Information about Pingyao Ancient City (legends, scenery, guide words)

History of the ancient city

The ancient city of Pingyao is located in the central part of Shanxi Province in northern China. It was built in the period of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty (827 BC to 782 BC?) and the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty ( 1370 AD), it has a history of more than 2,700 years. So far, it has relatively well preserved the basic features of the county town during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911 AD), making it the most complete existing ancient city in the Han ethnic area of ​​China. ?

Pingyao is located on the east bank of the Fen River and at the southwest end of the Taiyuan Basin, adjacent to Qi County, another national historical and cultural city. Tongpu Railway and Dayun Expressway run through the county. The economy is mainly based on agriculture, mainly producing grain, cotton, beef, and polished lacquerware. Among them, beef is quite famous, with the lyrics of the folk song "Pingyao Beef Taigu Cake". ?

Pingyao was China's financial center in the late Qing Dynasty and has the most complete ancient county layout in China. ? It belonged to the State of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period, and to the State of Zhao during the Warring States Period. The Qin Dynasty established Pingtao County, and the Han Dynasty established Zhongdu County, which served as the capital for clan kings. The name was changed to Pingyao County in the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the late Qing Dynasty, there were more than 20 bank accounts headquartered in Pingyao, accounting for more than half of the country's total. It was also known as the "Wall Street of Ancient China". The largest among them is China's first banknote "Rishengchang", which was founded during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty and is famous for its "connecting the world". ?

Pingyao has basically preserved the prototype of the county seat during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and is known as the "Turtle City". The street pattern is in the shape of "earth", and the building layout follows the orientation of the Bagua, reflecting the urban planning concepts and form distribution of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are more than 300 ruins and ancient buildings of various types inside and outside the city, and nearly 4,000 well-preserved Ming and Qing houses. The streets and shops all reflect the original appearance of history. It is called a living sample for studying ancient Chinese cities. ?

The Pingyao City Wall was built in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty. It currently has 6 gates, 4 turrets and 72 watchtowers. Among them, the south gate section of the city wall collapsed in 2004, but most of the rest are still intact. It is one of the largest, oldest, and most well-preserved ancient city walls in China. It is also the core component of the World Heritage Pingyao Ancient City. part. In addition, Zhenguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Confucian Temple are also included in the protection scope of world heritage. ?

Pingyao Ancient City was announced by the State Council as the second batch of national historical and cultural cities in 1986. At present, the county has 3 national key cultural relics protection units, 6 provincial key cultural relics protection units, and 90 county-level cultural relics protection units. Its cultural relics are numerous, of high value and rich in content, which are rare among county-level cities across the country. Among the precious cultural relics of this ancient city are the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall of Zhenguo Temple built in the seventh year of Tianhui in the Northern Han Dynasty (963); the Shuanglin Temple built in the second year of Wuping in the Northern Qi Dynasty (571); The Qingxu Guan in the second year of Xianqing of the Tang Dynasty (657); the Dacheng Hall of the Confucian Temple built in the seventh year of Tianhui in the Northern Han Dynasty (963); and the Huiji Bridge built in the tenth year of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1671).

Rishengchang Bank

During the Qing Dynasty, with the development of the commercial economy, some large Shanxi merchants gradually formed a head office in Shanxi and branch offices in other places. Regional business system. ?In this case, bulk wholesale, transportation and sales brought huge amounts of cash transportation business, so a new payment method-"bill number exchange" came into being. In the fourth year of Daoguang's reign (AD 1824), three years later, China's first "Rishengchang" bank, which specialized in exchange and depository banking business, was established on the basis of Xiyucheng Paint Shop on Pingyao West Street. It successively established branches in Shandong, Henan, Liaoning, Jiangsu and other provinces. In the 1840s, its business further expanded to Japan, Singapore, Russia and other countries. At that time, driven by the "Rishengchang" bank account, Pingyao's bank account industry developed rapidly. At its peak, there were as many as 22 bank accounts here, and it once became the center of China's financial industry. ?It can be seen that Pingyao occupies a very important position in China's modern financial history.

The Ancient City Wall

Pingyao is said to have three treasures, and the ancient city wall is one of them. Pingyao County City Wall.

Built in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1370), with a circumference of 6.4 kilometers, it is the oldest and largest existing city wall in Shanxi. There were repairs in the Ming and Qing dynasties, but basically it still had the same shape and structure as in the early Ming Dynasty. The city is square, with walls about 12 meters high. The exterior is entirely made of bricks, with crenellations built into the walls. There is a moat outside the walls, which is 4 meters deep and 4 meters wide. There are six gates around the city, two on the east and west, and one on the north and south. Wengcheng was built outside the east and west to facilitate defense. There are 3,000 crenels and 72 watchtowers, which are said to symbolize the three thousand disciples of Confucius and the seventy-two saints. The city wall has gone through more than 600 years of vicissitudes, and it still remains majestic to this day. ?

Yibao Ancient City Wall is the city wall of Pingyao County. Built in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1370), with a circumference of 6.4 kilometers, it is the oldest and largest existing city wall in Shanxi. There were repairs in the Ming and Qing dynasties, but basically it still had the same shape and structure as in the early Ming Dynasty. The city is square, with walls about 12 meters high. The exterior is entirely made of bricks, with crenellations built into the walls. There is a moat outside the walls, which is 4 meters deep and 4 meters wide. There are six gates around the city, two on the east and west, and one on the north and south. Wengcheng was built outside the east and west to facilitate defense. There are 3,000 crenels and 72 watchtowers, which are said to symbolize the three thousand disciples of Confucius and the seventy-two saints. The city wall has gone through more than 600 years of vicissitudes, and it still remains majestic to this day. ?The streets, shops and houses in Pingyao Ancient City maintain their traditional layout and style. The streets are in the shape of a cross and shop fronts are built along them. The pavement is strong and tall, with colorful paintings under the eaves and colorful carvings on the beams, giving it an antique feel. The residential houses behind the pavement are all courtyards with gray bricks and gray tiles, with clear axes and symmetry. The whole ancient city presents a simple style. ? There is Zhenguo Temple at the north gate of the ancient city from the mountain gate. It is the second treasure of the ancient city. The Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall of the temple was built during the Five Dynasties (10th century AD). It is currently the third oldest wooden structure building in China, with a history of more than 1,000 years. The colorful sculptures from the Five Dynasties period in the hall are rare sculpture art treasures. ?

Three Treasures Shuanglin Temple The third treasure of the ancient city is Shuanglin Temple located in the southwest of the city. The temple was built in the second year of Wuping in the Northern Qi Dynasty (571 AD). There are more than 2,000 colored sculptures from the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty (13th to 17th centuries AD) preserved in more than 10 halls in the temple, which are known as the "treasure house of colored sculpture art". The Pingyao City Wall of Shuanglin Temple was built as a rammed earth city wall during the period of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty (827 BC to 782 BC). It was rebuilt in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1370), and the original "nine miles and eighteen steps" was expanded to "twelve miles, eight and four cents" (6.4 kilometers), and the rammed earth city wall was changed into a masonry wall. According to the legend that "when the mountains and rivers rise to the sun, you play in the water in front of the turtle, and the city is built accordingly, it is the victory." The "Turtle City" was built based on the meaning of "good luck and longevity" of the divine turtle. There were 25 repairs in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The city wall is square in plane, with a circumference of 6162.7 meters and a height of 10 meters. The battlements are 2 meters high and the top width is 3-5 meters. The wall is made of solid earth, with blue bricks on the outside and green bricks on the inside. There are 77 drainage channels built in brick walls. A 2-meter-high creneled wall (also known as a horse-blocking wall) was built outside the top of the wall. Taking the number of Confucius disciples and sages, there were 3,000 crenellations, 72 watchtowers, and a parapet built inside. There are four corner towers, a general tower on the east wall, and Kuixing Tower and Wenchang Pavilion on the top of the southeast corner. Due to the need for military defense, Pingyao City Wall has six urns with heavy gates, one in the north and south and two in the east and west. The south gate is Yingxun, the north gate is Gongji, the upper east gate is Taihe, the lower east gate is Qinhan, the upper west gate is Yongding, and the lower gate is Yingxun. In Ximen Fengyi, each urn has a tower with double eaves on the top of the mountain, and there were originally suspension bridges outside the six urns with double eaves. There is a moat 3 meters wide around the outside of the city wall. There are Lutai Mountain and Liugen River in the south of the city. "The mountains and rivers are facing the sun, and the turtles are playing in the water." So far, the city walls, streets, houses, shops, temples and other buildings of the ancient city are still basically intact, and the original form and layout have remained largely unchanged. They are all organic parts of the existing historical relics of the ancient city of Pingyao. ?

Wengcheng

The small city built outside the city gate, also called the moon city, is used to enhance the city's defense capabilities. "Wu Jing Zong Yao First Collection: Guarding the City" records: "The urn outside the city is either round or square. Depending on the terrain, it is as tall and thick as the city, but with one door open to the left and right.

"Most of the Wengcheng gates and the main city gates in Pingyao Ancient City are oriented at an angle of 90° (except for the South Gate and Lower East Gate). Even if the enemy breaks through the Wengcheng gate, there is still the main city gate defense. Due to the narrow space in Wengcheng, It is difficult to launch a large-scale attack, which slows down the enemy's attack speed. However, the defenders on the top of the city wall can shoot in all directions from a high position and deal a fatal blow to the enemy. As the saying goes, beating a dog with a closed door and catching a turtle in a jar?

The towers were built on the top of the city gate and were sometimes called "Qiao towers" in ancient times. There were six towers in the Pingyao city wall. They were built in the Ming Dynasty and repaired and rebuilt in the 42nd year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (?1703?). It is 16.14 meters high, 13.72 meters wide, and 10.04 meters deep. It has a simple and elegant shape and a dignified and stable structure. The tower is an exquisite and beautiful high-rise building on the top of the city wall. It is a high-rise building that can be used for observation during wartime. An important high-altitude defense facility of the city. ?

The turrets are built on the four corners of the city wall. They are mainly used to make up for the weak defensive links in the corners of the city wall, thereby enhancing the defense of the entire city wall. Ability. The corner towers refer to the "Xiadie" Tower in the northwest corner, the "Ruai Ai Tower" in the northeast corner, and the "Ningxiu Tower" in the southeast corner. The Dianjiang Platform is located on the top of the city wall between the Upper East Gate and the Lower East Gate. It is now a high brick platform. According to legend, after King Xuan of Zhou came to the throne in 827 BC, he sent General Yin Jifu to lead his troops to the north to conquer the Han Dynasty. After a series of victories, he was ordered to garrison troops. In today's Pingyao, the city wall was built, and soldiers were trained here, and generals practiced martial arts. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, in order to commemorate Yin Jifu's achievements, people built the Gaozhen Temple at the place where Yin once conducted military parades. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the city wall was repaired. "Gaozhen Temple" is connected into one, which is a broad platform on the top of the city. Climbing high and overlooking the distance makes you feel relaxed and happy. The poem says: "The terraces are connected to the county town with hundreds of feet, in front of the battlements where Jifu was named." The grass plugs have disappeared for a long time, and the dragon flag has timidly emerged in the year of the chariot."?

The moat is the ditch surrounding the city. In order to defend against the invasion of foreign enemies, ancient humans dug moats around the settlements, and then The formation of a strip of highland inspired people to build walls. The creation of the city can be seen as the result of collecting soil from the site when the city wall was first built. A line of defense, "only the city surrounds the people, only the pond surrounds the city", "pool" is the barrier of the "city", so it is often called the "moat". The suspension bridge is a wooden bridge across the moat, with the bridge facing outward. There is a rope tied at one end, and the bridge deck can be lifted at any time through pulleys and winches to cut off the way in. ?

Corner platforms and turrets are piers that protrude from the four corners of the city wall and are integrated with the wall. A tower is built on each corner platform, which is called a corner tower. The angle of the corner tower is 135° with the big wall. The height and volume of the tower are between those of the city tower and the enemy tower. With its commanding position, it has a broad field of vision and can monitor and defeat attacking enemies from various angles. Due to its unusual strategic position, the corner platform and turret have been listed as important projects in the maintenance projects of Pingyao City Wall in the past. During the six-year-long overhaul between Daoguang and Xianfeng, the dilapidated "four corner watchtowers" (i.e. turrets) were simply demolished and a taller two-story brick and wood structure was built with a square plan. It occupies an area of ​​27 square meters. It has an arched door on the front facade and brick steps leading to the second floor. The second floor has round observation windows on all sides. The building is built of bricks with wooden floors. The roof is mountain-shaped and has five ridges. Six beasts. Traditional architectural art is integrated into the military fortress. ?

The "horse face" is an attached pier that protrudes outward from the city wall. Because of its slender shape, It is like the face of a horse, so it is called "horse face". It not only enhances the solidity of the wall, but also eliminates blind spots on the battlefield during the city defense battle: once the enemy approaches the city, the defenders on the adjacent horse faces can organize. They formed a cross shooting net, allowing the intruders to be attacked from both sides and defeated. There was a horse face every 60 to 100 meters on the city wall of Pingyao. There were towers on the horse faces to watch the enemy, which were called "enemy towers" according to old records. When the Pingyao city wall was rebuilt in the early Ming Dynasty, only forty "enemy towers" were built. In the third year of Longqing (1569), the number increased to 94. In the third year of Wanli (1575), while the whole city was covered with bricks and stones, it was rebuilt into bricks. There are 72 wooden watchtowers, which have been repaired for generations and remain to this day.

"The watchtower is square in plan, covering an area of ​​10.24 square meters, double-layered, with four brick walls, a hard top, and covered with tube tiles (the two watchtowers on the left and right of the urn of Taihe Gate have ridges on their roofs). The ground floor faces the city with an arch. There is a wooden staircase in the building, and there are floor slabs on the upper floor. There are two arched windows on each side of the building. Looking up at the watchtowers, they are like sentries. The windows on the upper floor are like the ears and eyes of a giant. Most of the watchtowers are facing a certain street in the city, and they can be monitored from there. It can be seen that the watchtowers also have the function of security and prevention, both in peacetime and in wartime.

The wall and the city are protected. The plan layout of Pingyao City Wall is square, facing south and 15° to the east. The reason why the city pursues "squareness" is not to explain the ancient saying that "the sky is round and the earth is in the center," or it is based on scientific architectural conception: Apart from the circle, the shortest perimeter that can enclose the largest area is square. Although facing south is preferred, the county seat is not as good as the imperial city, so it is oriented 15° eastward according to local conditions, which is in line with the prevailing wind direction all year round. , bathed in abundant sunshine every day. There is the Zhongdu River in front of the city, and Lutai Mountain and Chaoshan in the distance. It is surrounded by mountains and water, and it is full of vitality. The circumference of Pingyao City Wall is 6162.68 meters (compared to the "8 miles around" in the early Ming Dynasty). centimeters"), of which the east wall is 1478.48 meters, the south wall is 1713.80 meters (the straight-line distance between the southern ends of the east and west walls is only 1500 meters), the west wall is 1494.35 meters, and the north wall is 1476.05 meters. The east, west and north walls are all straight, except The southern wall meanders like a turtle as it meanders along the Zhongdu River. Ancient Chinese etiquette stipulates that the emperor's city is nine miles wide, the duke's city is seven miles wide, the marquis and earl's city is five miles long, and the viscount's city is three miles wide. Pingyao City is three miles square, which is obviously the largest city in the lowest level (i.e. county town) in ancient times. According to historical records, the old city of Pingyao three years ago in the Ming Dynasty was nine miles and eighteen steps long. It is known that in the ninth year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty (1349), the west of Shaxiang Street in the present city was still outside the city, where "mulberry gardens became forests and hundreds of birds were singing". In the second year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1369), floods caused disasters. , the west city wall was destroyed, leaving behind red mud. When the city was expanded the following year, the city wall was moved westward, and today's Shaxiang Street was established. Furthermore, the name of the current Yaochang Street in the city comes from the kiln where city bricks were fired during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. , since it is a kiln, it should be located outside the old city, so the north city wall must not be far from the Yaochang Street area. Based on this judgment, the perimeter of the old city is very consistent with the saying of "nine miles and eighteen steps". The expansion and reconstruction in the three years of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty established the basic shape of the existing city wall. The wall is "three feet and two feet" high, with a bottom width of 8?-12 meters and a top width of 3-6 meters. The early walls were made of plain earth. The foundation of the rammed earth wall is filled with natural soil. There are wooden bolts with a diameter of 6?cm-7cm in the rammed earth layer left over from the Ming Dynasty. There are one layer every two meters from the ground. The spacing of the wooden bolts in the plane is: 2 meters to 3 meters. The diameter of the rammed earth wall is 15 cm, and the depth is 2 cm to 3 cm. The wall is 15 cm to 20 cm deep. There is a stone foundation on the outside of the rammed earth wall. The retaining wall is built with special blue bricks (34cm*17cm*7.7cm). Inside the retaining wall, there are brick stacks of 58 cm * 80 cm built every 5 to 6 meters to connect with the rammed earth wall. The thickness of the retaining wall from bottom to top is 87 cm, 70 cm, and 53 cm respectively. The height of each layer accounts for about one-third of the total height of the wall, and the wall is divided into 9 cm. The section of the wall forms a trapezoid. At the root of the outer eaves wall, water-dispersing steps are built along the direction of the big wall, commonly known as small city walls. The steps are 1 meter high and 3-5 meters wide, and the table is paved with half bricks on the side. At the head of the outer eaves wall, there are brick crenel walls, 2 meters high and 53 centimeters thick. Each stack is 1.39 meters long. There are three layers of eaves bricks on top, and there is a lookout hole 25 centimeters high and 17.7 centimeters wide in the middle. There are crenel openings between the battlements, 53 cm wide, for shooting. Under each section of the crenel wall, a rectangular "gun eye" as large as the crenel was opened to accommodate the gun body and launch it in a kneeling position. The creneled wall with 3,000 crenels alternates between virtual and real at the head of Pingyao City. It eliminates the rigidity of high walls and thick walls in terms of shape, and satisfies the pursuit of balance between yin and yang in terms of Yi Xue. The soldiers and horses defending the city during war are enough to block arrows and stones. Therefore, The crenel wall is also called the horse blocking wall. At the top of the inner eaves, a low brick wall is built to protect the safety.

The top of the city wall is made of blue bricks, and the water is dispersed at the water outlet under the parapet wall, and then drained to the city horse road through the brick water tank. ?

City Gates and Walls Pingyao City has six ancient city gates, two on the east and west sides. A bird's-eye view of the ancient city of Pingyao looks like a tortoise about to move. The "tortoise" has its head south and its tail north. The four east and west gates are likened to the four legs of a tortoise. Therefore, it is known as the "Turtle City" among the people. Outside the south gate, the Zhongdu River meandered by in ancient times, which inspired the ancient literati to lament that "playing in the water in front of the turtle, the mountains and rivers facing the sun, the city was built with this in mind". The turtle is a symbol of good luck and longevity. The term "turtle city" originated from the ancients' worship of the "four spirits". The "turtle city" means solid gold soup and long-term peace and stability. ?

Pingyao City is high in the south and low in the north, with doors opening on all four sides. Folks distinguish the six gates by their orientation and terrain. They call the six gates the South Gate, the North Gate, the Upper East Gate, the Upper West Gate, the Lower East Gate and the Lower West Gate. . In fact, each originally had its own name. According to the Records of Fenzhou Prefecture and Construction Volume in the 37th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty: "In the third year of Longqing, the county magistrate Yue Wei built a suspension bridge outside the six gates, each built a brick gate, and all erected a lying stone?", with the word "Shanggan", The second gate on the east side is called "Zhukou" and the other is "Kou Shun". The second gate on the west side is called "Zhakou" and the other is "Wei Enemy". It was added in the 22nd year of Wanli and the urn circle was demolished. The south gate was called Fenkou and the north gate was called Xirong. "In the Qing Dynasty, the city wall was undergoing major repairs 30 years after Daoguang. The gates were renamed and plaques were received in person: Yingxun?, Gongji, Taihe, Yongding, Qinhan? and Fengyi. The city faces both south and east. The south gate welcomes the harmonious wind from the southeast and is called the "Ying Xun Gate". The ancients used the North Star as the symbol of the north. Confucius said: "Government should be based on virtue, such as Beichen. The north gate is called "Gongji Gate", which means that everyone is respected by the four directions; the upper east gate is located in the direction of vitality, which means that it is full of vitality and maintains peace. "Taihe Gate"; the upper west gate is named "Yongding Gate" in the hope that the country will be consolidated forever, the country will be peaceful and the people are safe; the lower east gate has been a strategic hub of the city since ancient times, and the word "Qin Han" is written on the gate, which is intended to warn people to "take advantage of Han in military affairs" ", taking the defense of the country and the family as his own duty? The name of the lower west gate "Fengyi Gate" seems to be influenced by the early myth about the phoenix coming to the court outside the west gate. The presence of appearance is an auspicious sign, which makes people think of virtuous government, benefiting the people, and prosperous national destiny. ?

The city wall is a wall used for defense in war, and the city gate is the weak point in the defense line. In order to strengthen the defense, a heavy gate is built in addition to the city gate that follows the wall. It is used to form another line of defense outside the inner gate. The enclosed space between the inner and outer gates is like a small city outside the big city. The "small city" is called "Wengcheng". During the war, the Wengcheng provided excellent conditions for the defenders to detour from the enemy. Feng Shui practitioners used the Wengcheng to "avoid evil spirits". But very realistically, the Wengcheng was enough to shield the wind and dust from the suburbs. The Wengcheng system in China began in the Han Dynasty. There is no research on when the city first had an urn city. We only know that the lower east gate urn city was built in the fourth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (1509), and the north gate urn city was built in the 31st year of Jiajing (1552). In the eleventh year (1562), the city tower was updated. In the twenty-second year of Wanli (1594), "the three people who built the east and west barbicans all used bricks and stones." In the thirty-fifth year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1696), the south gate barbican was repaired. Forty In 1701, the upper east gate urn city was repaired. In the 42nd year of Kangxi (1703), the emperor's western tour passed through Pingyao, so the six towers were renovated. In the forty-fourth year (1705), the doorway of the upper east gate gate was repaired. From the 30th year of Daoguang (1850) to the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), a comprehensive and large-scale city wall maintenance project was carried out. "Constructions were started on five gates in the east, west, north and west, and the foundations were still repaired, but the height of the south gate was increased by several feet." ”, creating the existing regulations. Among the six ancient city gates, there are four east and west gates, facing each other. The upper east gate, upper west gate, and lower west gate all open to the south, facing the mountains and rivers in the distance, so that they can "take in the energy"; The central axis of the heavy gate is parallel to the central axis of the inner gate. It faces the official road leading to Kyoto to show respect for the imperial court. Although the main gate of the south gate is opposite to the inner gate, it still faces south due to the situation. The heavy door of the north gate is 90° to the inner door and opens to the east, bathed in the eastern dawn.

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The gate tower refers to the gate tower on the city wall, which is the symbol of the "city". Its majestic appearance shows the majesty of the city and the style of the nation. The city tower in Pingyao existed in the Ming Dynasty and was rebuilt during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. The towers at the south and north gates are in the style of a hillside corridor with three double eaves, two stories and seven purlins. In ancient or modern wars, the brick-wood structure of the city tower served as a lookout, the headquarters of the generals who defended the city, and an extremely important shooting point. In modern defensive battles, its function is no longer sufficient. ?

?Complete ancient residential complex: Since its reconstruction in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1370 AD), the ancient city of Pingyao has basically maintained its original layout, which can be verified by documents and objects. The key residential buildings in Pingyao City were built between 1840 and 1911 AD. The layout of residential buildings is rigorous, with clear axes, symmetry, clear priorities, undulating outlines, closed exteriors, and deep courtyards. The exquisite wood carvings, brick carvings and stone carvings, coupled with the paper-cut window grilles with strong local flavor, are lifelike and vivid. It is the most complete ancient residential community preserved in the Han ethnic area so far. ?

Developed financial city: Pingyao is one of the birthplaces of the famous "Shanxi merchants" in ancient Chinese business. In the fourth year of Daoguang reign in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1824), the prototype of China's first modern bank, "Rishengchang", was born in Pingyao. Three years later, "Rishengchang" established branches in many provinces in China. In the 1840s, its business further expanded to Japan, Singapore, Russia and other countries. At that time, driven by the "Rishengchang" ticket office, Pingyao's ticket office industry developed rapidly. At its peak, there were as many as 22 ticket companies here. It once became the center of China's financial industry, manipulating and controlling China's modern finance. Industry. ?

Historical status: ?Pingyao is one of the birthplaces of the famous "Shanxi merchants" in ancient Chinese business. In the fourth year of Daoguang reign in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1824), the prototype of China's first modern bank, "Rishengchang", was born in Pingyao. Three years later, "Rishengchang" established branches in many provinces in China. In the 1840s, its business further expanded to Japan, Singapore, Russia and other countries. At that time, driven by the "Rishengchang" ticket office, Pingyao's ticket office industry developed rapidly. At its peak, there were as many as 22 ticket companies here, and it once became the center of China's financial industry. ?

Cultural value: ?The ancient city of Pingyao was built in the period of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty (827-782 BC) and has a history of more than 2,700 years. Since China implemented the "prefecture and county system" in 221 BC, Pingyao has been the seat of the "county government" and continues to this day. This is the most basic first-level city in China. The ancient city wall that is now preserved is the original state when it was expanded in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1370). The six existing temple complexes, county government offices, city buildings and other ancient buildings in the city are all original objects. There are more than 100 streets and lanes in the city, which are still in their original historical form. The commercial shops on both sides of the streets are basically buildings from the 17th to 19th centuries. There are 3,797 traditional houses in the city, of which more than 400 have high preservation value and unique local features. ?

Cultural relics: The ancient city of Pingyao has a history of more than 2,700 years since its city construction activities. During the long development process, the number of cultural relics preserved is large, high density, and spans a long time. Known as the "Treasure House of Chinese Ancient Architecture", it is a "big cultural relics county" in Shanxi Province. The numerous cultural relics in the ancient city of Pingyao not only represent the architectural forms, construction methods and material standards of ancient Chinese cities in different historical periods, but also reflect the artistic progress and aesthetic achievements of different ethnic groups and regions in ancient China. The cultural heritage is unique and rich. ?

Cultural characteristics: The ancient city of Pingyao is a city built in accordance with the traditional planning ideas and architectural styles of the Han nation. It embodies the historical and cultural characteristics of the Han nation from around the 14th to the 19th century AD. It is important for the study of this period. Social form, economic structure, military defense, religious beliefs, traditional thoughts, ethics and morals and human settlement forms have important reference value. It has the traditional cultural characteristics of the Han nation.

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Complete ancient residential complex: Since its reconstruction in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1370), the ancient city of Pingyao has basically maintained its original layout, which can be verified by documents and objects. The key residential buildings in Pingyao City were built between 1840 and 1911 AD. The layout of residential buildings is rigorous, with clear axes, symmetry, clear priorities, undulating outlines, closed exteriors, and deep courtyards. The exquisite wood carvings, brick carvings and stone carvings, coupled with the paper-cut window grilles with strong local flavor, are lifelike and vivid. It is the most complete ancient residential community preserved in the Han ethnic area so far. ?

Developed financial city: The ancient city of Pingyao was one of the most developed cities in the financial industry in the mid-to-late 19th century. It is the location of the most influential bank headquarters and the financial industry headquarters in the contemporary era. The place where the headquarters institutions are most concentrated. A period of time. Once manipulated and controlled China's modern financial industry. The ancient city of Pingyao has had a positive impact on China's modern economic development during its more than 100 years of prosperity. [10]

Edit this paragraph Folk customs and folk social fire Land boat? It is made of bamboo strips, wooden strips and colored silks, woven into a colorful boat, surrounded by silk and satin, and covered with wooden strips and silk satin to set up a canopy. During the performance, there is accompaniment of wind and drum music. One person rides a boat to play the role of a woman. She ties the boat to her shoulders with a colorful ribbon and sits cross-legged in the "boat" with her prosthetic legs, walking as if on a boat. Another person pretended to be a boatman, holding an oar in front of him. The content is mostly stories related to boats in ancient dramas, such as "Fishing and Killing the Family", "Xu Xian Touring the Lake", "Autumn River", etc. ?

Pushing lacquer ware Pushing lacquer ware is a high-end paint utensil of a technical nature, named after the palm of the hand to push out the luster. Pingyao lacquerware, a famous handicraft from Shanxi, has a simple and elegant appearance, is shiny, has magnificent decorations, has a delicate and smooth feel, is heat- and moisture-proof, and is durable. It is truly the finest lacquerware. According to records, the production of polished lacquerware in Pingyao began in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty and has a long history. The existing varieties are mostly high-end screens, hanging screens, etc. The base paint is mostly ink black, rosy red, apricot yellow, green and purple, and is painted with national-style patterns, or painted with gold, or carved with a knife, or inlaid with drums, with smooth lines, harmonious tones, and magnificence. The production of lacquerware in Pingyao is divided into five processes: wooden tire, gray tire, lacquer worker, painter and inlay. Nowadays, Pingyao Tuiguang lacquerware is exported to 28 countries and regions around the world. Pingyao Tuiguang lacquerware has won the Silver Cup Award and the Gold Cup Award of the National Arts and Crafts Hundred Flowers Award. The high-quality products of the World Expo are exported to more than 30 countries and regions. Become a best-selling product in the international market. ?

Pingyao beef is a famous specialty of Pingyao with a long history. It became famous as early as the mid-Ming Dynasty. It is made from high-quality veal leg meat that is cooked and marinated. The meat is fresh and tender, fat but not greasy, lean but not dry, crispy and delicious. Historically, the famous workshops that processed five-spice sauce beef in Pingyao City include "Longshengwang", "Xingshenglei", "Zilicheng" and other time-honored brands. ?

Pingyao bowl tray is a long-standing flavored pasta snack in Pingyao. It was first invented by Dong Xuan, a chef in the Qing Dynasty, and has a history of a hundred years. It has the characteristics of chewy texture, smoothness and delicious taste. ?