Strolling around Pingyao Ancient City

Rushing from Puxian to Linfen, I changed my original plan to go to Huozhou first and headed directly to Pingyao County. With nothing to do at night, I came to visit Pingyao Ancient City, which I hadn’t seen for over a year. During the off-season on a weekday, I enjoyed a rare peaceful time inside the ancient city without much disturbance. Although the ancient city is quite commercialized, as a core part of a World Cultural Heritage site, it still has many well-preserved ancient buildings. For an ancient architectural complex, I think its tourism development and promotion are thorough and successful, and the supporting facilities are relatively complete. The iconic opera stage, the partially restored city walls, the Dacheng Hall of the Jin Dynasty Confucian Temple, the Nine-Dragon Wall of the Crown Prince Temple dating back to the 22nd year of the Ming Hongwu era, the City God Temple from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the colorful sculptures of the Dragon and Tiger Hall in the Qingxu Temple from the Yuan Dynasty, and the buildings and steles inherited from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties are all quite worth seeing. There are also residential houses, churches, and other sites scattered throughout the ancient city. However, all the attractions require a pass, making it suitable for a deep tour of the ancient city to see everything at once. For me, the original colors of all the ancient buildings during the day are far better than the night lighting. This trip, I arrived late at night, stayed overnight, and then entered again early in the morning, which was a very good experience. (Visited on 2025.10.13 and 10.14)