Pingyao county, one of China's best preserved historical counties, is an outstanding example of Han life in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1636-1912) Dynasties, with an extraordinary culture, economy and religion. Pingyao goes back as far as the Xuan emperor's reign during the Western Zhou Dynasty (827-782 BC), but grew a lot during the Ming, giving it a history of more than 2,000 years. And it has maintained all of its old features across history and is famous in Shanxi province for its relics and cultural heritage.
Pingyao was economically important during the Ming and Qing and is called a birthplace of China's modern finance business, with some of the country's earliest banks and other financial institutions.
Its Rishengchang was the best-known bank in those years and is a characteristic example of the architecture of that time so it now a museum of Chinese banking. The county is famous for its old walls dating back to the Western Zhou, which was then fortified for military purposes during the third year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming (1370). It is Shanxi's oldest extant city wall, still standing firmly after more than 600 years.
The locals call Pingyao the 'tortoise city' because its walls give it a square shape, sort of resembling a tortoise because of the gates and battlements. The old town part has four main roads, eight streets and 72 'hutongs' and there are many tourist spots, such as the temples, Ming and Qing Dynasty streets, interesting abbeys, Confucian temples, and an old county council site.
