| Pingyao | |
| County | |
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| Country |  China |
|---|---|
| State | Shanxi |
| County | Pingyao |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 1,260 km² (486. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES ( Postal map spelling: Shansi) is a province in the northern part of the People's Republic of China. See also Administrative divisions of the Republic of China Due to China 's large Population and area the political divisions of China have consisted Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 49 sq mi) |
| Population | 490,000 (2002) |
| Timezone | China Standard Time (UTC+8) |
| Area code | 354 |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| Name | Ancient City of Ping Yao |
| Year | 1997 (#21) |
| Number | 812 |
| Region | Asia-Pacific |
| Criteria | ii, iii, iv |
| Website: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/812 | |
Pingyao (Chinese: 平遥; pinyin: Píngyáo) is a Chinese city and county in central Shanxi province. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. China standard time or Beijing time is the Time zone observed in the People's Republic of China ( PRC) UTC+8 is a band of Timezones separated from the Greenwich Mean Time by 8 hours A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex This is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia, Australia and the Pacific ( Australia) A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National ( Postal map spelling: Shansi) is a province in the northern part of the People's Republic of China. It lies about 715 km from Beijing and 80 km from the provincial capital, Taiyuan. Taiyuan ( lit "Great Plains" is a Prefecture-level city and the capital of Shanxi province China. During the Qing Dynasty, Pingyao was a financial center of China. Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China It is now renowned for its well-preserved ancient city wall, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chinese city walls ( refer to civic defensive systems used to protect towns and Cities in China in pre-modern times United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex
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Historical importance
Pingyao still retains its city layout from the Ming and Qing dynasties, conforming to a typical bagua pattern. The Ming Dynasty ( or Empire of the Great Ming ( was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol -led Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China The Bagua ( are eight diagrams used in Taoist Cosmology to represent a range of interrelated concepts More than 300 sites in or near the city have ancient ruins. Preserved Ming- and Qing-style residences number close to 4,000. The streets and storefronts still largely retain their historical appearance.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, the county belonged to the kingdom of Jin. The Spring and Autumn Period ( was a period in Chinese history which roughly corresponds to the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty (from the second half of the 8th century BC Jin ( Traditional Chinese: 晉 Simplified Chinese: 晋 Pinyin: Jìn was one of the most powerful states in the Spring and Autumn Period It was part of the kingdom of Zhao in the Warring States Period. Zhao ( Pinyin: zhào Traditional Chinese: 趙 Simplified Chinese: 赵 was a Chinese State during The Warring States Period ( also known as the Era of Warring States covers the period from some time in the 5th century BC to the unification of China by the In the Qin Dynasty, it was known as Pingtao. Not to be confused with the Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of China During the Han Dynasty, it was known as Zhongdu county. The Han Dynasty ( 206 BC–220 AD followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. In 1986, the People's Republic of China designated Pingyao as one of the Chinese Historic and Cultural Cities. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES It became a World Heritage Site in 1997, included also the outlying Zhenguo Temple and Shuanglin Temple. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex The Buddhist Shuanglin Temple ( part of the World Heritage Site of Pingyao, stands in the countryside about 7 kilometers southwest of the ancient city
City walls
The city walls of Pingyao were constructed in the 3rd year of the Hongwu Emperor (1370). Chinese city walls ( refer to civic defensive systems used to protect towns and Cities in China in pre-modern times Early life Zhu Yuanzhang was born in 1328 in Pei County Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province as the youngest of four sons The walls have six barbican gates. A barbican (from medieval Latin barbecana, "outer fortification of a city or castle" a general Romanic word perhaps from Arabic or The north and south sides have one gate each. The east and west sides have two gates each. This pattern is similar to that of a turtle (the head, tail, and four legs), earning Pingyao the moniker "Turtle City. " The walls measure about 12 meters high, with a perimeter of 6,000 meters. The perimeter is the distance around a given two-dimensional object A 4-meter wide, 4-meter deep moat can be found just outside the walls. A moat is deep broad Trench, usually filled with Water, that surrounds a structure installation or town normally to provide it with a preliminary line of Aside from the four structured towers at the four corners, there are also 72 watchtowers and more than 3,000 battlements. A battlement, (also called a Crenellation) in defensive Architecture such as that of City walls or Castles comprises a Parapet In 2004, part of the southern walls collapsed but were reconstructed. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " However, the rest of the city walls are still largely intact and are considered among the best-preserved ancient city walls on this scale. This makes the city walls the centerpiece of the Heritage Site.
Finance
Pingyao was the financial center of China in the late Qing Dynasty. Not to be confused with Qin Dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China During those times, there were as many as 20 financial institutions within the city, comprising more than half of total in the whole country. Among these is "Rishengchang," considered the first bank in China. The Rishengchang Exchange Shop (日升昌旧址 located in Pingyao, Shanxi province China, is considered the first draft bank in China's history A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money
Geography and economy
Pingyao is located on the eastern banks of the Fen River, and is in the southwestern edge of the Taiyuan basin. The Fen River ( is a river in Shanxi Province the People's Republic of China. Taiyuan ( lit "Great Plains" is a Prefecture-level city and the capital of Shanxi province China. It is adjacent to another Chinese Historic and Cultural City Qi County. Pingyao's economy is largely agricultural and the region is famed for its beef. Beef is the Culinary name for Meat from Bovines especially domestic Cattle (cows Other products from the region include grains, cotton, and lacquerware. Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp Lacquerware is objects which are decoratively covered with Lacquer which is sometimes inlaid or carved
Miscellaneous
The 1992 movie Raise the Red Lantern was shot in the Qiao's Compound at about 30 km from Pingyao. Raise the Red Lantern ( Simplified Chinese: 大红灯笼高高挂 Traditional Chinese: 大紅燈籠高高掛 pinyin Dà Hóng Dēnglóng Gāogāo
Bicycles are the main mode of transportation, because cars are restricted.
References
- This article incorporates material translated from the articles 平遥 and 平遥城墙 from the Chinese Wikipedia, retrieved on May 10, 2005.
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