Ping Yao

We took an overnight train with Xiaoqin to visit Ping Yao, her home town. Ping Yao is a famous old city with a complete city wall and many old buildings inside surviving from centuries ago. The main streets are spruced up old buildings, most converted into tourist shops and hotels, and there are also many grand courtyard houses, now serving as various museums.


Corner Tower, City Wall


City Street from the Wall


Back Street and Decorated Roofs


Boy "Driving" Tourist Cart
In the 18th and 19th centuries Ping Yao was a trade and banking center. The first bank in China, the Rishengchang Bank, was set up here, and the city was one of the richest in China until changes in the banking system and the end of the imperial system led to its decline. The bank buildig is now a museum describing this history.


Courtyard, Rishengchang Bank


Window Reflections
Away from the main streets is a city of dusty back streets and alleys where there is less influence of the tourist influx. Visiting Xiaoqin's parents gave us the opportunity of experiencing both aspects of the city life.


Back Street
Our hotel, the Yi De, is a charming old courtyard house, comfortably and carefully modernized. The room had a traditional style kang bed, a brick platform with padded mats, originally heated by an adjacent stove to keep warm in winter, although our one was not heated or maybe would be heated with hot water.






Yi De Hotel