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Location: In the middle of Shanxi Province at north China
Description: Pingyao Ancient Town is located in the middle of Shanx iProvince at north China, with a history more than 2,700 years. It was the home of a powerful trading family with significant commercial influence even beyond Shanxi, as they were in the trade sector, a nationwide business. Once served as a bustling economic center of feudal China, the current town looks like pretty much as the same as it did about 600 years ago.
Pingyao Ancient Town was designed fully according to the traditional Han People’s city planning. Encircled by the city wall with the length of six kilometers, four main streets, eight small streets and 72 lanes in the town are intersected with each other in great order but with different functions. The South Street was the main commercial street in Pingyao; the center gate was reserved for guests of honor and those high-level officials, while the east gate was the entrance for the status quo. Then the west entrance was kept for suspected criminals and candidates for death row.
Much of the city is made up of traditional Chinese courtyard dwellings, some of which are still homes for families who have lived here for hundreds of years. These dwellings, called ‘Siheyuan’ in Chinese have attracted People from all over the world, who come to Pingyao to experience the Ming - Qing Dynasty life style. This particular ‘Siheyuan’ is called ‘Wu Dai Tong Tang’, which means five generations living under one roof. Pingyao Ancient Town is also famous for its vaulted ceiling dwellings, which are characteristic of northwestern China. These ‘Yao Dong’ dwellings are built of masonry and are known to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The doors and windows are decorated with intricate woodcarvings that have survived for hundreds of years and give these houses a quaint yet artistic feel.
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