Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Pingyao
Pingyao is a small town in the Shanxi province. Surrounded by Ming-era walls,
the center hasn't changed much since the 19th century, when it was an important
banking center. Nowadays, it's main source of revenue comes from tourism.
There are plenty of quaint guesthouses in renovated courtyard houses with
traditional alcove beds and souvenir shops.
The centre is closed to traffic during the day. And given it's now off-season,
the place is not crowded. The locals outnumber the western tourists by 1000:1
and some souvenir shops are closed, so it's very agreable to walk around.
At night, the streets empty rather early and public lighting is limited
to big red lanterns. Children go home before dark fearing the Ming ghosts
that haunt the streets, and adults burn offerings. We stayed here 5 days,
relaxing and enjoying the special atmosphere.
Finally, we rented rusty bicycles for a journey to the Shuanglin Temple
and around the town.
The temple is 7 km from the old town. Thousands of figurines, some dating
back to Song dynasty (i.e 1000 years old), are arranged in compositions
in 10 halls. The themes range from the life of buddah to the adventures
of some warfaring emperor.
the center hasn't changed much since the 19th century, when it was an important
banking center. Nowadays, it's main source of revenue comes from tourism.
There are plenty of quaint guesthouses in renovated courtyard houses with
traditional alcove beds and souvenir shops.
The centre is closed to traffic during the day. And given it's now off-season,
the place is not crowded. The locals outnumber the western tourists by 1000:1
and some souvenir shops are closed, so it's very agreable to walk around.
At night, the streets empty rather early and public lighting is limited
to big red lanterns. Children go home before dark fearing the Ming ghosts
that haunt the streets, and adults burn offerings. We stayed here 5 days,
relaxing and enjoying the special atmosphere.
Finally, we rented rusty bicycles for a journey to the Shuanglin Temple
and around the town.
The temple is 7 km from the old town. Thousands of figurines, some dating
back to Song dynasty (i.e 1000 years old), are arranged in compositions
in 10 halls. The themes range from the life of buddah to the adventures
of some warfaring emperor.
