Taiyuan: the gateway to Shanxi's ancient walled cities

Capital of Shanxi with over twenty-five hundred years of history, Taiyuan remains the starting point to reach the ancient walled city of Pingyao.

The center, gateway to the ancient walled cities of Shanxi, can be comfortably visited by subway.

The Jinci Temple Complex, a religious site blending architectures from different Chinese dynasties, houses perfectly preserved clay statues from the Song period.

A short walk away, the Great Yongzuo Pagoda, standing over fifty-four meters tall, dominates the skyline of Taiyuan's old city.

Heading south, you can reach Pingyao, a UNESCO World Heritage site, a perfectly preserved Ming walled city and considered the cradle of China's modern banking system.

As evening arrives, restaurants in the center serve Shanxi hand-pulled noodles, a specialty originating from this very province.

Pingyao, a few hours from Taiyuan, housed the first modern bank in Chinese history in 1823, an institution that revolutionized domestic trade by enabling secure money transfers over long distances.

The Temple of Jinci holds forty-two clay statues from the Song Dynasty dating back almost a thousand years, considered among the best-preserved clay sculptures in all of China and famous for the expressiveness of their faces.