A little Gem!!

On arrival into Pingyao, China from the bullet train we were met by our guides John & Nikki and taken to our coach for the journey into the City Walls.

Pingyao is a city located 715km southwest of Beijing and dates back to 800BC and was run by both the Ming & Qing Dynasty. The city walls were built in1370 in the 3rd year of Ming Emperor Hongwu.

The city has 6 gates and is shaped like a turtle with one gate being the head, the tail and four legs, one North & South & two for the East & West. There are over a hundred streets & lanes and it has retained most of its ancient historical appearance. It was the financial hub of the city by the 16th Century & is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

You can walk the top of the city walls.

I loved this little place and it is a real Gem and well worth seeing if you go to China. I felt it was authentic and a real piece of this amazing country.

There are no vehicles allowed during certain hours within the city walls so we were transported by buggies to our hotel, we went on one and our luggage was taken on another. They are quite speedy and a few near misses with people walking around but good fun all the same. There were plenty of bikes & scooters whizzing around so need to watch your step.

The hotel was a beautiful Guest House called ‘De Ju Yuan’ – it was so lovely and authentic and the rooms were stunning, look at this bed…

Gina wouldn’t get up!

This was the grounds of the hotel.

We did a walking tour around the city for a couple of hours with our guide John – it is absolutely stunning, we only had one night here but I could have stayed longer. We headed back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. We had dinner then a little dress up in the local costumes, this was so much fun. Here I am with Gina, my colleague & roomie.

After dinner, we headed off to a Karaoke bar where we entertained the locals and built up quite a fan club as they weren’t used to Westerners singing – it was a great night!

The next morning we had some free time so we hit the shops and got some lovely souvenirs and bargains.

I really enjoyed my time here and will definitely go back.

A few more pictures for you of this beautiful gem….