Lying in central Shanxi Province and covering 2.25 sq.km., the old city of Pingyao is enclosed by a 6.16-kilometer-long wall and boasts more than 100 streets and alleyways, 3797 houses dating from the Ming or the Qing Dynasty, shops and stores dating from the 17th to the 19th century. It still keeps the traditional appearances of the county-level city of the Han Chinese under the Ming and Qing Dynasties, serving as the finest specimen for studies of Chinese political, economic, cultural, artistic and religious development. Having met the criteria Nos.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 for inclusion of cultural properties on the World Heritage List, the old city of Pingyao was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1997.

The Literary God Tower,Pingyao