平遥古城

Why this place

Pingyao is the most complete surviving walled county town in China: 6.2km of intact Ming walls, with the whole Ming–Qing street layout, temples and courtyard houses inside. It is also where the first Chinese draft banks were invented in the 1820s — the piaohao, which handled remittances across the empire.

What to see

• The city wall — walk the full circuit on top, with 72 watchtowers
• Rishengchang, the first draft bank, and the other piaohao sites on West Street
• The Ming–Qing street, with its shopfronts and courtyard houses
• Shuanglin Temple and Zhenguo Temple outside the walls, with painted sculpture and a Five Dynasties hall
• The armed-escort agency museum, which explains how the money physically moved

What to eat

• Pingyao beef, slow-braised and sold by the slice
• Kaolaolao — a local oat noodle eaten with vinegar and chilli

How to plan

Two nights inside the walls: one day for the town, one for the outlying temples.

Best time

April–May and September–October

Practical tips

• Cars cannot enter the old town — pack light, and book accommodation inside the walls