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Street scene, Pingyao, ChinaSource: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pingyao-oldtown.jpg
Author: Benzh
Author: Benzh
Pingyao is an ancient city in central Shanxi Province, China. It was the financial center of China during the Qing Dynasty. Pingyao follows the typical baqua pattern, is well preserved with a city layout that dates back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. The cityscape has also retained its historical appearance.
Pingyao was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 21st session of the World Heritage Committee in Naples, Italy, on 1-6 December, 1997.
During its heyday, Pingyao has 20 financial centres, or banks, half of all that is available in China. This includes the Rishengchang, said to be the first bank in China.
The city walls of Pingyao were put up by the Hongwu Emperor in 1370. It has six barbican gates. With one gate on the north and one to the south, and two each on the east and west, Pingyao looks like a turtle, hence its moniker, Turtle City.
The walls were further defended by a 4-meter wide moat. There were 72 watchtowers and 3,000 battlements. Like many major tourist attractions of China, Pingyao suffers from the pressure of controlling the number of tourists visiting it, which can reach three times the maximum daily capacity.
Medieval city wall of PingyaoSource: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PingYaoCityWall.jpg
Author: Peellden
Author: Peellden
Pingyao city towerSource: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PingYaoCity.jpg
Author: Peellden
Old city wall of Pingyao
Author: Peellden
Old city wall of PingyaoSource: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pingyao-2008-06-18-wall.jpg
Author: Mätes
Inscription Year: 1997
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: II, III, IV
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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.
While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.
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Author: Mätes
World Heritage Site Inscription Details
Location: N 37 12 05 E 112 09 16 in Ping Yao County, Shanxi Province, ChinaInscription Year: 1997
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: II, III, IV
Visiting Ancient City of Ping Yao
Your base for visiting Pingyao is the city of Taiyuan, which gets flights from major cities in China. From Taiyuan, Pingyao is still two hours away by train.Exploring Pingyao
Pingyao is best explored on foot.List of World Heritage Sites in Shanxi Province and World Heritage Sites in China
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Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.About this website
Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.
While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.
To get to know me better, do follow me on Facebook!
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