Pingyao is a small, well-preserved, 'ancient city', famed for centuries-old architecture and China's first bank. It is an outstanding Han Chinese city of the Ming and Qing dynasties that has retained its historic features to an exceptional degree. Recommended for photography and history lovers, it's between Beijing and Xi'an. High-speed rail makes it more convenient to get to Pingyao and takes 3 hours to get from Xi'an, 4 hours get from Beijing.
Exploring Pingyao Ancient Town by our one-day private tour with no other participants to learn the rich ancient history of Ming and Qing dynasties in China and discover the architecture, economy, government and education of ancient China.
Tour Highlights
- Visit the UNESCO's World Heritage--Pingyao, a historic well-preserved ancient city.
- Explore the birthplace of the Jin merchants and the earlist bank of China.
- Learn about the features of Ming and Qing dynasties and admire the architectures of traditional style.
- Enjoy a lunch of popular regional dishes at a local restaurant.
The Design of the Day Trip
- Guide: better than a normal licensed tour guide; friendly and helpful with fluent English.
- Private tour: with no other participants, exclusive guide gives you the most detailed explanation and caring service.
- Professional product team analysis on every part of the trip to ensure a smooth and enjoyable travel experience.
Detailed Itinerary
You'll receive a welcome call from your guide via hotel at the night before your tour day, he/she will double confirm the pick-up time for the next day's trip with you. If you are not available at that moment, the tour guide will leave a message for you.
Just in case that if you don't receive our emails or phone calls, please call our 24-hour hotline at +86-18807734970 or add WeChat ID: trippest666 and we will put things right.
Your guide will be waiting for you in your hotel lobby within the Pingyao Ancient Town at 9:00AM holding a sign with your name on it. Then she/he will lead you to our first stop--the Ancient City Wall at the north gate. As you travel, listen as your guide tells tales of Pingyao.
Map of Pingyao Ancient Town
Good to Know:
- The hotel pick-up location should be in the Pingyao Ancient Town. The guide will walk to pick you up at your hotel lobby.
- It's a walking tour without vehicle, so comfortable shoes are recommended.
We will visit all the main attractions in the old town, and the guide will explain all details and stories behind them which history enthusiasts can't miss it. Your exploration of the Pingyao Ancient Town begins at the Ancient City Wall. The walls surrounding Pingyao were first built in 827 BC for preventing the enemies in Eastern Mongolia, the Tatars, from invading.
Full-view of the City Wall
Watchtower of the City Wall
An exquisite structure with an intensive style of design and construction shows the wisdom of ancient laborers. The city walls are an indispensable part of Pingyao Ancient City's heritage.
On the Wall
Defensive cannons
Then, get down from the wall and have a stroll on the traditional Ming-Qing Street. We come to Rishengchang Former Bank. It's the earliest bank in China which was established in 1823. Rishengchang literally means 'Sunrise Prosperity'and it was the forerunner for organizing China's early financial system and handling financial business, including remittances, money exchange, deposits, and loans.
Market Tower and Ming-Qing Street
In the bank
The vault of Bank
Next, we go to the Ancient Government office. It's the largest (Covers approximately 26,000 square meters) and best-preserved existing ancient county government office in China. You can learn the bureaucratic culture of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1912) from its architecture, plaques, and couplets.
The Ancient Government office
The court
Good to Know:
- If you are interested in other spots, you can also tell your private guide to coordinate arrangements for you.
- It may be crowded during the high season, so please take care of your belongings.
Have a rest, we head to a local restaurant for a lunch of popular local dishes. Wheat based food is the main local staple.
Please let us know your food preferences, such as a vegetarian diet, gluten-free food, etc. so that we can make preparations in advance.
Pingyao's speciality
Have a great lunch
Duly refreshed, continue our walking tour to the Confucian Temple, the earliest extant Confucian temple in China with biggest statue of Confucius and Confucian sages. It's also the China's largest existing fixed-history exhibition hall, and owns the only top-ranked volume in China's history of more than 1,300 years of imperial examinations.
Lingxing Gate of Confucian temple
In the temple
Built facing the south, the Temple of the City God looks very magnificent. The wonderful stone sculptures, mural paintings, woodcarvings and painted sculptures in it reflect wonderful craftsmanship.
The gate of City God Temple
In the yard
After visiting the attractions in the old town, the tour comes to an end, we will go back to your hotel in town or continue to walk along the Ming-Qing Street to shop some souvenir. The guide would love to recommend you what worth trying and buying.
Please make sure to reserve at least 2 hours if you want to catch an onward train and tell the guide your departure time in advance. There is no designated airport in Pingyao. The closest airport is Taiyuan Wusu International Airport. If you want to book airport transfer service with us, please ask your travel advisor.
Traditional-style house
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Price Include:
- Admission to attractions listed on the itinerary.
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off (within the Pingyao Ancient Town).
- Private English-speaking local guide.
Price Exclude:
- Lunch.
- Personal expenses.
- Gratuities to the tour guide & driver (usually CNY 50 - 100 per person per day for each of them, please tip them separately.). It is not compulsory but would be a great encouragement for them.
FAQs About This Tour
- If we are not able to implement the contract due to war, flood, typhoon, fire, strikes, storm, earthquake, or any other condition we are not able to foresee and avoid, we will inform customers at the first possible opportunity and offer the best possible solutions, and the final bill shall be settled based on the service we actually provide.
- Up to 7 days before departure: 100% refund of all money paid, excluding penalties charged by hotels, railways, airlines, and PayPal, if applicable. All penalties will be itemized.
- From 3 to 7 days before departure: 90% refund, excluding penalties charged by hotels, railways, airlines, and PayPal, if applicable. All penalties will be itemized.
- Within 3 days before departure: no refund.
- After the trip has commenced, we are unable to refund any amount for cancelled services due to non-participation, early departure, late arrival, or missed days on tours.
- For groups of more than 10 people: The terms for cancellation may vary from case to case. Please ask your travel advisor regarding the cancellation policy for your group.
In order to making sure we have enough time to arrange your trip and make sure the availability we usually require customer make their booking at least 24 hours in advance and that's why you can not book directly on-line for a 24-hour last-minute booking.
But that does not mean you have no chance to book a last-minute trip within 24 hours. For urgent booking, please make a phone call to us at: +86-18807734970 to check the availability or send an email (not recommended as you may not get the response immediately) at: inquiry@trippest.com
Due to state control of internet security in China, many popular websites and APPs are blocked, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, WhatsApp etc. It is very possible that you may not be able to receive your emails and other important information. For this reason, we highly recommend you to sign up for a VPN service(for example, ExpressVPN) before your trip, to make sure you can connect to the global internet.
Good to know: Wechat is widely use in China, we suggest you to use Wechat for further communication if possible.
Mobile: +86 18807734970
WeChat: trippest666
Email: niko@trippest.com