Things to do in Pingyao
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Pingyao
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring is the joint best season, cool and dry with courtyard blossom. Avoid Labour Day week, 1 to 5 May.
Summer is hot and bright with school holiday crowds. Mian Mountain and Shuitao Valley are at their greenest and wettest.
Autumn has the best light and the photography and film festivals. October outside Golden Week is the most recommended window.
Winter is cold and quiet with the strongest coal season air pollution, plus Spring Festival lanterns and Shehuo performances.
What's on
- Pingyao International Photography Festival Usually mid to late September
Exhibitions across the old city from thousands of photographers. Worth building a trip around; book hotels early.
- Pingyao International Film Festival mid to late October, varies by year
The Jia Zhangke founded festival in the palace outside the walls. Confirm dates before planning around it.
- National Day Golden Week 1 to 7 October
Avoid entirely. The old city fills to a slow shuffle, the show sells out and hotel prices peak.
- Labour Day Golden Week 1 to 5 May
Avoid the old city at peak. The compounds are merely busy early in the day.
- Pingyao Chinese New Year and Shehuo Festival late January to mid February, varies by year
Folk parades, lanterns and a festive old city, with national transport strain and holiday prices.
Best things to do in Pingyao
Pingyao City Wall
A complete Ming wall of about 6 km around the old city, best walked or cycled from the South Gate in soft light.
Rishengchang Draft Bank
China's first draft bank from 1823, where the piaohao system that ran Qing finance fills its own counters and rooms.
Pingyao Ancient County Government Office
A vast surviving county yamen with courtroom, prison and offices, plus mock trial performances in Chinese.
Temple of the City God
The city's main temple complex, with carved halls, a theatre stage and folk displays off Chenghuangmiao Street.
Pingyao Confucian Temple
A quiet Confucian temple and old county school, calmer than the bank museums and good for an unhurried hour.
Ming and Qing Street
The main lantern lit shopping street of the old city, free to walk and best after dark when crowds thin.
Xietongqing Draft Bank
The rival draft bank near Rishengchang, famous for its large underground silver vault.
Qingxu Temple
A Taoist temple on the through ticket, a quieter stop with halls and Taoist artefacts near the centre.
Where to stay in Pingyao
Inside the walls
the full Pingyao experience, couples and slow travel
Courtyard houses, kang beds and lantern lit lanes, with dawn streets before day groups arrive and luggage moved by cart from the gates.
Outside the walls, new town
early trains, mobility needs and one night transit stops
Modern hotels with lifts and parking near the old station side, at the cost of a cart ride to the gates and none of the atmosphere.
Think twice about
- Pingyao Gucheng high speed station area
A transport zone about 8 km from the gates with no evening, no food scene and a taxi needed for every sight. Pass through, do not base there.
Best restaurants in Pingyao
Yunjincheng Restaurant
The banquet splurge for Shanxi cooking in a century old merchant residence, the top table inside the walls.
Tianyuankui Guesthouse
A guesthouse restaurant on South Avenue serving Pingyao beef, wantuo and Western staples in a courtyard.
Ren Zai Bei Fang Restaurant
A popular main street Shanxi restaurant inside the walls, a step up from the snack stalls for a group dinner.
Changshengyuan
A century old shop for yellow rice wine and pancakes, the classic cheap Pingyao tasting stop.
Ming and Qing Street snack stalls
Street stalls along the main street for wantuo, kaolaolao and beef snacks, the cheapest way to graze Pingyao.
Outdoor things to do in Pingyao
Shuanglin Temple
A UNESCO listed temple 6 km southwest of the walls, famed for more than 2,000 painted clay sculptures.
Zhenguo Temple
A UNESCO listed temple with a Five Dynasties wooden hall from 963, among the oldest timber buildings in China.
Qiao Family Compound
The famous Shanxi merchant mansion 50 km north, six courtyards and 313 rooms made iconic by film and TV.
Wang Family Courtyard
The grander merchant compound south of Pingyao, a hillside town of courtyards called a folk Forbidden City.
Mian Mountain
A developed scenic mountain about 60 km south, with cliff temples, a sky bridge and the Shuitao Valley walk.
Zhangbi Ancient Castle
A fortified village south of Pingyao with old tunnels under its lanes, a quiet add on to a southern day.
Best hotels in Pingyao
Jing's Residence
Pingyao's one true luxury stay, a 260 year old silk merchant house with rooms around quiet courtyards.
Yunjincheng Mansion
A large courtyard mansion hotel inside the walls with kang beds, carvings and full service at local luxury level.
Pingyao Yide Hotel
A historic courtyard hotel on Shaxiang Street serving local and Western food, a comfortable mid range base.
Dejuyuan Folk-style Guesthouse
A well liked courtyard guesthouse inside the walls, with kang beds, a quiet yard and fair mid range prices.
Harmony Guesthouse
A long running budget guesthouse inside the walls, valued for honest prices and help with tickets and drivers.
Zhengjia International Youth Hostel
The budget hostel pick inside the walls, with dorms and privates for travellers out sightseeing all day.
Is Pingyao expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥250 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥550 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥1,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Seeing Pingyao Again: a few days ahead
- Jing's Residence: weeks ahead
- Yunjincheng Mansion: weeks ahead
- Yunjincheng Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Start the three day through ticket on your first full sightseeing morning, not on a late arrival evening. One entry per site only.
- Seeing Pingyao Again at CNY 238 sells out on weekends and holidays. Book days ahead and confirm the performance day.
- Jing's Residence and Yunjincheng Mansion sell out on spring and autumn weekends. Book weeks ahead for those dates.
Is Pingyao safe?
- Local laws in mainland China are enforced strictly, and exit bans are a real risk. Carry your passport.
- Shanxi winter air carries the Fenwei Plain coal pattern, with PM2.5 about twice other seasons. Check the AQI and carry a mask in winter.
- Watch for quiet electric carts and scooters on uneven stone lanes, and carry a phone light for dim side lanes at night.
Pingyao travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- National Day, Labour Day and Spring Festival fill the old city to a slow shuffle and peak hotel prices. Move any dates that touch them.
- Ming and Qing Street prices are the city's highest for near identical lacquerware, vinegar and beef. Buy a block away or outside the walls.
- Gate and station drivers quote multiples of the going rate. Agree the full return price before moving, or use your lodging's pickup.
Getting around Pingyao: public transport and more
- Arrive at Pingyao Gucheng high speed station and pay about CNY 20 to 25 for a taxi to the gates, or use the old Pingyao Station by the northwest wall for slow trains.
- Inside the walls you walk. Electric carts run set routes at about CNY 10 and lodgings send carts to gates for luggage.
- Use bus 108 for Shuanglin Temple, north gate buses for Qiao's compound, and train plus taxi via Lingshi East for Wang's compound.
- Google Maps is unreliable in mainland China. Carry sight and hotel names in Chinese characters and set up phone payment before arrival.
Who Pingyao suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Pingyao your trip
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