Wang Family Compound

Zhang Bi Old Castle most famous for its long and well-preserved underground passages, which were serving as place to hide and a secret camp during local wars at Imperial China, and later during Civil war. It has been said that early construction of these passages dates back to Tang dynasty. Now total length of restored part reached 1.5 km, consist of 3 levels and several dozens underground service rooms, such as stable, command post, sleeping place for guards etc. On surface are located inhabited mountain village with several old temples, which interesting to stroll around, since it didn't become a hot tourist spot yet. Some hostels in Pingyao will arrange a round-trip to the castle for ¥170.

Pingyao has been a county seat ever since the establishment of the prefecture-county system in the Qin dynasty, and the city has a well preserved yamen, or county government office, a complex which houses the home and office of the magistrate sent to act as mayor, judge, and senior official. This yamen consists of an archway, ceremonial gate, various offices, a prison, a court, meeting rooms, a residential area, and a garden. This yamen compound was built in 1346, during the Yuan Dynasty, but only one building remains from the Yuan period, the rest having been built during the Ming Dynasty. There are altogether over 300 rooms in the complex.

Pingyao was established some 2700 years ago, during the reign of King Xuan (827-782 BC) of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The original walls were made of tamped dirt and were located to the northeast of the present location. The current wall--faced with bricks and stone--was started in 1370, making it over 600 years old. It is often said that the city wall is shaped like a tortoise--a traditional Chinese symbol of longevity--with the south gate and north gate representing the head and tail respectively. The east and west walls each have two additional gates, representing the tortoise's feet. A series of 72 watchtowers are distributed around the wall, and a moat, now dependent on the rains, encircles the city. You can still walk the 6-km-long road atop the ramparts, with the outward-facing parapets punctuated by 3000 crenelations, or openings for shooting.

The Qu Family Compound is another extended family residence built near Pingyao Ancient City by a successful Shanxi merchant clan over a number of generations. This 300-year-old compound was very unusual in having five layers of courtyard, and the entire compound has 8 large courtyards, 19 smaller courtyards, and 240 rooms overall. One enters the compound from a street built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and which retains the architectural feel of that period. Despite its great size, it is said that what is seen here represents only about one-fifth of the Qu family's estate. The Qu family was a very successful example of the Shanxi merchant, and their estate used to occupy most of the eastern half of Qi County. Overall, they owned 10 compounds containing over 1000 rooms. During the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese occupied the compound, and the family had to temporarily relocate their head office to Chengdu. A Japanese observation post built above the roof of one of the buildings in the complex remains. A few blocks away from the main compound is the Changyuchuan Teahouse, which also belonged to the Qu family. The ticket to the Qu Family Compound also includes entrance to a series of six museums in the area, including those dedicated to rulers, scales, mirrors, and vessels for measuring rice. The most interesting one is an abacus museum which includes a pagoda built completely from 668 abacuses.

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; 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.