Pingyao Ancient City may be considered one of the most popular tourist destinations in Shanxi Province, but with increased commercialization, tourists have given Pingyao mixed reviews. Pony has been to Pingyao twice and shares travel tips and tricks about Pingyao.
Most people go to Pingyao by taking the regular attractions in the tour packages. The travel tips that Pony recommends to you today mainly involve the minority attractions in Pingyao, covering accommodation, transportation, food and play. Let you experience a unique Pingyao trip.
First of all, let s say why Pony recommends the minority attractions to you.
1. This route is cheaper, allowing you to spend less money to visit the ancient city of Pingyao and experience the simplicity of Pingyao in another way.
2. Instead of going through the cumbersome 22 package attractions, this route recommends some ultra-niche tourist attractions, including not only Pingyao's characteristic compounds, but also the ancient temple with the largest number of Ming and Qing colorful sculptures in China's private collection.
3. You can also taste a lot of Pingyao delicacies on this route, allowing you to experience the most distinctive Shanxi flavors at once.
Let's start with a map of Pingyao. Minority Tourist Attractions in the United States (regular package attractions are not included).
The ancient city mainly includes Pingyao North Gate, Pingyao South Gate, Ji's Old House and Wedding Flag Zhai Courtyard.
The suburbs mainly include Shuanglin Temple and Zhenguo Temple.
II.Pingyao Tourism - Traveling
How to reach Pingyao:
Pingyao does not have an airport, fortunately, there are two train stations, Pingyao Station and Pingyao Ancient City Station, so train is the best choice.
If you are from the south, you can choose to take a plane to Taiyuan first, then transfer to a train or motorcycle to Pingyao.
The specific lines are as follows: (Take Shanghai as an example)
If Shanghai fly to Taiyuan is not in the peak season of tourism, the lowest fare is 400 RMB.
After arriving at Taiyuan, you can take high speed train or ordinary train to Pingyao.
By motorized train, it takes about 28 minutes to get there.
By ordinary train, it takes about one and a half hours to arrive.
Tips:
Personal experience tells you to try to take ordinary public transportation, because the Pingyao Ancient City Station, where the moving train arrives, is far away from the county, and there are not many public transportation buses, so it is not recommended. On the contrary, although the flights from Pingyao station are ordinary buses, you can reach the city in 5 minutes walk from Pingyao Ancient City, so it is recommended.
Three. Where to stay in Pingyao Ancient City Tour:
Pingyao Ancient City is divided into four main areas, even though there are North City, South City, East City and West City. Most of the attractions are mainly concentrated in West Street and South Street, so most people live near these two streets in order to easily visit all the package attractions. But Pony actually recommends the North City. First of all this place has the best value for money. Whether you go to the train station, bus station or high-speed rail station, it is the most convenient place. Specialty snacks are also concentrated here, and the price is much cheaper than South Street.
Four. Pingyao Ancient City Tourist Attractions Analysis;
I don't not recommend the regular tourist attractions, which are the packaged areas. The following are niche attractions recommended by Xiaomagou:
Mixed House Compound
Previously known as the Ji Family Compound it was built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and has a history of more than 400 years. It was once the ancestral home of Ji Yugang, the owner of the first ticket store Rishengchang in China. I won't say too much about the encyclopedic introduction. Here this is my personal impression. I think this is the most worthwhile compound in Pingyao. First of all, it is the largest, longest and most complete ancient residence in Pingyao. Then there is no entrance fee here, which is super cost-effective.
Tips:
When you come to Mixed Gas Zhai Compound, make sure to focus on the brick, wood and stone carvings.
Gee's Old House
This compound is somewhat similar to the Wedding Flag Zai compound, but compared to the Wedding Flag Zai compound, Gee's Old House is more niche, and is considered to be a breath of fresh air compared to the other bustling Pingyao package attractions. Ji's old house was built in the Yuan Dynasty and is a private residence. The main building is the two-story Qifeng Building. It's a bit like a kiln when you go inside, a Shanxi specialty. Tickets are 10 yuan, the owner will be carefully introduced
This is the most exquisite temple I have seen in Shanxi. Shuanglin Temple is not very big, but full of essence. The biggest attraction is the colorful sculptures in each temple. The highlights can be the first two temples, which are world-class in size, number, and shape, and are of high ornamental value.
Personal favorite reasons for Shuanglin Temple:
1. All the colorful sculptures are made of local red clay, which is sticky, so the texture is very good.
2. More than three-quarters of the colored plastics are made of hanging plastics, as if they are hanging in the air, which will give you a super three-dimensional feeling.
3. There are more than 2,000 colored plastics in Shuanglin Temple. Each one has a different look, none of them are of the same kind, so they have a high appreciation value.
Tips:
How to get to Shuanglin Temple:
Take bus 108 to Shuanglin Temple at the North Gate Bus Station of Pingyao Ancient City, but how about this? When the pony ride, I don't I don't know if its because of the driver or the route. The driver will bypass Shuanglin Temple, go to Pingyao Ancient City Station, wait for about 30 minutes and then go to Shuanglin Temple. A lot of wasted time for tourists. No wonder very few tourists come to Shuanglin Temple, this may be one of the reasons.
So I personally think its' better to take a cab to Shuanglin Temple, it takes about 15 minutes.
Town Temple
This temple has about the same appeal as the Twin Forests Temple, so I win't say much about it. You can focus on seeing the 1000+ year old wooden structure of the Five Dynasties, and the sculptures inside are exquisite. There are also many well-preserved murals on the walls of the Sanfo Hall behind the Wanfo Hall.
On the left side of the Mahamudra Hall, there are three mural paintings of the ritual Buddha. Although they look blurry now, the remaining colors can still be seen.
Alternative attractions in Pingyao: Xicun, Liangcun and other ancient villages in Shanxi.
5. How to plan Pingyao travel arrangements?
Pony has been to Pingyao twice, each time for about 2 days. The first time he mainly focused on the attractions in Pingyao, while the second time he mainly delved into the free attractions in Pingyao and the temples and ancient villages on the outskirts.
Three days is just the right amount of time to explore Pingyao. If you want to get to know Pingyao better, I would recommend at least 4-5 days.
Day 1: Some of the tourist attractions in Pingyao are Mixed Gas Walled Village, JI which is an old house.
Day 2: Smaller attractions outside of Pingyao are Shuanglin Temple and Zhenguo Temple.
6. What are the best things to try when traveling to Pingyao?
Pingyao, besides the ancient city, is characterized by its food. It is said that the ancient city of Pingyao harbors 108 kinds of snacks, of which noodle dishes are the main ones. Basically, you can find local snacks with distinctive flavors in the Ming and Qing ancient streets. The focus can be on the following snacks.
Recommended noodle snacks for ponies:
1. Oatmeal Noodles
Listening to the name will make you think it's very distinctive, shaped like a beehive, and tastes sour and salty. Anyway, you must try it in Pingyao. As you can see from the actual photo below, the regular shuttlecock is steamed and eaten dipped in Shanxi vinegar. Of course there is another way to eat them which is deep fried. My personal favorite way is this way, with a rich and refreshing flavor.
2. Tuo Bowl Rule
It This is also a popular snack for tourists. It is also a favorite food of the locals to taste in three meals. Ask the locals, it do this is not difficult, is to pour the prepared paste into a flat bowl, steamed and poured out. It can be eaten cold or fried with vegetables. I personally prefer fried food. You can also try it.
3. Knife-shaved Noodles
Naturally, you can When you arrive in Shanxi, don't miss the knife-shaved noodles, it is basically available in the north, so it Pingyao nothing special. If you don't if you don't have Datong on your itinerary, you can try Pingyao, especially if you've been to the south, don't miss it.
4. Cat Ears
The name sounds cute and the shape is actually very pleasing. The bends and lines look a bit like cat ears, but the flavor is rather generic and not as good as the previous tunnels.
Additionally, we can don't miss the delicious food such as fried dumplings, knife-cut noodles, oil tea, steamed corn and pickled tips.
Series:
1. Pingyao Beef
Almost all restaurants in Pingyao city will serve this dish, which is considered as a historical food in the city. Despite its fame, many stores sell it in a rather unorthodox way. Anyway, the few times Pony had eaten it, he had felt that the name didn't live up to it.
Instead, I personally preferred this one. It looks a bit like beef, but it's much simpler and unadorned, and the price/performance ratio is better than beef, mostly because it doesn't taste greasy, so I recommend it.
3. Cooked meat
It This is the most common dish in Shanxi. Usually every restaurant will have it. The authentic dish is usually stir-fried with asparagus, fungus, mushrooms and scallions. It it's sour and sweet, and it it's' very tasty. You must try it when you are in Pingyao.
Tips:
The restaurants in the ancient city of Pingyao are basically all the same, so I don't have any special recommendations, but it's not recommended to go to the main street because the rent is expensive, and accordingly the prices will be much higher. Instead, I personally recommend eating outside of the old city, it will be more cost effective and tastier.
VII. Other Travel Tips
1. I don't don't recommend the Qiao family compound. If you want to see the compound, you might as well go to the Wang family compound. Why recommend? Than the Qiao family Wang family compound is very conscientious. Tickets 55 yuan, and it it is very large.
How to go to the Wang family compound: Pingyao ancient city bus station has four buses to the Wang family compound every day. If you return, just ask the driver, it the same bus **** car.
The specific departure times are 7:10, 8:40, 12:30, and 1:30.
2. As for whether the sitcom "Seeing Pingyao Again" is worth watching, I personally think that if you're interested in a stage show, you'll enjoy it. If not, you'll probably be bored. However, it can be argued that Choosing Wives, Escorting Baths and Souls Home takes you on a look at the traditional culture of Pingyao America, and I personally think it's well worth watching.
The above is Pony's travel tips about the ancient city of Pingyao. I hope it will help you in your travel. If you have any other questions, please leave a comment.
2. Study on the Current Situation of Tourism Development and Countermeasures in Pingyao Ancient City
Pingyao Ancient City, the most characteristic and attractive place mainly lies in two words ancient times. Pingyao Ancient City not only retains a relatively complete ancient city wall and ancient buildings, but also has a long history and inherits the spirit of Jin merchants.
Walking in the ancient Pingyao County, it seems that you can touch the wheel of time, or you can feel the time backward here, we can go back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Besides the ancient streets and alleys, the ancient city walls and buildings, Pingyao is attractive because of its people.
Unlike other commercialized tourist attractions, I personally think that Pingyao Ancient City is a very humane and smoky ancient city. There are still many locals living in Pingyao in this ancient city.
If tourists cross a certain street to explore the depths of a certain town, they may even stumble into the ancient and charming little courtyard of a certain house by mistake. In Pingyao, tourists can settle down and enjoy a slow life of tranquility and beauty.
:Advantages
1.Cultural Advantages
(1) The ancient city of Pingyao was successfully declared a World Heritage site in mid-December 1997, and has since become a 5A tourist attraction, listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
(2)Shanxi has been the most famous Jin merchant since ancient times, and Pingyao is the representative of Jin merchants. Pingyao Ancient City of Rishengchang and dart board on the development of China's far-reaching American financial industry. The promotion of Pingyao in the past few years has given people a deeper understanding of Jin merchants.
(3) Pingyao Ancient City, which has lasted for thousands of years and has a long history and culture, is a model of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, showing people the cultural, economic, political and religious prosperity of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and is the most complete ancient county town in existence.
2. Transportation Advantages
Pingyao Ancient City is located in the central part of Shanxi Province, where transportation is more developed, running east-west and north-south, making it convenient for tourists.
3. Policy Advantages
Under the regulation and support of various policies, the tourism environment of Pingyao Old Town has been improving day by day, and the service attitudes of the tour guides and residents have been improved, which has given the Old Town a new look.
4. Economic Advantages
Pingyao Ancient City was a representative of the Jin merchant culture during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its economic development was not as vast as that of the Ming and Qing dynasties, but it was still heavily influenced by residual economic factors.
(2) Disadvantages
1. Backward business strategies and limited regional reception capacity.
Pingyao Ancient City is far less well-known than the well-known Lijiang Ancient City, with weaker market competitiveness and a relatively backward overall business strategy. The lack of detailed descriptions in travel guides about Pingyao Ancient City released by relevant social software prevents tourists from getting a comprehensive understanding of the city and lowers their expectations of visiting Pingyao Ancient City. In addition, there are relatively few tourist information service centers and parking lots in the scenic area, which can fail to fully meet the needs of tourists.
2. Inconvenient transportation.
After more than a decade of construction, although most of the main and secondary roads in the ancient city have been hardened, the condition of some of the roads is still not optimistic. In addition, the number of tourists has increased in recent years, and traffic congestion often occurs during the peak tourist season.
3. The management of the tourism market is chaotic.
These people not only lack historical knowledge, but also unprofessional in explaining the attractions. They make agreements with some specialty stores to force tourists to spend money and take commissions from them. In addition, some unscrupulous vendors ask tourists for exorbitant prices and peddle tickets such as "Seeing Pingyao Again" at high prices for profit. All these have seriously affected the quality of tourism and damaged the overall tourist image of the ancient city.
4. Analyzed from the source, it lacks attraction to short-term tourists.
Tourist source diversification, the lack of functionality in the context of the rapid development of domestic short-distance tourism.
5. From the point of view of product structure, the lack of leisure products.
People who travel to Pingyao are impressed by the exquisite architecture, rich culture and long history there, but products suitable for leisure and vacation are still blank in the market and remain at the stage of scenic tourism.
Analyzing the age of tourists, there is a lack of tourism products suitable for young people. Pingyao International Film Festival and Photography Festival have great influence and attraction to young customers, but the festival is short, so it can not be a hot spot all year round. There are not many products that young people like, gaming, games, independent experiences, and the age structure of the customer base is on the older side.
6. Functionally, there is a lack of distinctive and differentiated tourism products.
Xi'an six dynasties of the ancient capital of An, Terracotta Warriors and Horses, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Famen Temple and many other monuments, are not alcohol brought about by the violent crowd comparable. People the United States travel concept is no longer satisfied with mass consumption, but increasingly favored personalized products.
3. Pingyao Ancient City Tourism Resources Evaluation
Lizhou Ancient City is located in Liaoning Province, Chaoyang City, Kazuo County, Lizhou River. Historical relics such as the Pagoda of the Jinyan Temple of Lizhou and the site of Lizhou City exist.
Lizhou was built in the twenty-sixth year of the Liao Dynasty (1008 AD), by the Empress Dowager Chengtian (i.e., Xiao Empress Dowager). Belonging to the Zhongjing Road, the government belongs to the present Kazuo County. Jurisdiction of Fusu County (now Kazuo County), Longshan County (now White Tazi Township White Tazi Village). Jin Yuan followed, and has a history of more than 350 years.
The ruins of this ancient city
Li Cheng is located in the eastern part of Dachengzi Town, Karachin Left Wing Mongolian Autonomous County, Liaoning Province, about 150 kilometers northeast of Chaoyang City.
The site of the city is situated on a flat and open area with a seasonal river to the east and a ridge on the east bank, the famous Maotou Mountain. To the northwest are rolling hills that rise more than 30 meters above the ground; 800 meters south of the city is a tributary of the Daling River, which flows from west to east. Since ancient times, Daling River is the main road from western Liaoning to Guanzhong. With mountains and water, pleasant climate and convenient transportation, Lizhou City is in an extremely favorable geographical position.
The site of the ancient city of Lizhou is square, 500 meters long and 500 meters wide, and the city wall is made of rammed earth. There is a moat outside the city, about 20 meters wide and 2 meters deep. There are also city walls in the last century, there are corner towers at the corners of the city, and there are urns at the north and south gates.
According to the Qing Dynasty compilation of the "Qin Ding Jehol Zhi" article records, the Li Zhou city wall is 135 feet long east to west and 200 feet long north to south on Thursday. During the Qing Dynasty, there were three towers outside the city, so it was also known as the Three Pagodas. Unearthed in the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Yuan to Yuan, Governor of Leizhou
Pingyao Ancient City, located in Pingyao County in central Shaanxi Province, was built during the reign of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty (827 B.C.-782 B.C.).
Pingyao is considered one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world. The four best-preserved ancient cities, it is also one of only two ancient cities in China to have been successfully declared a World Heritage Site with its entire ancient city.
In 2009, Pingyao Ancient City was named China's most complete ancient county by the World Records Association.On July 13, 2015, Pingyao Ancient City became a national 5A-level tourist attraction.
4.Pingyao Ancient City Tourism Status and Development Proposal Essay
Pingyao Ancient City has a square area of about 2.25 square kilometers. Located in the center of Shaanxi Province, Pingyao Ancient City was built during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou and expanded before the third year of Hongwu of Ming Dynasty. It has a history of more than 2,700 years. The Ancient City of Pingyao was known as an ancient pottery in the past. In the early Ming Dynasty, it was built to defend itself against foreign interference from the south. In the third year of the Wu Dynasty, a series of renovations were carried out on the old city walls. Since then, ten repairs were carried out during the Jingdezhen, Zhengde, Jiajing, Longqing and Wanli years, renewing the citadel and adding enemy towers.
In the forty-third year of Kangxi, the emperor toured Pingyao in the west and built four towers to make the city even more spectacular. With a total circumference of 6,163 meters and a wall height of about 12 meters, the Pingyao City Wall divides the county town of Pingyao, which covers an area of about 2.25 square kilometers, into two parts with different styles. Inside the city, the streets, sidewalks, and city buildings retain their shape from the Ming and Qing dynasties; it is known as the New City outside the city. It is a marvelous place where ancient and modern buildings blend into one and reflect each other its beauty is amazing.
5. Pingyao Ancient City Tourism Resources Survey Report
Scenic Area***There are 22 large and small attractions. Recommended a few must-see attractions. Pingyao County Government, China Dart Museum, City God Temple, Rishengchang, and the First Dart Museum of North China.
Outside the ancient city attractions:
Wang family compound:
This building was built by Wang Jingsheng Ming and Qing Dynasty s family for more than 300 years, including five alleys, six fortresses, a street, a total area of 250,000 square meters. Commonly known as the folk Palace Museum, is a traditional cultural characteristics of the architectural art museum. Suggested browsing order is Temple of Literature - Gaojiaoya - Hongmen Fort. It is recommended that you can hire a tour guide to learn the stories behind each building and each sculpture, so that you can have a deeper understanding of the Wang Family Compound. Visiting time: 3-4 hours.
Qiao Family Courtyard:
Built in 1756, the whole courtyard has a double xian; shape and is divided into 6 courtyards, 20 small courtyards and 313 houses. The building area of 4,175 square meters, three sides of the street, surrounded by a fully enclosed brick fence, more than 10 meters high, the gate is a doorway type. This is an ancient mansion, with the traditional northern residential architectural style.
Jo this courtyard is not as grand as others, but it is beautifully built and well laid out. Six courtyards go down in sequence, the tour is very convenient. You can get a guide to explain the tour time: 2-3 hours.
Zhangbi Ancient Castle
Most experts believe that Zhangbi Castle was built during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and that it was one of the many quay walls built by Zhang Ping, the powerful state of Zhao. It has a history of more than 1,600 years. Zhangbi Castle is in the eastern part of Jiexiu, three ditches and one flat. Its location is dangerous and easy to defend. It is a small castle blending military defense and religious life. On the surface, it looks like an ordinary northwestern mountain village, but when you enter the tunnel, you will feel the wisdom of the ancients. The three levels of tunnels are intricate and functional, and if you don't go, you're sure to get lost Don't follow the instructions. A guide is needed. Playing time: 1-2 hours.
They are all old houses and ancient buildings you can I can't understand without a narrator. I would recommend hiring a guide/narrator.
Highly recommended to see the innkeeper booked "Seeing Pingyao again" ticket price 198, window 238, show time 90 minutes. It tells a story about the continuation of a bloodline: at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Yishuo, the owner of a money bank in the ancient city of Pingyao, poured out all of his family's assets to return a lineage of Wang Bosses from Russia. He traveled with the 232 dart masters of the Xinggong Dart Bureau. Seven years later, Zhao Dongjia himself, along with 232 escort, died on the way, Wang family s blood continues. The whole show highlights
Features: the most common are the flower Wang grandmother, Pingyao beef, bowls and plates.