Pingyao Ancient City ( UNESCO World Heritage in 1997 )
The ancient city of Pingyao had been emerged gradually along with the city wall during the Zhou Dynasty in 11th century – 256 BC. It is the only ancient city in China completely reserved as it was hundreds of years ago without any modern architecture, but only the narrow street flanking with Chinese shops in old style and the road plated with the original stone. Pingyao still retains its city layout from the Ming and Qing dynasties, conforming to a typical Ba Gua pattern.
Pingyao is not only famous for its antiquity, but also for being the merchant center with the nation’s earliest bank established in the 19th century, and furthermore it was once served as the financial center of the Qing government. Pingyao ancient started to be formed from BC 827 to BC 782 (during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Zhou Dynasty), by Yi Jipu who was a senior general in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
