On December 3th
1997,UNESCO added another jewel into the crown of China's
amazing historical reics,when it formally admitted the
ancient city of Pingyao to the List of World Heritage.
Pingyao has a history dating back over 2,700 years.Although
the actual city compound stretches through the Ming
and Qing dynasties and is more than 600 years old.In
its present state,over a thousand ancient cities like
Pingyao have been recorded in China'history,but Pingyao
stands out as the best preserved of all the walled city
in China.And now faces a bright future as one of China's
mustsee attractions for tourists from all over the world.
The city layout and planning in ancient China has
been done according to strict class standards and rules
during the Ming dynasty.Pingyao's city wall remains
in excellent condition and typify the perfectly symmetrical
architecture of county level towns.The city plan is
square and wall is 6,163 kilometres in length with a
height of 10 meters.The well preserved RiShengChang
remittance bank circulated within the compound were
a forerunner for the same system in use all over the
world today.
Within the walls is a design of housing and administration
buildings typical of the style used in construction,
and in accordance with Chinese HAN people's traditional
dseign ideology and architectural style.These reflect
the style of northern Chinese design for city wall and
buildings during the period from the 14th to the 18th
centuries.The internal streets are fronted by rows of
shops between the housing allotments,and formed a staging
place for the further development of social customs
and costumes,which fortunately are still used on occasions
today.Some of the courtyards and temples in the city
bear testimony to the strict guidelines in which government
and religion formed a harmonious balance.
It's only 90 kilometers
from Taiyuan airport to Pingyao and 616 kilometers
away from Beijing,540 kilometers from Xi'an.
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