Pingyao:the struggle in China between history and modernity

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Pingyaothe struggle in China between history and
modernity

• Looking over old Pingyao at daybreak is like
  traveling back a few centuries, A Qing Dynasty
  fortress, complete with giant wooden gates and
  cast-iron cannons to repel any invading hordes.
  
• -----
  Asiaweek Magazine's Liu Yuan

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Profile of Pingyao(1)

• Location
• The Old Town of Pingyao is in Pingyao County, in
  the center of Shanxi Province

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Profile of Pingyao(2)

• History
• The city has a history of over 4,000 years.
  It is said that Yao, a legendary monarch in
  ancient China had won his title in Pingyao some
  4,100 years ago. It was constructed during the
  reign of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty
  (C.1100-771B.C.) and has been the county seat
  ever since the establishment of the
  prefecture-and-county system in ancient China.

Pingyao is the best preserved of the ancient
cities in the regions populated by the Han ethnic
group.
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Profile of Pingyao(3)

• Present
• Today, Pingyao looks much the same as it did
  during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911)
  dynasties
• Since 1997, it has been listed as a World
  Heritage Site.
• Now Pingyao city is the only one in China
  completely reserved as it was hundreds of years
  ago, no modern buildings, only narrow stone-plate
  street with many Chinese-style shops on the two
  sides. 

Pingyao is the best preserved of the ancient
cities in the regions populated by the Han ethnic
group.
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Profile of Pingyao(4)
Attractions For its well-preserved city wall and
streets, stores, temples and residential housing
built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the city
was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site by
UNESCOin 1997.

• The Old Town of Pingyao is an outstanding
  example of the Han cities in the Ming and Qing
  dynasties, retaining all the features of these
  periods. Pingyao presents a picture of unusual
  cultural, social, economic, and religious
  development in Chinese history.
• from a report of the World Heritage
  Commission of UNESCO

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City Wall(1)

• First built about 2,700 years ago,
• the ancient city wall was expanded in the Ming
  Dynasty. It was the most well-preserved wall
  among the ancient historical and cultural cities
  in China. It is square, 10 meters high, 5 meters
  wide, and 5.4 kilometers in circumference. There
  are 72 terraces with battlements. A bird's-eye
  view of the city, the wall looks like a turtle,
  hence the name 'Turtle City'.

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City Wall (2) Turtle city

• The city has six gates, two each on the east
  and west and one each in the south and north
  side. All the gates project outwards and have two
  doors each. This has given the city the name
  "Turtle City" with the two gates on the south and
  north representing the head and tail of the
  turtle and four gates on the east and west as the
  four legs. The doors on the south and north stand
  opposite each other, like the head of the turtle
  extending out and two wells just beyond southern
  gate are like a turtle's two eyes. 

The city wall, rebuilt in 1370.
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City Wall(3)

• The city wall extends for six kilometers and
  testifies to the profound influence of
  Confucianism in this region, as the disciples of
  Confucius are said to be represented by the 3,000
  embrasures on the wall and the 72 best disciples
  are represented by the 72 small watchtowers. In
  the later period of the Qing Dynasty, the Kuixing
  Pavilion was built on the southeast section of
  the wall and became a symbol of the flourishing
  culture of the ancient city.

The recently rebuilt tower on top of the North
Gate has retained its original appearance
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Chinese Financial House Museum Ri Sheng Chang(1)
Rishengchang_the first draft bank of China

• Ri Sheng Chang was established in the early Qing
  Dynasty. It was China's forerunner for organizing
  Chinese early finance system, handling
  remittance, money exchange, deposit, loan and
  other financial business. There were 35 branches
  in China's big and medium-sized cities. Its
  business covered Europe, America and Southeast
  Asia.

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Chinese Financial House Museum Ri Sheng Chang(2)

• The banking company had established a complete
  and strict management system because at that time
  the communication and transportation conditions
  are quite backward. For example, when a new
  employee came into the company, the manager
  always left several dollars in the yard to test
  the employee. If he returned the money to the
  manager, he passed the first examination. Second
  pass is the abacus, the main tool to calculate.
  Young people had to stand in the yard to practice
  abacus for several weeks, even in winter. What is
  more, the owner of the company did not involve in
  the daily business because he employed a general
  manager, and gave him some shares to attract him
  work harder and earned more money.         

The Clerk is writing the draft.
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• South Street (Ming-Qing Street)With a
  length of 440 meters, the street used to be the
  commercial center of Pingyao ancient city. The
  traditional and orderly-located shops of the Ming
  and Qing Dynasties are still well preserved. The
  cross-street Town House, is the highest building
  of the city (18.5 meters high). On its top, you
  can take a whole view of the MingQing Street.
  Walking along the street, tourists can get the
  first-hand experience of ancient China.
•    

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Tongxinggong Armed Escort Company Museum (1)

• Situated at No. 105 Nanda Jie in Pingyao, this
  museum is housed in the grandeur of a Ming styled
  complex. It is an excellent place to discover the
  history of the armed escort firms that played an
  important role in the development of Chinese
  commerce.

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Tongxinggong Armed Escort Company Museum (2)

• The business boom in Shanxi during the mid 19th
  century meant that there were substantial
  transits of money earned through trade. So that
  this wealth should not fall into the hands of
  thieves, merchants employed the services of
  professionally organized armed escorts.

Wang Zhenqing, who was a master of martial
techniques, established a company to provide a
much needed escort service. His unparalleled
bravery and military skills earned him and his
firm such a good reputation that his firm became
the established leader in its field. For several
decades this firm and others like it played an
important role in providing the security so
necessary to the safe conduct of trade
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Qiaojia Dayuan Qiaojiabu Folklore Museum(1)

• Located in a large courtyard in Qiaojiabu village
  of the Qi County, Qiaojia Dayuan was the
  residential house of Qiao Zhiyong, a capitalist
  in the Qing Dynasty who attained his fortune in
  financial and commercial business in the periods
  of Emperor Jiaqing and Emperor Daoguang. With
  typical northern China architectural
  characteristics, the Dayuan (courtyard) is
  divided into 6 big yards and 20 small yards with
  313 rooms and covers an area of over 8,700 sq
  meters.

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Qiaojia Dayuan Qiaojiabu
Folklore Museum(2)

• Here you can watch farming activities in every
  season, ceremonies of sacrifice and ancestral
  warship, wedding ceremonies and daily life.
  Through which youll have a view of the folk
  customs of Shanxi during the period of late Qing
  Dynasty.
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Courtyard Residences in Pingyao(1)WANG'S Dayuan

• The courtyard residences in Pingyao are elegantly
  designed with local features. Standing for a long
  history, the buildings are still perfectly
  preserved. There are two types of residences
  commercial and civilian, which are all well known
  for their typical representation of China's
  traditional residences. One example of these
  courtyards is Wangs Compound House. Wang's family
  was originated from Shanxi Province, and after
  earning some money from their business and farm,
  the family took three generations to build its
  house, and now is called as Wangs' Compound
  House, which is at least two centuries old.

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Courtyard Residences in Pingyao(2) wANG'S Dayuan

• the Wang's Compound, titled as the "First
  House of the Chinese Folk Residence", is located
  in the south of Shanxi Basin under the foot of
  the Mianshan Mountian, the only one in Shanxi
  Province into West China Folk Residence, the
  first volume of "Collection of China Folk
  Residential Buildings".

The residence was built from about the 1660s to
1800s, covering area of 150,000 square meters, of
which 45,000 are defined as provincial preserve,
including the building cluster, in Gao's Gliff,
the cluster in the Hongmen Blockhouse, Yi'an
Garden, Danpu Garden, ancestral temples, etc.
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Courtyard Residences in Pingyao(3) wANG'S Dayuan

• The Wang's Compound are built along with the
  tendency of the hills, in massive scale,
  harmonious layout, and completely functional. The
  styles of the South China and the and the North
  China are combined in the building art and
  decoration skills, formulating a unique
  workmanship model, presenting a wonderful art
  style rooted in the land of China.

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The Temple of the City God (1)

• Pingyao's Temple of the City God was built during
  the Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127) and is an
  essential venue for visitors who seek to
  appreciate and understand the cultural and
  religious background of this city.

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The Temple of the City God (2)

• The temple has a rich cultural heritage and it
  bears witness to the way in which aspects of
  Confucianism, Taoism and the ancient customs of
  the Han people of the middle and lower reaches of
  the Yellow River have been brought together in
  ritual, design and decoration. The architectural
  style is Taoist involving the use of blue and
  green tiles that confirm the high level of
  importance the temple had for the city. Elaborate
  wall paintings, lifelike clay sculptures,
  exquisitely carved bricks and wood carvings as
  well as the ingenious carpentry used in the
  construction of the buildings are monuments to
  the craftsmanship and skill of those responsible
  for their completion. The classical Qing Dynasty
  ornamentation of the roof ridges, with their
  myriads of floral and fauna, both real and
  mythical, is a feast for the eyes.

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Zhenguo Temple (1)

• The temple is located in Hedong Village, 15
  kilometers northeast of the seat of Pingyao, 85
  kilometers south of Taiyuan. It was built in the
  year of 963, that is, in the seventh year of
  reign of Emperor Tianhui in the Northern Han
  during the Five dynasties.

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Zhenguo Temple(2)

• Wanfo Hall, the main hall of the temple, is
  square-shaped while its roof resembles an
  umbrella.

The hall is a rare well-preserved wooden
structure built in the Five dynasties. Indoors
are 11 round tall statues in the style of the
Tang dynasty, including Buddha, Bodhisattvas,
disciples, and Vajra, etc.Furthermore, the
treasure of closely-planted ancient trees add
lustre of simpleness and grace to Zhenguo Temple.

A painting on the wall immediately inside the
door of Wanfo Hall in Zhenguo Temple
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Zhenguo Temple(3)
The Wanfo Hall in the Zhenguo Temple. Built 1,000
years ago, the temple is one of the oldest
existing wood buildings in China.
The painted sculptures in the Wanfo Hall in the
Zhenguo Temple are of a rare type from the Five
Dynasties period in China.
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Government office(Xianya)

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Government office(Xianya)(2)

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Presentation of ancient lawsuit
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Government office(Xianya)

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