# Pingyao Ancient City Wall (平遥古城墙)

Pingyao, Shanxi Province · North China, China · Guidebook rating: 5/5
Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/places/pingyao-ancient-city-wall
Language: en

## Key facts

- **Admission:** The ancient town is open free of charge; a combined ticket for the sights costs ¥125.
- **Opening hours:** 8:00–18:00 (April 1–October 7); 8:00–17:30 (October 8–March 31 of the following year)
- **Time needed:** 2–4 hours
- **Getting there:** Many rickshaws wait outside the railway station, and it takes about 10 minutes to reach Pingyao Ancient Town.
- **Good for:** History & Culture, Hiking & Outdoors, Photography

## About Pingyao Ancient City Wall

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.

## Tips from the guidebook

- Special features of the city wall
- 1. The city wall is often covered with all kinds of advertisements, the most common of which promote Pingyao’s specialty beef.
- 2. Two long rows of lanterns on the city wall make the place look quite like a film and TV set.

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Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), p. 1804. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.
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