Pingyao is a well preserved ancient city enclosed on all sides by a 10m high stone wall built in 1370. The walls are original and only a small section was re constructed in 2004 when it collapsed. All the buildings within the walls look original and you really get a sense of what it would feel like to have lived here in that period.
The first thing we did when we arrived was head to the wall. It was pretty amazing to walk along a wall that is 645 years old! You could see the bricks and mortor wearing at the base of the wall and at the entrance gates there were noticeable grooves in the stone floor from centuries of old wagon wheels (The wheels used to be covered with a metal strip).
There were a few old government buildings here as well. One of which was Rischengchang Financial House Museum which was China's first draft bank in 1823. They had some old offices with original furnishings set up. After looking through a couple of offices I was really starting to wonder why they had setup the old offices like bedrooms until I realized that what we Westerners see as beds are actually large elevated seating platforms with a thin mat and a small table: the Kang bed. We also saw a few abacuses laying around!
We did visit our first Catholic church! Although it was not very well maintained.
We stayed in a courtyard type hotel located in the centre of the ancient city. The coolest part about the place was the Kang bed - It was so big!
Unfortunately we both ended up with a cold so it turned out to be a good place to recharge.
Amazing photos. I'm really enjoying your blog!
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