Assemble under CCTV (photo: Feng Ganyong)
On September 2nd, 2005, the reporter was invited to attend the go on road trip organized by Beijing Aiche. It was the first time to visit Pingyao Ancient City. At 5: 30 in the morning, more than 20 cars from all directions in Beijing gathered in the square in front of CCTV building. At 6: 00/kloc-0: 00, the motorcade to the west of go on road trip left the quiet capital and embarked on a journey to Shanxi. The motorcade passes through Beijing-Shijiazhuang, Shitai, Universiade and other expressways. After about eight hours' journey, I arrived at Pingyao Ancient City, the first scenic spot in Shanxi, at 2: 30 in the afternoon.
Self-driving Mountain Climbing Journey to the West (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
The spectacular sight of the motorcade entering the ancient city of Pingyao attracted the attention of many local residents and tourists. In the parking lot in front of Pingyao Grand Theatre, more than 20 cars of the team actually occupied nearly one-third of the position. The motorcade stayed at a folk hotel named Fengyichang on the ancient street of Ming and Qing Dynasties in Pingyao.
Pingyao Toll Station (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Drive into Pingyao New Town (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Unfortunately, the interview of the drama festival was only planned for one and a half hours at that time, so I only turned to Pingyao Ming and Qing Ancient Street and went home. This self-driving journey to the west finally made up for the last regret.
Walking into Pingyao Ancient City (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Pingyao Ancient City, located in Shanxi Province, is a famous cultural city with a history of more than 2,700 years and one of the four best-preserved ancient cities in China.
North Gate Tower (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Pingyao Ancient City was built during the Zhou Xuanwang period from 827 BC to 782 BC, and was the residence of Yin Jifu, the general of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Pingyao City has been the seat of county administration since the Qin government implemented the "county system" in 22 1 BC and continues to this day.
Paths on the City Wall (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Pingyao ancient city experienced vicissitudes and became the most complete prototype of ancient county town in China in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The ancient city we are seeing now is what it looked like after the expansion in the third year of Ming Hongwu (1370). Pingyao city after the expansion is magnificent, with a circumference of 6.4 kilometers. It is the oldest and largest county wall in Shanxi and China.
Duokou of Pingyao Ancient City Wall (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Pingyao was once called "ancient pottery". In the early Ming Dynasty, the city wall was built to resist foreign interference from the south. In the third year of Hongwu (AD 1370), the old wall was rebuilt and expanded, and it was all brick. Since then, Jingdezhen, Zhengde, Jiajing, Qin Long and Wanli have been renovated for ten times, and the towers have been updated and enemy stations have been added. So that the ancient city of Pingyao had a considerable scale at that time.
Wengcheng (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Several tourist buses carrying nearly 50 members shuttled through Pingyao ancient city in sightseeing bus. Pingyao is centered on the towers of ancient streets in Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are four main streets, eight small streets and seventy-two alleys intertwined. Their functions are different and their layout is well organized. The ancient houses in the city are quadrangles with blue bricks and gray tiles, with clear axes and left-right symmetry, especially brick caves, which have a strong local flavor. These quaint buildings along the way make the riders dizzying.
Ancient City Alleys (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Sightseeing bus first came to the north gate of the ancient city to visit the ancient city wall. In the 43rd year of Kangxi (A.D. 1703), four towers were built because the emperor traveled westward through Pingyao, making the city more spectacular. The total circumference of Pingyao city wall is 6 163 meters, and the height of the wall is about 12 meters, which divides Pingyao county with an area of about 2.25 square kilometers into two different worlds. The streets, sidewalks and urban buildings within the city walls retain the shapes of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Outside the city wall, it is called the new city. This is a wonderful place where ancient and modern buildings are integrated, reflecting each other and making people memorable.
Residential Courtyard (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
If you stand on a high place overlooking the ancient city of Pingyao, you will see this flat square wall, which is shaped like a turtle. There are six gates in the ancient city, one in the north and one in the south, and two in the east and west. The south gate of the city is the turtle head, and two wells outside the gate symbolize the turtle eye. The north gate is the turtle tail, which is the lowest place in the city, and the accumulated water in the city will flow out through it.
Looking at the ancient city wall from outside the city (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
There are four crocks in the city, facing each other. The doors of the upper west gate, the lower west gate and the upper east gate all face south and look like turtle claws, but the outer door of the lower east gate of the crock directly faces east. It is said that the tortoise was afraid of crawling away when building the city, so he stretched his left leg and tied it to the foothills twenty miles away from the city. This seemingly illusory legend reflects the ancient people's incomparable worship of turtles.
Looking at the ancient city from the city wall (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Turtles are immortal, and in the eyes of the ancients, they are naturally sacred as gods. It embodies the deep meaning of hoping to make Pingyao ancient city rock solid, golden soup forever solid, safe and sound, and last forever. There are also 72 enemy watchtowers on the wall, and there are 3000 cribs on the outside of the wall. It is said to be a symbol of Confucius' 3,000 disciples and 72 sages.
Yamentou, Pingyao County (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
After coming down from the city wall, the riders came to the ancient city of Pingyao County to play. According to relevant data, the county government is the basic unit of local administrative organizations in China, which originated in the late Spring and Autumn Period. At that time, the Qin dynasty destroyed six countries and divided the world into 36 counties, with counties under them. After more than two thousand years, the county has been the basic organization of the feudal regime, and the officials who presided over the county government were also called local "parents". At present, the existing ancient government offices in China are rare. Pingyao County yamen ranks among them, except Zhili Governor's Office, Nanyang Yamen, Huozhou Ancient Yamen and neixiang county Yamen.
Interview with Pingyao County Ya (Photo:)
This ancient county government is located in Fu Street (formerly known as Yamen Street) in the southwest of Pingyao City, with a north-south central axis of more than 200 meters and an area of more than 26,000 square meters. According to the Records of the Old County, there were large-scale additions and repairs in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which became the later scale.
Ya Xian Qin Min Hall (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
There is a geomantic building in the east and a zhaobi in the south outside the yamen. From south to north along the central axis, there are buildings such as gate, instrument gate, archway, six rooms, lobby, curtilage gate, second hall and inner hall. On the east and west sides of the central axis, there are still buildings such as land temple, stage, grain hall and prison hall. These are the order from master to slave, which accords with the pattern characteristics of feudal government yamen.
County Yasubutang (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Among them, the lobby is also called the court hall and the main hall. It is the place where the county magistrate holds major ceremonies, hears major cases and sees off superior officials. It is the main building in the whole county government. It stands on a pedestal more than 2 feet above the ground and looks very spectacular.
Yadaxian Building, Pingyao County (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
The second hall was called Tuisi Hall in the Ming Dynasty, also known as Si Bu Xiang. This is mainly a place to deal with general civil affairs, and it is also a place where the county magistrate temporarily rests or the aides discuss political affairs. So it's called tuisitang. The inner hall is also called the inner house. The sheriff not only lives, studies and works here, but also hears some confidential cases or cases that are not suitable for publicity.
Pingyao Yada Prison (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
According to the tour guide, with the rapid development of Pingyao tourism in recent years, Pingyao's tourism content has become increasingly colorful. Among them, the "lawsuit" project in Pingyao County attracts many tourists every day.
Pingyao took a photo (photo: Cao Qun)
Unfortunately, this ancient "trial documentary" was not appreciated. But Pingyao County official's son's ancient prison, cruel instruments of torture, mighty court and so on all left a deep impression on the riders.
County Yaguan Fenglou (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
After leaving Pingyao County, sightseeing bus, a tourist, took his riders to visit Rishengchang, which is known as the originator of China's financial history, and is known as "the best in the world" and "the best in the world". During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the development of commercial economy, some large firms of Shanxi merchants gradually formed a commercial system with general numbers in Shanxi and semicolons in other places, operating across regions.
Rishengchang ticket gate head (photo: Feng Ganyong)
In this case, large-scale wholesale, transportation and sales bring huge cash transportation business, so a new payment and settlement method-"bank number exchange" came into being. In the fourth year of Daoguang (AD 1824), the first Rishengchang bank in China was established on the basis of "Xiyucheng" pigment shop in Pingyao West Street, specializing in foreign exchange and silver deposits.
A corner of the ticket number in the hospital (photo: Feng Ganyong)
Three years later, we set up branches in Shandong, Henan, Liaoning and Jiangsu provinces. From 65438 to 1940s, its business further expanded to Japan, Singapore, Russia and other countries. At that time, driven by Rishengchang Bank, Pingyao banking developed rapidly. At its peak, there were as many as 22 banks here, which once became the center of China's financial industry. It can be seen that Pingyao occupies a very important position in the modern financial history of China.
Iron hat and shoes (photo: Feng Ganyong)
On the way to Pingyao, the team commander Cao Qun left a question for the players about the meaning of "iron hat and shoes" in Rishengchang draft bank. Therefore, the riders who came to Rishengchang Bank were most concerned about these two objects in the bank after the visit. The interest in Rishengchang Bank's iron shoes and hats undoubtedly makes tourists remember the Rishengchang Bank in Pingyao.
Pingyao Gucheng West Street (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Visiting the West Street and Ming and Qing Streets in Pingyao Ancient City is the last item of Pingyao sightseeing. In these two streets, rows of antique shops and various museums complement each other. Walking into any folk museum is a history showing Pingyao's splendid culture. Pingyao beef, stone cakes, Shanxi vinegar and other Pingyao local products can be seen everywhere in these two streets. After walking two blocks, all the riders came home loaded.
A Street in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Pingyao ancient city at night is even more interesting. There is a red light hanging high in front of the shops in the street. The shuttle crowd is bustling and lively. Antique shops, handicraft shops and local products shops also have bars, saunas and massage salons with modern charm, which add a bit of romance to this ancient city.
Pingyao Ancient City Architecture (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
Although there was a modern bathroom in the private hotel that night, the brick kang and square table in the guest room made the riders feel back to nature. Many riders are obsessed with this folk homestay in Fengyichang, Pingyao, which only stayed for one night.
Night view of the street bar (photo: Feng Ganyong)
It is said that Pingyao has three treasures, and the ancient city wall is one of them. There is Zhenguo Temple in the northeast of the north gate of the ancient city, which is the second treasure of the ancient city. Built in the Five Dynasties (A.D. 10 century), the Buddha Hall of this temple is the third oldest wooden structure in China with a history of 1000 years. The five generations of colored sculptures in the temple are rare sculptures.
Night Tour in Ming and Qing Streets (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
The third treasure of the ancient city is Shuanglin Temple, which is located in the southwest of the city and rebuilt in the second year of Wuping in the Northern Qi Dynasty (AD 57 1 year). There are more than 2,000 painted sculptures from Yuan Dynasty to Ming Dynasty in the temple 10 Hall, which is known as the "treasure house of painted sculptures". In fact, there are countless treasures in the ancient city.
A corner in the folk hotel (photo: Feng Ganyong)
Pingyao in ancient times was brilliant, and Pingyao today is still full of charm. Now many ancient cultural cities have been dismembered and destroyed for commercial reasons, but Pingyao is so well preserved. In the historical development of China, it shows a complete picture of extraordinary cultural, social, economic and religious development. (Photo: Feng Ganyong)