Pingyao Ancient City

Pingyao Ancient City, located in central Shanxi, is a famous cultural city with a history of more than 2,700 years. It is also the first ancient county town in my country to successfully declare a world cultural heritage for an entire ancient city. The city walls of the scenic ancient city of Pingyao were built as rammed earth walls during the reign of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty (827 BC to 782 BC). It was rebuilt in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1370), and the original "nine miles and eighteen steps" was expanded to "twelve miles, eight and four centimeters" (6.4 kilometers), and the rammed earth city wall was transformed into a masonry wall. According to the legend that "the mountains and rivers are facing the sun, and the turtles are playing in the water, and the city is built according to this, it is the victory." Taking the meaning of "good luck and longevity" of the divine turtle, it was built as "Turtle City". Built on the top of the city gate, it was sometimes called "Qiao Tower" in ancient times. There are six towers in the Pingyao City Wall. They were built in the Ming Dynasty and repaired and rebuilt in the 42nd year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1703). The towers are 16.14 meters high, five bays wide and 13.72 meters wide, and four bays deep 10.04 meters. The shape is simple and elegant, and the structure is dignified and stable. The city tower is an exquisite and beautiful high-rise building on the top of the city wall. It is usually climbed high for observation, and the general takes command during war. It is an important high-altitude defense facility for a city. History and Culture The ancient city of Pingyao was first built in the period of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty (827 BC to 782 BC) and expanded in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1370 AD). It has a history of more than 2,700 years. So far, it has relatively intactly preserved the basic features of the county town during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911 AD). Pingyao is located on the east bank of the Fen River and the southwest end of the Taiyuan Basin, adjacent to Qixian County, another national historical and cultural city. The Tongpu Railway and Dayun Expressway run through the county. The economy is mainly based on agriculture, mainly producing grain, cotton, beef, and polished lacquerware. Among them, beef is quite famous, with the lyrics of the folk song "Pingyao Beef Taigu Cake".