Pingyao

It turns out Pingyao is kind of a magical place. Despite the coal smoke, despite the freezing cold weather, despite the first snow of the trip,  I had a lovely day exploring the crooked narrow lanes, poking around shops, walking on the old city wall.


Apparently this small town in the middle of nowhere was the major banking center of China in the 18th century. Everyone going from the coastal cities to the inland cities passed through here. They had no local products (prior to the mining of coal) so they started lending and investing money. At the time of the Communist revolution the town was too far out in the middle of nowhere to bother tearing down, so it survived. It was designated a world heritage site in the 1970's and eventually repairs and improvements were performed.

Here are some views of the town:

These are blocks of processed coal, waiting to be burned the heating stove in a home:

 Two of the ancient city gates:

 Jars of the Locally produced vinegar:

 The offerings at a souvenir shop, including a variety of Mao figurines:

 This was the courtyard outside a lacquer box workshop we visited:

Here I am being very cold on top of the city wall, and the view from the top:

After wandering around freezing in the snow we ate a huge lunch at a local restaurant, with 2 kinds of noodles (hand pulled and whittled), donkey stew (tastes like brisket), and lots of pork and chicken dishes. This is what the table looked like after we were through eating:

I spent the rest of the day indoors at the very quirky and beautiful hotel, Jing's Residence, build by a woman coal tycoon so she had a place to entertain friends in Pingyao. It's a charming mix of old China and modern interior design. Unfortunately I was staying at a second hotel, as they did not have enough rooms to accommodate all of our group of 30. I had dinner with June Mei at a local restaurant, and ate too many dumplings. Then I trudged home through dark, snowy, winding streets to my hotel. Goodnight, Pingyao.