24th to 25th of April 2015
Going to Pingyao (Shanxi province) was again Gutcha's idea. He sent a message few days before the trip saying that he will book tickets for this place with Ala (his girlfriend) and asked our common friends if they want to join... By the end I was the only one who joint, but I knew that i won't regret this trip (as always when travel with Gutcha). The funny part was also that we know all (Gutcha, Ala and I) from India as we were living together there :)
We took the night slippery train from Beijing on Friday (23rd of April) and we reached Pingyao early in the morning which basically was giving us two full days of visit. It was also my first time experiencing the slippery train in China and I was really satisfied with it... maybe because I was also tired from work and because of the beer i got before getting in the train, I felt asleep almost instantly when the train left the station and woke up in Pingyao... not bad at all :)
When we arrived we walked for about 15min before reaching the old city of Pingyao (old fortress with preserved walls and houses). I was amazed as soon as we got inside... no cars were allowed in the most of the streets and the preservation of the houses was amazing. To illustrate it even better, our hostel was an old Police station with spacious backyard and very big rooms and beds.
After dropping our luggage in our rooms we left for visiting around...
I can clearly consider this city as a city museum... We went to the ticket office where bought a ticket for 3 days giving access to every museum or temple... which was a lot because basically every house there had its own story and was a museum. The streets were small and full with shops and restaurants.
We started by the old army barrack and prison and then we went visiting from house to house. All those house, as mention above, were amazingly preserved composed by a front yard/house and often beautiful backyard and gardens with different entrances and exits. It was also obvious that all them were part of big aristocratic families.
We took the night slippery train from Beijing on Friday (23rd of April) and we reached Pingyao early in the morning which basically was giving us two full days of visit. It was also my first time experiencing the slippery train in China and I was really satisfied with it... maybe because I was also tired from work and because of the beer i got before getting in the train, I felt asleep almost instantly when the train left the station and woke up in Pingyao... not bad at all :)
When we arrived we walked for about 15min before reaching the old city of Pingyao (old fortress with preserved walls and houses). I was amazed as soon as we got inside... no cars were allowed in the most of the streets and the preservation of the houses was amazing. To illustrate it even better, our hostel was an old Police station with spacious backyard and very big rooms and beds.
After dropping our luggage in our rooms we left for visiting around...
I can clearly consider this city as a city museum... We went to the ticket office where bought a ticket for 3 days giving access to every museum or temple... which was a lot because basically every house there had its own story and was a museum. The streets were small and full with shops and restaurants.
We started by the old army barrack and prison and then we went visiting from house to house. All those house, as mention above, were amazingly preserved composed by a front yard/house and often beautiful backyard and gardens with different entrances and exits. It was also obvious that all them were part of big aristocratic families.
In the late afternoon, we went walking on the wall and we had an amazing view of the different gates and houses. Really worthy!
We went then back to the hostel where we enjoyed a nice beer with some folks from Ireland and New Zealand who were also visiting the city.
We went then back to the hostel where we enjoyed a nice beer with some folks from Ireland and New Zealand who were also visiting the city.
The day after, we decided to go to this old village (that i forgot unfortunately the name) around 30km away from Pingyao which used to be a old fortress in the mountain and was more than 1000 years old. It was also famous about its tunnels which was allowing the army to be more efficient while defending it.
While visiting it, I was a bit disappointed because i was expecting a little bit more (something more preserved maybe), but the good thing was the fact that there were still some old people leaving there and the interaction with them is always interesting.
After we came back to Pingyao, we went for a lunch in a restaurant... well this one i will remember (firstly because of the French name but not only): Ptit resto (hold by a nice Chinese family) offering delicious homemade food and maybe one of the best homemade chips.
in the afternoon, we went to explore the rest of Pingyao we didn't manage to see. We went to the North gate and there we were all astonished from the beauty of the two temples. I think, those were one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen in China... I was regretting we didn't have more time to visit them because we were afraid being late for the train.
In few words, the temples were very big and beautiful (regarding details and colors) and were very well married with all the surroundings and authenticity of the city of Pingyao.
While visiting it, I was a bit disappointed because i was expecting a little bit more (something more preserved maybe), but the good thing was the fact that there were still some old people leaving there and the interaction with them is always interesting.
After we came back to Pingyao, we went for a lunch in a restaurant... well this one i will remember (firstly because of the French name but not only): Ptit resto (hold by a nice Chinese family) offering delicious homemade food and maybe one of the best homemade chips.
in the afternoon, we went to explore the rest of Pingyao we didn't manage to see. We went to the North gate and there we were all astonished from the beauty of the two temples. I think, those were one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen in China... I was regretting we didn't have more time to visit them because we were afraid being late for the train.
In few words, the temples were very big and beautiful (regarding details and colors) and were very well married with all the surroundings and authenticity of the city of Pingyao.
In conclusion:
For me Pingyao is maybe the most beautiful city I had the opportunity to visit in China (regarding preservation and authenticity). It is far more beautiful than Xi'an for example which has the same style but it is loosing slowly its charms because of the economic development around.
And of course, one more time Gutcha made a very nice choice for a trip :)
For me Pingyao is maybe the most beautiful city I had the opportunity to visit in China (regarding preservation and authenticity). It is far more beautiful than Xi'an for example which has the same style but it is loosing slowly its charms because of the economic development around.
And of course, one more time Gutcha made a very nice choice for a trip :)