Jinzhong

One of the Shanxi merchant family compounds. Like the other family compounds, the Chang Family Compound was built over several generations by a wealthy merchant family to house the many branches of this successful clan. The Chang Family Compound is the largest of the Shanxi merchant family manors; despite its impressive size, however, what remains is just one quarter of the original 600,000-m² compound, which contained over 1500 rooms. As the family prospered and grew in size, the Changs placed a great emphasis on education. This academic focus produced many scholars, painters, and calligraphers, and for this reason this compound is more interesting artistically than some of the other compounds in the region. Each of the courtyards, which are laid out along a 1-km-long road, is somewhat different, but the themes throughout are very similar, with grey buildings, archways, smaller courtyards, and gardens in each one. The courtyards are filled with carvings in brick, stone, and wood, and there are many examples of carving which are of very high quality. The garden in one of the courtyards contains a collection of carved stone lions of various shapes and sizes. There used to be 108 lions in the collection; today only about 50 remain. Behind these courtyards is a large garden, designed in both the northern China and southern China styles, purportedly because the Chang family had to entertain visitors from both north and south. A 29-m-tall Guanji Tower in this garden is the tallest structure in the compound and offers expansive views over the entire compound from the top.

The Jinzhong City Museum is a brand new museum, which opened in June 2018. Visitors are limited to 4000 per day.

Historically Yuci was a prosperous merchant town similar to Pingyao. Unlike Pingyao, however, Yuci suffered serious damage to its architectural heritage during the mid-twentieth century, so most of the structures you see have been either rebuilt or extensively renovated. A notable exception is the Yuci City God Temple (榆次城隍庙), which dates from the Yuan Dynasty and is considered one of the best preserved city god temples in China.

A city god temple dating from the Ming Dynasty. Like other city god temples, Jieixu's city god temple is used to worship the local city god.

Mian Shan (or Silky Mountain) is noted for its natural scenery, especially for its cultural and religious relics. AAAAA Tourist Attractions of China. It is also the birthplace of the Qingming Festival (Grave Cleaning Day), which is one of China’s most important traditional festivals and items of intangible cultural heritage. The mountain is located in Jiexiu City, 40 km south of Pingyao. Tours often combine this with the Wang Family Compound and Zhangbi Ancient Castle as they are close together. Ticket packages include multiple bus tickets, which seem necessary to buy in order to get to the mountain's many attractions.

Zhangbi Castle was founded in the Sixteen Kingdoms period with a construction area of 12,000 square meters. It is based on the traditional Chinese horoscope and the concepts of Earth and earth. The castle has a north-south gate, a brick north gate, and an outer gate. The outer gate was used to fortify the barbican and was topped with religious temples. The Barbican Gate opens to the northeast and forms two gateways with the north gate. The two gates are not on the same axis, which not only follows the principles of ancient military defense, but also implies the use of geomancy. Nanbao Gate is a stone gate with a carved stone dragon head. Outside the gate, there are nine red stone paved roads, symbolizing the dragon's beard.

The park is a combination of danger, strangeness and seclusion. It is a natural scenic spot with a beautiful ecological environment, dense forests, open meadows and beautiful scenery. It is also rich in water resources, with many waterfalls, forming a more spectacular water system. Therefore, it was awarded the “Most Influential Forest Park” by the State Forestry Administration of the People's Republic of China. The scenic spot offers many recreational activities such as watching the sea of clouds at the top of the mountain, rafting in the valley, taking part in the water carnival, and so on. It is the only eco-tourism resort in northern China to feature a combination of canyons, forests, alpine meadows and diversified meteorological landscapes.

With 54 courtyards and over 1000 rooms, this massive compound is one of the largest of the residential complexes built by successful Shanxi merchants. It is, for instance, four times the size of the Qiao Family Compound. The Wang family started in farming and expanded into trading, then became officials. As the family grew in size and as they prospered, more and more courtyards were added to this residential complex, which was first constructed in the mid 1600s. Just as important as the scale of the complex is the distinctive architectural style and artistic finishing. As one moves from courtyard to courtyard, one can see an impressive collection of decorative lattice screens and windows, shaped openings between rooms and courtyards, and graceful roofs. The houses and courtyards feature carvings everywhere--in stone, brick, and wood--from the eaves of the houses and ridges of the roofs to window frames, timber joints, and doorways. Paintings, calligraphy, and Qing Dynasty furniture also decorate the houses.