LIFE> Traveling
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LIFE> Traveling
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Frozen in time
By Alexis Hooi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-15 07:59
They say it is shaped like a turtle, with two wells outside its southern gate marking the creature's eyes and a 6-km-long wall outlining the four sides of its shell. Just like its pet name, the ancient city of Pingyao in Shanxi province seems to have trudged largely unchanged through the years. Defensive walls, most of which were first built more than 600 years ago, have helped shield the city from the modern world all this time. Pingyao is considered one of the best-preserved cities of Imperial China. Its brick walls are up to 10 m high, with the most imposing structure within them, the city tower, six stories tall. Walking among the four major roads, eight streets and 72 alleys of Pingyao in the depth of winter is a surreal way to experience what life was like for a city dweller in northern China under the emperors. Pingyao means "the peaceful remote", a fitting label for a place far removed from the buzz of a Chinese metropolis in the 21st century. The most impressive buildings on Pingyao's main streets echo its best times as the country's financial center during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Shops and homes still retain their ornate entrances in red, blue, gold and green, while intact roof sculptures of dragon heads sit above intricately carved eaves. Winter at this major tourist attraction drives away the maddening crowds, leaving brave visitors bundled up in thick layers to contemplate the rich remnants of an Imperial era. As a major coal producer, Shanxi suffers from one of the worst levels of air pollution in China. But the heavily polluted air adds to the weight of history in Pingyao. The gray-bricked houses become silhouettes as dusk settles, while red lanterns hanging from shop fronts line the city's main Nanda Jie road and glow faintly through the thick air.
Sub-zero temperatures drive most of the old city's 20,000-odd residents inside their homes and the smoke from coal-fired stoves, promising warm kang or brick-stove beds, grow more fragrant in the chill of a still night. Pingyao residents centuries ago would have had similar winters. Pingyao hit the tourism jackpot when it was listed as a United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1997, a label that ensured the preservation of the city and a steady flow of tourists. Subsequent events to complement and ride on the city's growing fame, such as the Pingyao International Photography Festival held every September, helped put the city firmly on the map. More than 60,000 residents of the ancient city and the wider Pingyao community beyond its walls are now engaged in the area's tourism sector, official figures show. About 35,000 of these were peasants from adjacent villages and about 20,000 were jobless urban residents. The local government has reportedly moved 20,000 residents out of the old city since 2002 to alleviate population pressures on the heritage site. Nearly 100,000 foreign tourists visited Pingyao in 2007, a hundredfold increase from a decade ago. Many residents will tell you that the tourism boom has changed the city, for good and bad. Poverty was said to have helped preserve Pingyao, since a lack of funds meant few improvements in its infrastructure, but tourism income has helped residents survive on their historical assets. Restaurant owner Xue Zhong, 46, has been in business since Pingyao became a world heritage site. Shop rentals used to be 1,000 yuan ($147) a year in the old city, Xue says, but have gone up to 30,000 yuan in recent years. His five-table restaurant is busiest during the peak travel periods of May, October and during Spring Festival. "Foreigners will stay for five days or more and they never waste food," the former supermarket employee says. "It's all about tourism now." It is also in restaurants like Xue's that visitors can savor Pingyao's cured beef specialty, a tendon-streaked treat so tasty it could still be relished in the biting cold. Dip the beef slices in the equally famous Shanxi vinegar and wash them down with the local huangjiu liquor and you will see why it is sold by so many shops and street peddlers. Those with a sweet tooth will have to wait for the Chinese New Year peak holiday period, when they will be able to get their hands on yuanxiao, a traditional glutinous rice ball stuffed with sweet sesame paste in soups that symbolize the first full moon of the new year. Beyond the taste buds, one of the most memorable parts of a Pingyao trip is the stay itself. Spend the night in one of more than 40, centuries-old, inns that look just like the ones in period dramas with exquisite wood carvings, connected mezzanine balconies to observe the central courtyard and Ming-style rooms with accompanying hanging scrolls. Most of Pingyao's daytime sights are conveniently located near the center of the city, where travelers get a glimpse of how banks of a bygone era such as the Rishengchang Financial Institution Museum and their supporting industries, like the Huabei Armed Escort Agency, went about their business. Hop into one of about 400 pedicabs in the city for further out spots like the Wen Miao Confucius Temple, or to the steps at the South Gate to stroll on the city walls themselves and peer down into the brick and earthen homes of Pingyao people. Because the whole city is a living museum with real residents, embedded visitors can start to take its historical treats for granted just after a few days - let alone those who have been there a little longer. "Straight down the road on the left," said a road cleaner when asked for directions to the city's Temple of the City God. "Why do you want to go there? There's nothing to see," he added. But as with most of Pingyao's sights this winter, the serene grounds of the temple that seemed frozen in time did not disappoint.
 (China Daily 01/15/2009 page19) |
