Things to do in Píngyáo
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Tip-toe Tapestry
Gorgeous hand-embroidered, hand-washable ladies shoes and slippers from Y45 a pair. Further branch at 18 Nan Dajie.
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Slogans
Slogans Communist heritage
Pop into No 153 Xi Dajie for two red-blooded slogans from the Cultural Revolution that have survived on buildings within the courtyard. The one on the left intones: 工业学大庆 ('Industry should learn from Dàqìng'); the rarer slogan on the right proclaims: 认真搞好斗批改 ('Earnestly undertake struggle, criticism and reform').
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Sakura Cafe
Lively, fun and adorned with red lanterns and flags, this gregarious, warm, entertaining and affordable cafe/bar has good music and is popular with local Chinese.
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Rìshēngchāng Financial House Museum
Also not to be missed, this museum began life as a humble dye shop in the late 18th century before its tremendous success as a business saw it transform into China's first draft bank (1823), eventually expanding to 57 branches nationwide. The museum has nearly 100 rooms, including offices, living quarters and a kitchen, as well as several old cheques.
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Qīngxū Guàn
Shānxī dust has penetrated every crevice of this ancient and partly fossilised Taoist temple. With 10 halls and originally dating to the Tang dynasty, it's an impressive complex.
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Déjūyuán
This welcoming and popular little Nan Dajie restaurant has a simple and tasty menu of affordable dishes from lamb dumplings (Y15) to stewed eggplant (Y10). It's opposite the Tian Yuan Kui Guesthouse.
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Confucian Temple
Píngyáo's oldest surviving building is Dàchéng Hall (大成殿; Dàchéng Diàn), dating from 1163 and found in the Confucian Temple (文庙; Wén Miào), a huge complex where bureaucrats-to-be came to take the imperial exams.
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City Walls
A good place to start is the magnificent city walls, which date from 1370. At 10m high and more than 6km in circumference, they are punctuated by 72 watchtowers, each containing a paragraph from Sunzi's The Art of War. Part of the southern wall, which collapsed in 2004, has been rebuilt, but the rest is original. Píngyáo's city gates (城门; chéngmén) are fascinating and are some of the best preserved in China; the Lower West Gate (also called Fèngyì Mén, or Phoenix Appearing Gate) has a section of the original road, deeply grooved with the troughs left by cartwheels (also visible at the South Gate).
reviewed
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City Tower
Tallest building in the old town. Climb its smooth stone steps for fine views over Píngyáo's magnificent rooftops and inspect its ragged and forlorn shrine to a severe-looking Guandi.
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Catholic Church
With a brand-new snow-white statue of the Virgin Mary outside, this historic church is the focal point for Píngyáo's Catholic Christians.
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Big Bowl
Down-to-earth, no-nonsense noodle joint with tasty pork noodles (Y4 to Y6), braised pork noodles (Y10 to Y12), braised pork ribs (Y25) and roast-beef kebabs (Y2).
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