Treasures of Pingyao: Architecture, Finance, and Culture

Today, we’ll talk about Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi Province – a 2,800-year-old city that continues to thrive today maintaining a vibrant culture that weaves together ancient architecture, photography, and a unique story about the city’s pioneering role in China’s banking history.

Transcript

Treasures of Pingyao: Architecture, Finance, and Culture

Today, we’ll talk about Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi Province – a 2,800-year-old city that continues to thrive today maintaining a vibrant culture that weaves together ancient architecture, photography, and a unique story about the city’s pioneering role in China’s banking history.

On September 19, the 25th Pingyao International Photography Festival opened in the ancient town of Pingyao, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in northern China’s Shanxi Province, renowned for its exceptionally well-preserved historic architecture.

Under the theme “Breaking Boundaries, Intelligent Insights into the Future,” the five-day festival has attracted more than 5,000 photographers from 34 countries and regions, with over 20,000 works submitted for exhibition.

Festival highlights include a special showcase of Polaroid works. Belgian photographer Carmen De Vos and British photographer Clare Marie Bailey are attending in person, while works by German photographer Stefanie Schneider are also on display.

This year’s festival also features a training program that provides participants with both instruction and hands-on experience in Pingyao and Bottrop, Germany, aiming to enhance their curatorial skills.

Over the past 25 years, the Pingyao International Photography Festival has exhibited more than 300,000 works from over 100 countries and regions, drawing millions of visitors from around the world to the ancient town.

Pingyao Ancient City showcases nearly intact city walls, streets, shops, temples, and homes. Together, they tell a timeless story of prosperity, decline, and renewal – a story carved into the very bricks and wood of the city.

The history of Pingyao dates back to the Western Zhou Dynasty, around 827 to 782 BC, when General Yin Jifu stationed troops here and built the first walls to guard against invaders. The city walls we see today were rebuilt in 1370 during the Ming Dynasty, and though repaired many times in Ming and Qing periods, their layout and scale have remained largely unchanged.

Stretching about 6,200 meters around, the walls are not just cold military barriers but a highly intelligent defense system. The core is packed earth, reinforced on the outside with special blue bricks, making it extremely strong. At about 12 meters high, 10 meters thick at the base, and 3 to 5 meters wide at the top, the walls form a trapezoid cross-section for extra stability.

On top, there are 3,000 battlements and 72 watchtowers, symbolizing Confucius’ 3,000 disciples and 72 sages – blending military strength with cultural meaning. The six city gates were ingeniously designed each featuring a 90-degree turn instead of a straight entrance, making it much harder for enemies to break through. Walking along the broad top of the wall, you can look down at rows of gray-tiled roofs inside the city and across the vast fields outside. 

If the city walls are the bones of Pingyao, then its streets and alleys are the veins that bring it to life. The city’s layout was carefully planned, following ancient Chinese principles of feng shui, creating an atmosphere of harmony between people and nature. From above, the city resembles a resting turtle: the south gate forms the head, with two wells outside symbolizing its eyes; the north gate is the tail, where water naturally flows out; and the four gates on the east and west are like its four legs. In Chinese culture, the turtle stands for longevity and stability – a sign of the builders’ intension for the city to last forever.

At the heart of the city stands the Market Tower, the tallest building and central hub. From here stretch four main streets, eight side streets, and 72 narrow lanes, forming a neat grid pattern. The main South Street, once known as China’s Wall Street, is still the busiest part of the old city. On both sides, Ming and Qing-era shops remain almost intact, with heavy wooden doors, painted eaves, tall pillars, and decorative boards – all showing the prosperity of the past. But these aren’t lifeless museum pieces. Many still serve as inns and restaurants, some banks have been turned into museums, and of course there are plenty of traditional shops. In these centuries-old spaces, modern life continues to flow, making Pingyao’s “living heritage” one of its most unique charms.

When talking about Pingyao, you simply can’t ignore its golden chapter in China’s financial history. This small county town became the cradle of modern Chinese banking. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Pingyao was nothing less than the financial heart of China. And at its center shone a star – Rishengchang, the very first draft bank.

Back in 1823, the manager of a local dye shop named Lei Lütai became all too aware of the risks and inefficiencies of transporting silver over long distances. With bold vision, he transformed his shop into Rishengchang – the first private financial institution in China to handle deposits, loans, and remittance. The name meant “rising sun and lasting prosperity,” and its clever signboard design showed the words Rishengchang on all four sides, symbolizing that business could move in any direction, reaching every corner of the world.

Rishengchang’s success sparked a boom. At its peak, Pingyao alone had more than 20 draft banks, with branches stretching across China and even overseas in places like Tokyo, Moscow, and Calcutta. These banks controlled nearly half of the Qing Dynasty’s financial flows. It was truly a case of “a village bank serving the whole world.” Stepping into the old site of Rishengchang today, you see what looks like an ordinary courtyard. Yet that very place once pulsed as the nerve center for empires of trade and finance. From secret seals and anti-counterfeiting methods, to strict management systems, everything reflected the wisdom of Shanxi merchants built on trust, innovation, and stability.

Beyond its banking legends, Pingyao is also a treasure house of ancient architecture. Inside the old city, there are more than 300 historic sites and buildings, including over a dozen that are nationally protected. One of the most remarkable is the Ten Thousand Buddha Hall at Zhenguo Temple, built in 963. It is among the oldest surviving wooden structures in China. Its ingenious design has stood firm for more than a thousand years, surviving storms and earthquakes – a true miracle in the history of Chinese architecture. Inside, the colorful clay statues from the Five Dynasties period are full-bodied and finely detailed, carrying forward the grandeur of Tang Dynasty art.

Another gem is Shuanglin Temple, first built in 657 and later rebuilt in the Northern Han period. It’s often called “a treasure house of Eastern painted sculptures.” The temple preserves more than 2,000 clay statues from the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Unlike rigid religious figures, these sculptures break free from convention. They are lifelike, expressive, and filled with spirit. Among them, the statue of Skanda – known in Chinese as Wei Tuo – stands out as a masterpiece. Its dynamic pose, piercing gaze, and perfect balance of strength and grace have led experts around the world to hail it as the finest depiction of Skanda anywhere. It represents the very peak of China’s painted sculpture tradition – a priceless jewel of world art.

Pingyao’s charm also lies in the humble courtyards and homes tucked away in its alleys. These siheyuan, or traditional quadrangle houses, date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties and are typical of northern Han Chinese architecture. Carefully planned and symmetrically arranged along a central axis, they are enclosed from the outside but open within, reflecting a traditional emphasis on order, privacy, and family values. Inside, intricate wood, brick, and stone carvings abound, depicting auspicious symbols and historical stories. 

Every detail carries deep cultural meaning and aesthetic taste. On the rooftops, you might spot something called chīwěn – mythical beasts said to be the ninth son of the dragon, which are believed to ward off fire and disaster. Stone lions at the gateposts serve to protect the household. These homes are not just architectural marvels; they are living testaments to the culture and lifestyle of Shanxi merchants. Many large residences, like the former home of the manager of Xietongqing Draft Bank, are open to visitors, offering a glimpse into the daily life of merchant families hundreds of years ago.

But history wasn’t always kind to Pingyao. By the mid-20th century, with the rise of modern banks and the upheaval of war, Pingyao’s draft banks fell into rapid decline. The ancient city fell silent and even faced the threat of demolition and redevelopment. The turning point came in 1986. Led by Professor Ruan Yisan from Tongji University, a team of experts pushed for a plan to “protect the old city while building a new one.” This visionary plan was adopted by the government, allowing Pingyao to be preserved in its entirety and sparing it from the fate that many other Chinese historic towns suffered – being torn down and replaced.

Then, on December 3, 1997, at the 21st session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Naples, Italy, Pingyao Ancient City was officially inscribed as a World Heritage Site. UNESCO praised it as (quote) “an outstanding example of Han cities in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It retains all the Han city features, provides a complete picture of the cultural, social, economic and religious development in Chinese history, and it is of great value for studying the social form, economic structure, military defense, religious belief, traditional thinking, traditional ethics and dwelling form.” (un-quote) 

It’s been a quarter century since Pingyao Ancient City gained World Heritage status, and since then it has experienced unprecedented attention and development. Annual events like the Pingyao International Photography Festival and the Pingyao International Film Festival have infused the ancient city with contemporary artistic energy, turning it into a cultural platform where past and present, local and global, meet to exchange ideas. Far from forgotten, tourists now flood the streets, and the local tourism and service industries are thriving.

Pingyao Ancient City was designated a National Historical and Cultural City by the State Council, China’s cabinet, in 1986. But with growth comes challenges such as how to balance commercial development with heritage preservation, how to maintain the daily life of residents and prevent the city from becoming an empty shell, and how to manage the environmental pressures of a sudden surge in visitors. To address these issues, local authorities have implemented measures such as controlling visitor numbers, restoring historic buildings, and regulating commercial activities. Their approach has even become a case study in sustainable heritage management, studied by architecture and planning schools at Tsinghua University, Tongji University, and beyond.

Well, that’s the end of our podcast. Our theme music is by the famous film score composer Roc Chen. We want to thank our writer Lü Weitao, translator Wang Yuyan, and copy editor Pu Ren. And thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please tell a friend so they, too, can understand The Context.