3 Days Pingyao Private Tour

Welcome to Pingyao! Upon arrival, your professional guide and the driver will greet you at the exit of the railway station and escort you by air-conditioned car to a well-chosen guest house inside Pingyao Ancient City for check-in.

After settling in, let’s visit Pingyao Ancient City, which is over 2,700 years old. Although there are over 100 ancient cities in China, Pingyao is one of only two UNESCO-listed cities, reaching its zenith in the late Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD) as a cornucopia, where merchants even expanded their money exchange business to New York and San Francisco. Strolling along Ming and Qing Dynasties Street, you’ll leap through time to its thriving period among crowds: young ladies dressed in traditional attire take photos with paper fans, sugar painting masters spin the turntable, and some eager food enthusiasts squat on the steps and gnaw on beef.Then, we’ll explore the Ancient Government Office. Its main hall was used by the county magistrate to hold ceremonies, hear important cases, and receive superior officials. If we arrive at 09:30 or 11:00, you’ll catch a trial performance that brings this place to life. Our next stop is the Rishengchang Former Bank, which dealt with remittance, deposit, and loan. At its busiest time, the bank exchanged tens of millions of tales of silver each year, equaling 1.1 billion US dollars today. There were no issued laws and approval procedures for the establishment of draft banks back then, so whether a bill of exchange could be redeemed depended entirely on the credit of the bill issuers, reflecting the successful key of local merchants: reigning righteousness over profit. Continue our sightseeing to the Tongxinggong Escort Agency, an ancient ‘courier company’ that provided armed guards for transporting silver cash and goods. To work there, candidates had to be very skilled in martial arts, and also know how to build stoves, repair shoes, and even have a haircut to cope with long-term transfers.

Later, we’ll climb up the ancient City Wall, where you’ll find the city resembling a big turtle lying on the ground, with the orderly network of streets stretching like the patterns on turtle’s shell. At the end of today, your guide will convoy you back to your hotel.

► Nighttime Activity Suggestions (at your own expense):
If you want to do more by yourself after a short rest, perhaps drop in a local workshop to explore the top of Pingyao’s three gems in the ancient city, the lacquerware, especially intricate jewelry boxes. 72 steps are involved to achieve their fine lusters, including building up 3D patterns with layers of lacquer and continuously polishing by craftsmen’s palms. Alternatively, you can enjoy a free 18-minute light show at the ancient city’s south gate at 20:00.

Accommodation: Yide Guest House