Pingyao--Ancient Architectural Complex Composed of The city wall

Pingyao	Pingyao

Pingyao , one of China's ancient original cities, is one large ancient architectural complex composed of the complete city wall? streets and lanes? shops ?temples and civil dwelling houses. With a total area of 2.25KM2 and a present population of 42,000 urban citizens, the ancient city of Pingyao basically remains the historical features of the Ming and Sing Dynasties(A.D.1368--A.D.1911).
Initially built during King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty(827B.C.--782B.C.),the ancient city of Pingyao has a history of over 2,700 years up to now. Since the implementation of the system of prefectures and counties in China in 221B.C.,Pingyao, as one of the primary cities in China, has been the seat of county government. The ancient city wall of Pingyao enlarged in the 3rd year of Emperor Hong Wu of the Ming Dynasty remains original.
Pingyao is a tiny ancient town located in central Shanxi Province, 100 kilometers away from Taiyuan-capital of the province. Originally built in the West Zhou Dynasty, it boasts a long history of over 2,700 years. As its sound preservation of urban landscape in China’s Ming and Qing Dynasty, Pingyao was added to the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in Dec. 31st 1997.
There are three Key National Relics Protected Units in Pingyao, namely Pingyao City Wall, Shuangxiu Temple, Zhenguo Temple.
The City Wall itself, Streets, buildings and shops are all well preserved from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In 1997, when the UNESCO decided to include the town on the World Heritage List, the comments read “the Ancient City of Ping Yao is an outstanding example of a Han Chinese city of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (14th-20th centuries) that has retained all its features to an exceptional degree and in doing so provides a remarkably complete picture of cultural, social, economic, and religious development during one of the most seminal periods of Chinese history”.