Saturday, 1 December 2007

PINGYAO, 15th Nov 07, Travelling in style part 1



We left Beijing towards Pingyao thinking we were taking the equivalent to the Oriental Express as we had booked SOFT SLEEPER...oh well, reality kicks!!! enjoy the views of our exclusive restaurant, loo and queen size beds with minibar!!!! Highly recommended.
After 12 hours we arrived in Pingyao..as you can guess our suite did not have ensuite bathroom so after contemplating the bathroom view we decided to go wild and stink if needed.
Pingyao...Late in the evening we left this beautiful place only to embark in a new train adventure not so luxurious this time...we found out with nervous laughter that our tickets were for HARD SLEEPER...could we survive??? To be continued

Pingyao it is quite a hot tourist attraction even though it is no longer economically prosperous. It boasts the famous Pingyao Old City which was included in the United Nations World Cultural Heritage in 1997. From the top of the grand City Wall, you have a bird's-eye view of the Old City, a complete city built almost a thousand years ago. In the Ancient Ming and Qing Street, you can experience the town's former glory while exploring the rows of residences and shops all constructed in the original architectural style. In the central area of Shanxi Province lies an ancient county typical of rural counties in North China--simple and steeped in ancient tradition. What's different is that this county is linked firmly to a certain prosperous time in Chinese history. It played quite an important role in the economic development of Shanxi during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Pingyao was not endowed with charming natural scenery but with a group of accomplished businessmen. Pingyao was the birthplace of the Jin Businessmen, who were one of the two famous Chinese business groups during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Owing to this, the first Chinese exchange shop was opened in Pingyao. Then, for the next hundred years, Pingyao was home to almost all of the large exchange shops in China. To a certain degree, Pingyao was to China during the eighteenth century what Wall Street is to the US, which not only helped promote the economic development of Shanxi, but also left us with a magnificent old city and a series of grand residences.

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