Pingyao

---

My next stop hadn't made it on my initial plan but I'd heard through a couple of other people about an ancient town north of Xian named Pingyao which is covientantly placed therefore allowing me to to break up the trip onto Beijing.

Having waxed lyrical about my experiences of travelling on trains in China in my previous blog. My opinion has altered slightly after my journey from Xian to Pingyao. I was forced to travel by hard seat for the first time and, hopefully last time. Hard seats are in effect the fourth class on Chinese trains and just one step up in quality from standing. I'd gone into the journey in high spirits, but a little apprehensive about spending the next thirteen hours sitting down. I was determined not to make a fuss of the situation after all how bad could it be?

Once on the train it appeared that it no way shape or form was this going to be an easy train ride. The first problem was that an old man seemed to be occupying my seat, not that that mattered really as it seemed most people just sat where there was an empty seat. The word hard seat really is a perfect description of what you get. There is a thin layer of padding but this is more for decoration. I'm sure that the back of the seat was vertical which I knew would improve my posture but for the more pressing issue of sleep I could see it was going to be a problem.

To my left there were two guys who had come armed with a hefty supply of alcohol which they wasted no time in getting stuck into. In front of me was a group of fifteen or so young Chinese youths who resembled more of a hip hop troupe. They were card playing, high jinks kids with boundless energy who insisted on smoking like chimneys from the moment they got on the train. Sleep was the last thing on their minds.

Two women had somehow managed to defy science by fitting themselves and their children on the seats which should only hold three directly opposite me. This left me perched on the edge of my seat sandwiched between the old man and a young Chinese guy who had staked their claim to the room long before I'd got onboard. Up until now I'd enjoyed the somewhat palatial surroundings of hard sleeper class, what had I done to deserve this? It really was now a question of counting down the hours!

I won't go into anymore details about the journey but I will say this I awoke the next morning back crocked, neck aching and curled up in a ball on the hard seat. I'd made it to Pingyao though.

I'd been told that Pingyao was like stepping back into time, an ancient Ming town which remained largely untouched by the rampant ongoing tourism of China. Surely this couldn't be true? The rickshaw driver who greeted me outside the station holding a large red piece of paper with "PAUL" in capital letters packed up my bags and we were off. My first impressions were far from the ancient town I expected and more of a small industrial town. We drove for about five minutes and then came to the ancient city walls. Once we'd passed through the walls to the other side it really was like being transported by a time warp. Yes the were some modern cars about, shops were selling your everyday items and people wore clothes of today, but nothing structurally wise seemed to have changed from the Ming Dynasty.

Having dumped my bags off at the hostel I was most intrigued to see what this city had to offer. It was declared a World Cultural Heritage site back in 1997 and since this a steady trickle of visitors have begun to make their way here all curious to find out more. This town, even more so than Xian is a town for history buffs. Like Xian it still has it's original city walls but unlike Xian there doesn't appear to have been any attempt made to make them 'more attractive' to visitors. It's very much a case of what you see is what you get.

In ancient times Pingyao was a massively important town during the Ming and Qing dynasty's and the focal point of trade between the north and south of China. In fact the town gained such importance that the first banks in China were opened here during the Qing dynasty. However none of the cities former prosperity is evident now and with the coming of the 20th century the city fell into a desperate way and only now is beginning to show signs of a recovery.

I stayed at the Harmony Guesthouse where the owner a certain Mr Dei was extremely hospitable, helpful and knowledgeable. Due to the size of the town and it's proximity to Beijing train tickets can be problematic to get hold of. In fact the sale of tickets is completely controlled by the black market and Mr Dei pulled a few strings to get me a ticket onwards to Beijing. Thankfully not a hard seat this time.

In terms of things to see in Pingyao there are, as I previously mentioned plenty of sights to see. I was more interested though in simply wandering around the streets and trying to get a feel of the place. It's already possible to see the beginning of a potentially thriving tourist industry here although in comparison to other places I've been people have been friendly yet not pushy when it comes to selling goods.

I took a walk around the outside of the city walls first which are often referred to in China as 'treasure house' of ancient Chinese architecture. Having taken in the walls from the outside I then did the same from the inside before weaving my way through the back alleys.

Much of my time in Pingyao has been spent simply walking around, it's a fascinating place and it's hard to believe that it still resembles that of a town two to three hundred years ago. Because the train to Beijing left at ten in the evening on my second day here much of this day was spent taking it easy. Perhaps one of the most surprising facts about this rural backwater of China was the fact that the internet here ran at quick lighting speed! Hard to work out I know.

As I said previously the staff at the Harmony hostel were friendliness personified and my final afternoon there was spent being taught a lesson in how to play badminton in the street and playing the unique game of 'flying feather' or Jianzi in Chinese, a game which requires you to keep up a small shuttlecock object made of feathers. I've played it on many occasions but despite my ability to play football this in no way translates to the ability to play Jianzi. After a couple of hours of rigorous physical activity it was time to grab a quick bite to eat before jumping on the train to Beijing and my final stop on this trip.

For pictures of Pingyao go to this Facebook link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45393&l=d6ff9&id=665850931

---