Pingyao
Pingyao, officially Pingyao Ancient City, is a walled city in central Shanxi, China, famed for its importance in Chinese economic history and for its well-preserved Ming and Qing urban planning and architecture. Administratively, it comprises the town of Gutao in Pingyao County, Jinzhong. According to the seventh Chinese census data, the permanent resident population of the county is 450,697. Compared with the 502,712 people in the sixth national census in 2010, it has decreased by 52,015 people in ten years, a decrease of 10.35%, and the average annual growth rate is -1.09%.
Pingyao Ancient City
平遥古城 | |
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Pingyao Location in Shanxi | |
| Coordinates: 37°12′N 112°9′E | |
| Country | China |
| Province | Shanxi |
| Prefecture | Jinzhong |
| County | Pingyao |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| Postal code | 031100 |
| Area code | 0354 |
| Website | www |
| Official name | Ancient City of Ping Yao |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, iv |
| Designated | 1997 (21st session) |
| Reference no. | 812 |
| Region | Asia-Pacific |
| Extensions | 2000; 2001 |
| Pingyao | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 平遙 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 平遥 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | remote plain | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 平遥古城 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Pingyao Ancient City | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The town was founded in the 14th century C.E. and has been the seat of local government since at least the Qin. By the 16th century, it was a regional financial hub; some consider it to have been the financial centre of the Qing Empire in the late 19th century. It is a AAAAA-rated tourist attraction, and the settlement and the outlying Zhenguo Temple and Shuanglin Temple became a World Heritage Site in 1997.