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Home > Travel China > China Destinations > Pingyao: The Turtle City
Pingyao: The Turtle City
Pingyao is a Chinese city located in the province of Shanxi. It is located halfway between Beijing and Xi’an, and 80 kilometers from Taiyuan, the capital of the province. The city was founded in the 14th century and keeps most of the original architecture of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The old city center is surrounded by a 6 kilometers long and 12 meters high wall with six gates and 72 vigilance towers.
The streets, the old government offices, the shops and the houses preserve their original style and shape and act as reference for the study of the business districts of the Ming dynasty.
Due to its historic and architectonic value, the city of Pingyao was elected as a World Heritage Site in 1997 and now, Pingyao is one of the historical relics of priority protection at a national level. A small business of textiles from the late 18th century flourished and expanded to other cities, started to issue checks, and became a finance center that would give rise to the first Chinese bank.
Pingyao is also the name of the administrative district in which the city is located. It covers an area of 1260 square kilometers with a population of 490,000 inhabitants (40,000 of which correspond to the actual city). The economy of Pingyao is mainly agricultural and the region is famous for its cattle.
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