话说平遥古城

A Profile of the Ancient City of Pingyao

1997年12月2日,在意大利那不勒斯召开的联合国教科文组织世界遗产委员会第21届会议上,传来一个振奋人心的消息:位于太原以南90多公里的平遥古城,以城市名称在中国第一家进入《世界遗产目录》。“平遥古城是中国汉民族城市在明清时期的杰出范例,平遥古城保存了其所有特征,而且在中国历史的发展中为人类展开了一幅非同寻常的文化、社会及宗教发展的完整画卷……”(摘自联合国教科文组织世界遗产委员会主席团的报告)。平遥的魅力远不止于她是一座保存完整的古城,还在于这里见证了晋商的兴衰:在平遥的西大街上,产生了中国第一家专营异地汇兑和存、放款业务的“票号”——大名鼎鼎的“日升昌”。平遥的南大街,至今依然完整地保持着明清时的风采,经过了近二百年的风风雨雨,这些商用建筑虽然苍老但不破败,在每条富丽堂皇的花岗岩铺成的街道上,都有两道很深的车辙印痕,可以想见当年这条街道上是如何的车水马龙。平遥的魅力还在于这里奇特的民俗民风,这里的婚丧嫁娶别有情趣,节庆活动各具色彩。这里有你看不够的美景画卷,拍不尽的民俗古建。如今聪明的平遥人正在洗去那些现代的涂抹,洗出一座充满历史厚度的古城。这些聪明的晋商后代,正用祖辈遗留给他们的宝贵财富,创造着新的繁荣、新的神话。9月20日—30日,在这?

On December 2,1997,the Ancient City of Pingyao,as a whole city,the f irst in China,was inscribed on the World Heritage List.The Ancient City of Pingyao is an outstanding example of a Han Chinese city of the Ming and Qing Dynasties(14th -20th centuries)that has retained all its features to an exceptional degree and in doing so pro-vides a remarkably complete picture of cul-tural,social,economic,and religious de-velopment during one of the most semi nal periods ofChinese history.(Excerpts from a report of the World Heritage Committee of Unesco) Highlights:1.Temple to Town God(Chenghuang Miao),first built in the Northern Song Dy-nasty(960-1127)and later rebuilt in1554and 1859,is a unique conjunctio n of Buddhism,Daoism and ethnicity.2.Ancient City Wall(Guchengqiang):Originally erected in the Western Zhou Dy-nasty(c.11th century -771B.C.)and reinforced in the 3rd year of the reig n ofHongwu(1370)of Ming Dynasty and reno-vated several times during late Ming and late Qing dynasties,it is 6,157.7me ters in perimeter and six to ten meters in height.3.Shuanglin Monastery(Shuang lin-si),set up in the 2nd year of Wuping of Northern Qi Dynasty(571),contains 2,052exquisitely painted clay figurines and stat-ues dating from the Song,Yuan,Ming a nd Qing dynasties.4.Zhengguo Temple(Zheng guosi),initially raised in the 7th year of Ti anhui of Northern Han Dynasty(963),is one of the oldest wooden architecture extant i n China.5.Ancient Residential Houses(Guminju),numbering 3,797courtyards,some 400well preserved,more or less re-tain Ming and Qing architectural sty les.6.Northern Avenue(Nan dajie),named as China' s Wall Street,is the hub of the city and was the birthplace of S hanxi Merchants a century ago.7.Sunrise Prosperity Bank(Risheng chang Piaohao),opened in Daoguang Reign of Qing(1873)is a private banking insti-tute and regarded as a cairn in the his tory of China' s financial development.8.County Court(Xianya),located in southwestern section of the city and cover-ing an area of 26,592square meters,i s highly valued by historians,schola rs and experts.Climate:Pingyao has a continental monsoon and semi -arid climate.The c risp and high autumn is the best season for sightseeing.More clothes are advis able be-cause of the temperature difference between day and night.Transportation:98kilometers away from Taiyuan,Capital of Shanxi,Pin gyao is accessible by train from Taiyuan,Be ijing and Xi ' an.Neighboring Sites:adjacent to Taiyuan,Qiao' s Courtyard in Qixian,and Cao' s Courtyard in Taigu;not far from Hukou Waterfall of the Yellow River a nd Wutai Mountains.Photo Opportunities:for a plethora of cultural relics,palae -architectu res,age -old sculptures,ancient murals and l ocal customs.Pay attention to rules on re lics protection in certain monasteries a nd temples while shooting those artifacts.Local products:Pingyao beef,pasta,and lacquer wares.