We had quite some fun trying to buy a bus ticket for our journey today to Pingyao, after stating that I wanted a ticket for tomorrow, my guide book, which I was using to translate was thrown back at me amongst a volley of abuse, what is it with the women in this town. Today though no such problems and we were soon on our way, the 7AM bus actually left after 8AM when it was full.
So far there hasn't been a lot of charm on display in China, its certainly been interesting, after all its not often you visit a capital city the size of Belgium. Now that we are over 700km South of Beijing it seems that the charm has arrived. Here within the walled city of Pingyao, there are only 70,000 people, its a world heritage site with over 300 ancient ruins and 4,000 old houses and shops left over from the Ming and Qing dynasties 1300-1600 AD. So why has Pingyao stayed in its ancient form when the rest of China is busy rebuilding itself? Basically despite being the banking capital of China all those years ago it ran out of money.
This though could be its saviour today with tourists flocking to catch a glimpse of ancient China, the locals seem to be quick on the uptake with the restoration of shops, cafes and guesthouses underway in every street. Above is the entrance to our guesthouse. Below is the view from the front of our guesthouse towards the center of the city. As you can see no cars ;-)
The city wall is impressive
12 meters high
60,000m perimeter
4 towers one at each corner
72 watch towers and 3,000 battlements
It also makes a very impressive photo at sunset
The quiet streets were transformed as night fell, the central tower brilliantly lit with rows of lanterns lining the streets, very magical
Highlights: The tranquility of ancient China
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