Thursday, June 16, 2016

Pingyao, Shanxi, China 平遥

During the Qing Dynasty Pingyao was the financial capital of China. The city was founded 2,700 years ago. The inner city's layout hasn't changed since the Ming (1368-1644 AD) and Qing (1644-1917 AD) Dynasties.
We stayed at an old hotel that was supposedly 500 years old. It had traditional Kang beds, which were huge rectangular shape beds surrounded by brick and traditionally filled with dirt, with wooden posts placed over the dirt followed by hard mattresses. Our bed was large but wasn't made out of wood or dirt but the mattress was hard. Traditionally the kang bed fit 7 people.  Because the beds were filled with dirt they kept the people warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
The city had 22 different houses or sites to visit. We saw an old bank that had under ground vaults, a museum of furniture, Buddhist temples, residences, vinegar shops, the old city wall. I noticed that many of the buildings were bright orange and green. This contrasted greatly with the red and black I am used to in Xi'an.
The food in Pingyao is not as spicy as Xi'an. They had a lot of beef dishes, breaded and fried mushrooms, and beef skewers. I took a video of a meat skewer BBQ that is unlike any I have ever seen.
The city had fun antique shops that sold old clocks, lanterns, animal skins, and other souvenirs.


Black Vinegar. This stuff is strong




City Wall


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