Coralie & Salah

Oct 8, 20195 min read

Pingyao and its medieval city

September 24 to 27, 2019

After a very nice stay in Beijing, here we are, heading to Pingyao, a medieval walled city in the Shanxi Province, south-west of Beijing, at a 370 miles distance.

We took a train for the first time in China and this was actually a smooth experience. The Chinese train stations are huge but well-organized, the high-speed trains are modern and comfortable and despite the language, we found our way quite easily. Plus, we had already bought our tickets from France on an English-speaking website (China Highlights), so there was no language barrier.

As we arrived at the west Beijing train station, we went to the sales window to pick up our tickets, for which we had to show our passports and booking numbers. We had to go through some security and passport checks (like at any entrance of subway, and train station). Usually, when we just have our day backpacks, there is no issue at security but when we travel with our travel backpacks, we have all our belongings with us, including a Swiss army knife and that’s when things can get hairy. Depending on the security or police agent, we cannot predict whether it’s acceptable. This time, it is ok but to be fair, I am not sure I will bring this one back home…

At the train station, we get a quick lunch at Mc Donald's. The girls saw a few of them in Beijing, they were tempted so we did it. We enjoyed our burgers and fries. FYI, the cost of a Happy Meal is just crazy, 3 times a regular combo’s.

Leaving Beijing

When we arrived in Pingyao, we took a taxi towards the walled city. It could only drop us off at the east gate as no motorized vehicles can get inside in the city. We walked a few minutes to get to our hotel.

We stayed in a small hostel, actually a small house with a nice courtyard. We had a private room and access to a living room common to the other guests, which was much appreciated in the evening as we finally could have some adult time when the girls were asleep.

Our hostel courtyard and living room with overlooking Mao

We took a quick first tour at the city, which is charming. It is a quaint 2800 years old walled city and seems hung up in time with its old courtyards, fortifications and artisan shops. At first, it might look like any other touristic city with souvenirs shop, massage salons, restaurants and hotels. But we quickly realized, especially when we branched off of the main streets that it is an authentic city as we came across families on their door front and kids playing on the streets.

View on the Main Street and its tower

A bit of History: Pingyao was already an important commercial city under the Ming dynasty (1368- 1644 AD) but it really developed under the Qing dynasty (1636-1911 AD) when the merchants created the first country banks with checks to facilitate the silver transfer from a city to another. The walls date from 1370 and are 10 meters high, 6 km long, surrounds the old town and is very good state. It is punctuated by 72 watchtowers (still standing), each one featuring a paragraph of Sunzi’s “Art of War”.

South Gate of the City

Outside view of the walls

One of the watchtowers

Walking all along the watchtowers :)

To fully appreciate the town, one ticket allows to get on the walls for a walk (can’t go all the way around though). It also gives access to the city sights such as the Confucius temple or the God City Temple and courtyards. The ticket is valid for 3 days, which gives ample time.

Courtyards are typical of the city, and can be up to 20-30 meters deep behind the street window, with lush and colorful vegetation. They can either be one large open area or a series of smaller courtyards connected by round doors. Some courtyards feature closed halls that were once artisans’ workshops. Some courtyards were integrally preserved by hotels/restaurants in need for bigger areas or by the city and can be visited with the ticket. Some were transformed to become small shops on the streets with a backwall

Some courtyards

We stayed there for 3 days and we clearly were on a different pace than in Beijing, more relaxed. In the morning, we were staying home, writing this blog, homeschooling the girls or simply just chilling out. Then, we were going for lunch and walking throughout the city and visiting. As we were never too far from the homestay, we could easily go back for a quick nap as needed ;-)

Our Chinese astrological signs. What is yours?

The girls enjoyed the walks and visits. Lana was intrigued by the statues at the God City temple while Naema tried to find the two-headed goddesses (Zhuǎnshēng Pópo, the reincarnated mother, responsible for sending babies all around the world). Coralie and Salah tried archery in the Confucius temple.

Visit of the temples

Close to the South Gate, the girls found an improvised playground (ruins of a former temple) and were jumping on and off small walls (they were working out as Lana called it). This is one of the upsides of smaller cities without zooming motorized vehicles: the girls could play safely.

Fun times for the girls

Food-wise, a young French couple we met at the homestay recommended us a small restaurant actually called Le petit Resto (literally small restaurant in French). We later found it as a recommendation in the Lonely planet and an equivalent French guide book (Le petit routard). We could see right away it was a popular restaurant among the foreign travelers but there were also a lot of locals (or Chinese tourists). We would come back twice and try some of the local specialties.

Pingyao is well-known for its wheat noodles, whereas rice-based noodles are more common in the rest of China. It is either steamed or boiled and served with a tomato sauce. It is also used in soups. We were amazed by how they are made on demand. The chef holds a dough patty and cut the noodles just before dropping them in the boiling water.

Another specialty is the Pingyao beef. It is quite similar to Montreal smoked meat though a bit more fat. This one was not everyone’s favorite (Salah and Lana loved it, Coralie and Naema didn’t even feel like trying). And like in many China cities, the best remains the street food: skewers of many sorts, steamed or fried dumplings, spicy fried tofu, mango juice with coconut ice cream, bean cakes …