TheAncientCityofPingyaoPingyaoCityWallThewallistenmetershigh,6163metersaround,andthreetofivemeterswideatthetop.Whilethewest,northandeastwallsarestraight,thesouthernonecurves,formingaroughsquare.Thenorthernandsouthernwallshaveonegateeach,theeasternandwesternwalls,twoeach.Eachgatehasabarbicanentrancewithaninnerandanouterdoorandhadatoweraboveit,threeofwhichhavebeenrebuilt.Eachgateusedtohaveadrawbridgetocrossthemoat,whichtodayisoutsidethreesidesofthecityandismorethan3.3metersdeepand3.3meterswide.NorthGateCitywallNorthGateFakecannonsPingyaoCityWallThetortoiseisasymbolofeternity.Seventy-twowatchtowerswerebuilteveryfiftytoonehundredmetersalongthetop.Two-meterhighwallswerebuiltalongtheoutsideofthewall’stop,with3,000crenelationswithopeningsforshooting.Theserepresentthe72disciplesandmorethan3,000studentsofConfucius.Eachcornerformerlyhadagrandtower,butonlytheGreatScholarTowerinthesoutheastremains,alongwithoneroll-callplatform.Atempleusedtooccupythelargeplatformontheeasternwall.CitywallinsideCitywallDraftBanksOfShanxiMerchantsRishengchangCourtyardDuringtheMingandQingDynasties,merchantsorganizedcommercialgroupsthatengagedinbusinessnationwide,withShanxiProvincehavingsomeofthemostimportantonesandPingyaoasthecenter.TheXiyuchengdyestoreonXiDaJiedealtinremittanceandin1824becamethefirstdraftbankinChina,dealinginbankdraftsratherthaninsilverorgoldmoney.KnownasRishengchang(SunriseProsperity),itwasthecornerstoneofmodernChinesebanking.DraftBanksOfShanxiMerchantsCourtyardClerksatworkDuringthehundredyearsthatdraftbankinglastedinChina,Pingyaobecamethehubasotherlocalmerchantsopenedsimilarbanks.BranchbanksweresoonsetupinmajorcitiesinChinaandinAsia,leadingtogreatprosperityinPingyao,withitssubsequenteconomic,culturalandsocietaldevelopment.Courtyardsbecamemoreornate,streets,shopsandstoresweredeveloped,enlargedorimproved,anditsproducts,suchaswarelacquerandclaysculptures,becamewellknown.Rishengchang(SunriseProsperity)ThefirstdraftbankofChina,Rishengchang,issituatedinthebusiestsectionofXiDaJie,whichusedtobetheFirstStreetintheQingDynasty.TheoriginalsiteofRishengchangoccupied2,324squaremeters.Thelandusedisarrangedinacompactlayoutofbuildingswithdefinitefunctions.Althoughitwasonlyasmallcompound,itwasaforerunnerofmodernbankingandoncemanipulatedtheeconomiclifelinesofthewholeQingDynastyinthe19thcenturyCollectionofhistoricalitemsSeatoftheCountyGovernmentTheseatofthecountygovernmentfacessouthandisover200meterslongandover100meterswidewithanareaofover20,000squaremeters.AlthoughPingyaohasbeentheseatofthecountygovernmentsincetheQinDynasty,thecomplexwasbuiltin1346(YuanDynasty).ExceptforoneremainingYuanDynastybuilding,theexistingbuildingswerebuiltintheMingDynasty.GatetotheSeatTheSecondHallTheMainCourtroomTheMagistrate'sDeskintheCivilCourtroomInstrumentsoftortureoftheCountyGovernmentTheCivilCourtroomInstrumentsoftortureoftheCountyGovernmentUniquetraditionalresidencesInPingyaoAncientCityaremanytraditionalresidencesandcommercialcourtyards,3797ofwhichareprotectedandmorethan400ofwhichareintact.Thesetraditionalresidencesarethecarriersofhistoryculture,whicharevaluableforstudyingitshistory,folkcustoms,architecture,andart,andstillserveashomesoflocalpeople.Theybecomethearchitecturalculturalheritage,whichareprotectedandutilizedtoday.CarvedGateMuseumofAncientResidencesUniquetraditionalresidencesResidencesCave-styleresidentialroomTheancientresidencesnotonlyreflectthelevelofancientarchitectureandthefashionofresidencesofthetime,buttheyalsodemonstrateancientpolicies,economies,philosophies,ethics,artandcustoms.Theseoldhousesandruinedwallsshowpeoplehowthelocalpeoplelivedinyearspast.