Shanxi Travel Guide
Pingyao Ancient City has four main streets, 8 roads and 72 lanes and alleys. The layout of the streets and lanes are like the eight diagrams on a mythological Chinese tortoise shell.
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| Streets and Alleys, Pingyao |
In Min & Qing Dynasties, the ancient Pingyao had ever been one of the most important commercial and financial centers in China. At that time, Pingyao city was busy and noise, full of advertising posters, commercial stores and financial houses packed with shoppers and customers. The successful commerce and finance of Pinyao has become its past when the historical train arrived at the station of today. However, those hundred roads and streets constructed during the 500 years from the 14 th to 19 th centuries and those business houses and stores along with are still there remained with their ancient lookings. Don't look down upon these roads and streets like narrow lanes of today. Don't neglect those abandoned shops and stores. During Ming & Qing Dynasties, these were birth's places of the famous Shaxi merchants and inside of the shops many important business meetings occurred. According to historical records, in the years of Guang-Xu there were 15 large scale's whole sales markets in Pingyao. It could be imagined that the ancient scenery of Pingyao was just like the famous Qing painting the scenery along the river, people coming for business appointments; goods here were sold and distributed; the bill of exchange were issued here instead of cash to pay for long distance transactions.
You should never despise those houses in dark and gloomy. These were the cradle and hotbed for the earliest Chinese financial houses and banks developed in Qing Dynasty. China's first financial house Ri Sheng Cang was born here at a normal business shop which is still there being preserved. In the golden time of the Shanxi merchants, they had 400 financial houses or branches in and outside China with annual turnover of remittance of 70-80million Liang silvers. In Pingyao, there were about 20% houses controlling their own networks respectively. That means, these parent financial house were key controls of the national finance in Qing Dynasty functioning as the Central Bank. Therefore the West Street of ancient Pinguao full of financial houses were regarded as the Wall Street of Asia. Engaging in on the spot archaeological study is much better that just reading history books. Time is gliding fast away and the up and down waves and tides of Yellow River made its river course widely changeable in ranging of each hundred years. The prosperity of those shops and financial houses in the ancient city of Pingyao has been washed away by the historical tides. But, those physical structures and the gray and narrow roads and streets left behind have become books and classrooms for later generations.
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| Streets and Alleys, Pingyao |
The T-shaped main streets are Dong Da Jie, Xi Da Jie, Nan Da Jie (also called Ming-Qing Street), Chenghuangmiao Jie and Yamen Jie. The most important buildings and elegant residences lined these streets, with many of them remaining today, along with numerous smaller buildings.
Some of the courtyards, gates and narrow streets have deep ruts worn in the siltstone paving slabs and bricks, bearing witness to the busy traffic of olden days, when carts of silver and carriages daily arrived from and left for distant places across China. Many languages and dialects were heard on the streets of Pingyao and new customs were brought by travelers. Traveling was a risky business, but was the economic lifeline of China.
The eastern section of Xi Da Jie, where Rishengchang Bank, 'the grandfather of country banks,' is situated, is a wonderful street. On it are four branches of Weitaihou Bank (a joint bank of five shops), Baofenglong Bank, Houdeheng Bank, Yongquandang Pawnshop and Yongyudang Pawnshop.
Yingge Xiang (Parrot Lane) is at the north end of Nan Da Jie. On both sides are houses of merchants in the past. It is said that in the old days there was a stone near a toilet where men peed. The stone was magic and one day an immortal parrot flew of the stone and protected the people. Later the stone was removed.
On Xi Shitoupo Jie (West Stone Slope Street) and Sha Xiang (Sand Lane), were the houses of Zhang Xingbang, the fifth manager of Rishengchang, and the houses of other banking families, such as Hou Wangbin and Hou Dianyuan.
Many many more residences, built of gray bricks and with gray roof tiles, lie off narrow lanes and alleys...
