Attractions:      Wang's Grand Courtyard              Pingyao City Wall

Wang's Grand Courtyard

Wang's Grand Courtyard covers an area of up to 150,000 square kilometers. Wang's Grand Courtyard is a masterpiece of Chinese civil residence architecture of Qing Dynasty. It ranks in the provincial-level cultural relics protection.

The two architectural complexes of Gaojiaya and Red-gate Fort confronting each other in the east-west direction are connected to each other through a bridge. Both of them are the full-closed type buildings on the loess high slope. They have the general characteristics of relying on mountains and complying with the terrain, buildings.

The whole complex is built layer upon layer and is well proportioned. The construction of the courtyard basically inherit the courtyard style of front halls and back bedrooms, which came into being during the Western Zhou Dynasty . In addition, the brick carvings, wood carvings and stone carvings are all original and, with their elegant decoration, rich connotation enjoy high reputation in cultural circles.

Wang's Grand Courtyard is a good place to learn the art of both ancient Chinese architecture and traditional Chinese culture.

Pingyao City Wall

The history of Pingyao City Wall can be traced back to the West Zhou Dynasty. The weapons in ancient times were primitive. The city wall was used to defend the whole city from being damaged by the enemies. During the West Zhou Dynasty warrior Yinjipu built Pingyao City Wall with earth and mud to defend the city against enemies. Renovations were made by every dynasty. In 1370, it was expended tremendously and rebuilt with stones and bricks as a result of the wall-building campaign under the order of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The City Wall was complete and well preserved with the total length of 6.4 kilometers. It is square with the southern part a little bit round while the other three sides straight. The wall is 10 meters high and 5 meters wide with the inside made of earth and outside of bricks. There are all together 72 towers and 3,000 crenels, signifying the Confucius 3,000 followers and 72 excellent disciples. The city wall is now a state property protection unit for relics.