yonglonghao→
5. Escort Agency Museum→
6. Gushi Tower→
7. Ancient County Yamen→
8. City God Temple→
9. Grand Opera House→
10. Confucius Temple→
11. Qingxu Temple→
12. North China's No. 1 Escort Agency)

The feel of the place

Traditional Residences: Pingyao's old town still has 3,797 traditional courtyard houses, most of which are inhabited. With its intact ancient city walls and the traditional residences where people still live, Pingyao remains a living ancient city.
Old Draft Banks: Pingyao was home to China's earliest financial institutions: the draft banks (piaohao). In their heyday, the eight great Pingyao draft banks, led by Rishengchang, had branches in 45 cities across China and even maintained remittance business with San Francisco and New York. It was these financial magnates of the time who shaped today's Pingyao, and the exquisite mansions that still stand there remain a major force in the town's economy.

Pingyao's Three Treasures

Pingyao's three treasures are lacquerware, beef and Changshan yam.

Preparation and Information

Language

As a highly commercialised tourist destination with a prosperous past, communicating in Pingyao should not pose much of a problem.

Climate and Travel Season

Pingyao has distinct seasons, with a large temperature difference between winter and summer. January is the coldest month, at around -7°C; July is the hottest, at around 28°C, with an extreme high of 39°C. The annual average temperature is around 10°C, and summer has the most rainfall. The best seasons to visit Pingyao are summer and autumn.

Pingyao's Draft Banks

Draft banks (piaohao) were money-changing houses run by Shanxi merchants in former times, focused mainly on remittance business, and they reached their peak in the late Qing dynasty. Draft bank merchants are one of Pingyao's defining features. Records show that Pingyao once had dozens of draft banks; the 22 most famous were: Rishengchang, Weitaihou, Weifenghou, Weishengchang, Xintaihou, Tianchengheng, Rixinzhong, Xiehexin, Xietongqing, Baichuantong, Qianshengheng, Qianjisheng, Weichanghou, Qideichang, Yunfengtai, Songshengchang, Xianghezhen, Yishengchang, Huiyuanyong, Yongtaiqing, Yongtaiyu and Baofenglong.

Pingyao International Photography Festival

Since 2001, Pingyao has held an International Photography Festival every year in mid-to-late September, which has become a major event in China's photography world. Visitors at this time can see photography exhibitions and take part in many celebratory activities.

Pingyao International Film Festival

Every October, Pingyao holds the Pingyao International Film Festival, founded by director Jia Zhangke. It is an absolute carnival for film lovers.

Pingyao Taxi Fares

Pingyao taxis have a flag-fall of ¥6 for the first 1.5 km, then ¥1.8 per km.

Protection Against Sand

Shanxi is cold, dry and windy with plenty of sand. When visiting Pingyao, it's best to bring sunglasses and a hat for protection against wind and sand.

All 8 places in Pingyao

Things to see

*Once More, Pingyao* is staged on the south side of the Lize Garden International Hotel on Shuncheng Road, outside the West Gate. Performances run Tuesday to Sunday, with no shows on Mondays. There are two shows daily, at 14:00 and 19:00, and each show lasts 90 minutes.

Pingyao Ancient City Wall

2–4 hours · The ancient town is open free of charge; a combined ticket for the sights costs ¥125.

The Pingyao Ancient City Wall is one of the few complete ancient county-level city walls still standing in China. The earliest rammed-earth walls are said to have been built by Yin Jifu, a great general of the Western Zhou dynasty. During the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty, the wall was expanded on the old foundation into the brick-and-stone structure seen today. The city’s overall layout is shaped like a tortoise, giving rise to the saying “the tortoise plays in the water, mountains face the sun,” which is why Pingyao is also commonly called “Tortoise City.” The old town has six gates, each with its own symbolism: the South Gate is the tortoise’s head, facing the Zhongdu River; outside the city there were originally two wells, likened to the tortoise’s eyes; the North Gate is the tortoise’s tail and the lowest point of the town, so all the city’s rainwater drains out through it; the four gates and barbicans in the east and west are like the tortoise’s paws stretched forward. Only the outer gate of the barbican at the East Lower Gate opens straight to the east. Legend has it that the builders feared the tortoise would crawl away, so they straightened its left leg and tied it to the Lutai Pagoda in Cisi Temple outside the city. The city wall is said to have 3,000 crenellations and 72 small watchtowers, symbolizing Confucius’s 3,000 disciples and 72 sages, so that this bustling commercial city would never lack literary refinement.

Rishengchang Draft Bank

1–1.5 hours · Included in the Pingyao Ancient Town combined ticket

Experience the legend of the Shanxi merchants. Founded in the Daoguang era of the Qing dynasty, Rishengchang was China’s first and also largest draft bank (piaohao) handling remittance business. At its peak, Rishengchang had branches in 35 cities large and small across the country, with annual remittance volumes ranging from 1 million to 38 million taels of silver. Today, Rishengchang is also known as the China Draft Bank Museum. It has more than 20 exhibition halls, broadly divided into a historical display section and a section recreating the original layout, which together trace the development of China’s national banking industry.

Shuanglin Temple

Shuanglin Temple was originally called Zhongdu Temple and was built in the early Northern Wei dynasty. Across its three courtyards and ten halls, more than 2,000 colored sculptures of Vajra guardians, Guanyin, Arhats and others from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties have been preserved. Particularly noteworthy are the lifelike donor figures, rare examples of secular sculpture from ancient times. The religious statues inside the temple are also not overly stylised. Each one has its own distinct form and spirit, making them rare artistic treasures of antiquity. Among them, the 'Guanyin Crossing the Sea' and the 'Guanyin at Ease' are especially exquisite.

2–3 hours · ¥33

Pingyao County Government Office

The Pingyao County Government Office is one of the very few complete ancient county yamens still surviving in China. Its buildings line up along the central axis, with Six Ministries offices (六部房) in the east and west wings. The courtyard also contains a bell tower, an Earth God shrine, grain halls, a heavy prison, a female prison, a light prison, the Hall of the King of Hell and many other structures. The yamen also houses the only Imperial Edict Museum in China.

1 hour

City God Temple

The surviving temple buildings date from the Ming and Qing dynasties and are among the most completely preserved City God Temples in China. Its most distinctive feature is a “temple within a temple”: the City God Temple, the Caishen (God of Wealth) Temple and the Zaojun (Kitchen God) Temple are linked together, forming a unique scene of “deities of different kinds sharing one temple and receiving incense together.” The City God sits in the centre, with the Kitchen God and the God of Wealth on either side. The octagonal trigram caisson (藻井) above the Caishen opera stage was created by cleverly using the rear ends of the bracket arms (斗拱翘昂) as decoration. It is not only distinctive in form but also helps gather and project sound. Five large earthenware jars are buried beneath the stage floor, creating resonance and giving the stage excellent acoustics.

1–2 hours

Qingxu Temple

Qingxu Temple was first built in the Tang dynasty and is a Taoist temple complex. The complex has 10 buildings in total. The Dragon and Tiger Hall and the Three Pure Ones Hall were built in the Yuan dynasty, and the Azure Dragon and White Tiger statues are rare masterpieces of Yuan sculpture. The surviving relics of the Chunyang Palace include nearly 30 stone steles from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Qingxu Temple now houses the Pingyao Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall. It displays Tang and Song cast-iron Buddha statues and many Ming-dynasty wooden Taoist deity statues. The latter are life-sized and rarely seen elsewhere in China.

30 minutes

China Escort Agency Museum

The China Escort Agency Museum introduces the history of China’s escort agencies (镖局), along with the ten most famous escort agencies and ten most famous escort masters of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and anecdotes from the process of escorting goods. It is well worth a visit.

0.5–1 hour · Included in the Pingyao Ancient Town combined ticket

Zhenguo Temple

The entire temple was built without a single nail. All structures are joined wood-to-wood by mortise and tenon, making it a great treasure of ancient Chinese architecture. The temple is divided into front and rear sections, with the Heavenly King Hall, Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, Three Buddhas Tower and others arranged from south to north. The most famous feature inside the Three Buddhas Tower is the Ming-dynasty mural on its walls, which depicts the life of Shakyamuni Buddha. Its composition is complete and fluid, making it a treasure of Ming-dynasty mural painting.

1–2 hours · ¥23

Getting there & around

Getting In and Out

Getting to and from Pingyao relies mainly on rail and road, and transport is convenient.

Rail

The Tongpu Railway runs north-south through Pingyao, reaching north to Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang and south to Linfen and Yuncheng. Pingyao has two railway stations: Pingyao Station and Pingyao Ancient City Station. Pingyao Ancient City Station is a high-speed rail station, while Pingyao Station mainly serves ordinary fast trains. Visitors departing from Beijing, Lanzhou, Chongqing, Xi'an, Jinan and other cities can take high-speed and EMU trains that run directly to Ancient City Station. The journey from Beijing to Pingyao takes about 4 hours.

From Pingyao Ancient City Station to the old town, take bus route 108; the fare is ¥1 and the journey takes about 40 minutes. From Pingyao Station, the old town is about 2 km away and can be reached on foot.

Road

Pingyao and Taiyuan are connected by road. Buses from Jiannan Bus Station in Taiyuan take only about 2 hours, with a fare of about ¥28.

Local Transport

Pingyao's old town is not large, and its streets are narrow and densely populated, so you generally do not need a vehicle to tour it; walking is sufficient. The town also has rickshaws and electric carts operated specifically for visitors.

Pingyao Bus Station

Road

Address:: East side of the railway station
Phone:: 0354-5690011

Eat & drink

Food in Pingyao centres on noodles. Shanxi is said to have over 300 kinds of noodles, though for most people the differences are mainly in shape. Like most of Shanxi, Pingyao locals typically eat millet porridge, steamed buns and baked flatbreads in the morning and evening. At midday, the choice is all kinds of noodle dishes, such as dalu noodles (noodles with braised toppings), zhajiang noodles (noodles with fried soybean paste sauce) and cuo'er (hand-pinched dough flakes). The toppings are plentiful and the flavours are refreshing.

Local Snacks and Snack Streets

Drink Purified Water

Pingyao's tap water tastes slightly salty and may cause mild discomfort when drunk. It is advisable to buy purified water instead.

Try the Local Specialities

The Ming-Qing Street in the old town has many restaurants where you can sample Pingyao's local specialities.

Tips for Eating in Pingyao

1. When having breakfast here, always ask the price beforehand, or you will likely be overcharged. The difference may only be a few yuan, but it will spoil your mood.

2. Meals in Pingyao usually mean noodles. If you really want rice, not every restaurant will have it, and even where it is available, the price is surprisingly high: ¥3 for a small bowl and ¥5 for a large bowl.

Reverse-Pedalling Tricycles

Reverse-pedalling tricycles are a familiar sight in Pingyao. Renting one in the evening and wandering freely around the city is especially enjoyable.

Bargaining in Pingyao

Almost everything here is negotiable, including entrance tickets (especially for smaller sights), and accommodation, meals and shopping even more so. Just don't haggle too aggressively, or it may cause hassle.