Some 100 kilometers away from Taiyuan,
Pingyao is situated in the middle of Shanxi Province. The State Council
proclaimed Pingyao as a historical and cultural city in 1986. Now, there are
altogether 3 key cultural relics sites under state level protection, three under
provincial level protection and 90 under county level protection. The so many
valuable relics in such a large scale are rare in all the counties throughout
the country. The most valuable ones are the Ten-Thousand-Buddha Palace in the
Zhenguo Temple, which was built in the 7th year (963) of the Tianhui
reign in the Beihan Dynasty (951-979); the Double Forest Temple built in the
2nd year (571) of the Wuping reign in the Northern Qi Dynasty
(550-577); the Qingxu Taoist Temple, built in the 2nd year (657) of
the Xianqing reign in the Tang Dynasty (618-907); the Dacheng Hall of the
Wenmiao Temple built in the 7th year (963) of the Tianhui reign in
the Beihan; and the Huiji Bridge built in the tenth year (16711) of the Kangxi
reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The relics of the ancient Pingyao is of the
best reserve in the entire terrain of the People's Republic of China. It is a
typical sample, representing ancient cities in the central part of the country.
The first bank for foreign exchange and deposit was the Rishengchang, set up in
ancient Pingyao in the 3rd year (1823) of the Dongguang reign in the
Qing Dynasty. The setup of Rishengchang was a milestone of finance in the
ancient times. It marked the birth of a new type of finance at the end of the
feudal society with modern characteristics.
Up to now, the city wall, streets, houses,
shops and temples have been almost kept intact. The layout and the flavor of the
city have little changed. The valuables of the inner and outer city are under
special protection and preserved intact. All these are inseparable components of
the historical relics of the ancient Pingyao City and are living fossils for the
research into the politics, economy, military, architecture and art of
China.
Pingyao was listed on the World Cultural
Heritage by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, with remarks, "The ancient city
of Pingyao is an outstanding example of Chinese Han Nationality cities in the
Ming and Qing dynasties, displaying all the features of those periods. Pingya,
in particular reveals a picture of unexpected cultural, social, economic and
religious development in Chinese history".