In Search of Ancient China

Pingyao

Guidebooks positively gush about the town of Pingyao in Shanxi province, extolling its virtues as one of the only authentic remnants of "ancient China". Not only are the city walls intact, but the Ming/Qing dynasty interior is largely unchanged too. The result is a delightful throwback, narrow alleyways with beautiful courtyards and citizens strolling and cycling through the streets.

Parade in Pingyao

The predictable influx of tourists, including yours truly, means that the main drag isn't quite as authentic as guidebooks would have you believe. Every other building is either a junky trinket shop or a western-style bar/cafe. But the side streets still provide a rare and much appreciated window into the old Middle Kingdom.

Courtyard at the Harmony Guesthouse in Pingyao

Outside of town, courtyard aficionados can overdose at Wang's Family Courtyard. A Qing dynasty mansion, the Wang residence stretches across a hillside in a string of intersecting courtyards - a staggering 123 in total.

Wang's Family Courtyard

Behind the mansion, people still live in caves carved into the hillside. But the sprawling complex itself is no longer a home. It has instead been preserved as a museum and tourist attraction.

Cave dwellings beneath the Wang complex

On the road between the Wang Family Courtyard and Pingyao is the village of Zhangbi Cun, which has a bizarre underbelly. Buried beneath the village is an underground castle, a 1400 year old network of tunnels and booby traps.

Entrance to the Zhangbi Underground Castle

Sui dynasty soldiers built this huge warren as a defense against possible invasion but never had to actually use it. Today, English-speaking tour guides can take you through the tunnel complex, which thankfully has been widened and given electric lights. But even that doesn't detract from the splendidly creepy and claustrophobic atmosphere.

Inside the Zhangbi tunnels