Pingyao, located in central Shanxi province, is a county-level city. Reputed for the ancient culture, it is home to various cultural relics and about 100 historical sites. Back to its history, Pingyao Ancient City is the great witness with 2700 years of history. Considered as the best-preserved ancient walled city in China and Pingyao city was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site. Around the city, The Shuanglin Temple and Zhenguo Temple will impress you more with its classic architectural styles and imperial treasure of painted sculptures.
Traveling to Pingyao is mainly for Pingyao Ancient City. Rich in many kinds of stores and ancient buildings, Pingyao ancient city is like a film to record the lively atmosphere and authentic lifestyle of the Ming and Qing dynasty. Together with the ancient city, Qiao’s Family Compound is another historical site to go and explore the Shanxi merchant mansion. Click other Things to do in Pingyao to find more attractions in Pingyao & around.
Go to Pingyao Ancient City and explore the preserved architectural style of Han nationality and ancient culture of Ming and Qing dynasties.
Visit Qiao’s Family Compound and impressed by its extraordinary craftsmanship in brick carvings, woodwork, murals and inscribed tablets.
Construction since 450 years ago, Wang's family compound is a large scaled family compound, with a total area of over 250,000 square meters.
Known as “the Oriental Treasure House of Painted Sculptures”, it keeps over 2,000 exquisite painted sculptures and beautiful frescos.
Besides just strolling around Pingyao ancient city, here you have lots to things to do, including joining the Spring Festival Festival Celebration, watch the famous show - Encore Pingyao, and taking a walk on the ancient wall during the sunset... Click Activities in Pingyao to find more things to do in Pingyao.
You could experience the traditions of Chinese New Year, enjoying lion and dragon dance, decorating windows with red paper-cuts, pasting red couplets...
Watching the performance called "Encore Pingyao" will help understand Shanxi's history and culture. It is more like a living museum or time-travel experience.
Founded in 2001, Pingyao International Photography Festival (PIP) is one of the most important celebrations, among the international communities.
Shehuo Show is a serious folk performances and parade during some traditional Chinese festivals, like the Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival...
Pingyao, located in central Shanxi Province, China, is a well-preserved ancient city renowned for its historical architecture and cultural significance. The city experiences a typical temperate continental monsoon semi-arid climate, with an annual average temperature of 10.6°C (51.1°F). Summers can be warm, with July as the hottest month, averaging 24.5°C (76.1°F). Winters are cold, with January being the coldest month, averaging -5°C (23°F). The ideal time to visit Pingyao is during autumn, particularly in September and October, when the weather is mild and comfortable, and the city’s historic charm is enhanced by clear skies and pleasant temperatures.
Learn more about Pingyao weather & seasonal activities.
Presently, there is no airport in Pingyao, tourists can take a flight to Taiyuan and transfer to Pingyao within 100 km. With two train stations (Pingyao Railway Station, Pingyao Ancient City Railway Station), you can reach Pingyao easily by high-speed train, especially taking bullet trains if you come from Beijing (4h), Xian (3h), Taiyuan (2h). Learn More about Pingyao Transportation and Pingyao Railway Stations to find details information.
Around Pingyao, there are city buses, bicycle renting sites for you to easily tour around Pingyao ancient city with small charges. Also, many visitors would like to visit Pingyao with the nearby Qiao's Family Compound 50km to the North or Wang's Family Compound 60km to the south. Pingyao Railway Station and Pingyao Bus Station are just outside the northern gate of the ancient city, and Pingyao High-Speed Train Station is about 10km away from the ancient city, offering your easy transferring Shanxi.
Pingyao Ancient City, once one of the most prosperous cities during the Ming and Qing dynasties, now offers a range of hotels designed in traditional styles, with options from 3-star to 5-star accommodations. These accommodations retain the authentic architectural style of Pingyao, offering guests a chance to experience the city’s rich cultural heritage firsthand. Most hotels are located within the walled city and feature traditional northern Chinese courtyard designs, providing both historical ambiance and modern amenities for a comfortable stay.
Check the detailed Pingyao Hotels to stay with and learn more about where to stay in Pingyao.
As a county of Jinzhong city, Pingyao is located in the central part of Shanxi Province. For understanding intuitively about its location and Pingyao Ancient City, here are the local Pingyao Shanxi Map, Pingyao Ancient City Map, and Pingyao Attractions Map, Pingyao Location Map for you. With more nearby attractions, check more Pingyao Maps.
Pingyao Ancient City Attractions Map
Pingyao Ancient City Map
Pingyao Ancient City Location Map
With a convenient high speed train transfer, you can explore more beyond Pingyao city to Taiyuan to view more about Shanxi history; or go north to Datong and veiw the grottoes arts. For Beijing-Xian tourists, Pingyao connects those two great historical and cultural cities for you to have a better perspective of China.
We have helped many global travelers enjoy their memorable wonderful trips to Shanxi for the past few years. Among them, a sweet couple from the UK traveled with us and spent 21 Happy Days in Datong, Pingyao, Mount Wutai, Xi'an and 5 Other Cities in Northern China, and shared us their special travel story!
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All itineraries and side trips can be customized privately, so please feel free to contact with our travel consultants if you have this kind of need.
This 6 Days Tour takes you to explore 3 magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Sites - from the man-made wonder Yungang Grottoes in Datong to the Ancient City of Pingyao via the Sacred Mount Wutai (Wutaishan), as well as many unexpected sights.
This 3 days tour takes you experience the ancient feature of Pingyao from Taiyuan. You will have an insight of the culture and history of the two cities
Trace back to discover ancient architectural wonders and learn about the history, also admire the brilliant Buddhist culture and art in Yungang Grottoes and Hanging Temple. It’s a fusion exploration of World Cultural Heritage in different ancient dynasties.
Datong Yungang Grottoes and Mount Wutaishan Discovery Tour. Transfer by a private vehicle throughout the tour, and also be taken care well of by a local tour guide.
Xian and Pingyao represent two different kinds of culture. This tour take you to experience the charms of their history and culture. You will travel from Pingyao to Xian by bullet train.
In this tour, you will step into the old city for historic sightseeing and admire the crashing waves and thundering waterfall group of Hukou.
Explore the spectacular diversity of Shanxi from the ancient Buddhist grottoes to hanging temples, royal palaces to ancient folk city, plateau mountain to breathtaking waterfall.
6 days Beijing Datong Tour takes you to visit featured sites of Beijing and extend tours to Datong by train to see the magnificent Yungang Grottoes.
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