Pingyao Ancient City, China
China’s First Banking Capital
A main street in the Ancient City of Pingyao.
Pingyao Ancient City is considered to be the first banking capital of China. At its zenith in the late Qing Dynasty, there were as many as 22 draft banks in the city, with more than 400 branches countrywide. Pingyao is easy to reach from Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi, by highways. Pingyao Ancient City was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1997 for its exceptional preservation of an intact, classic Han Chinese city from the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). There are close to 4,000 Ming- and Qing-era courtyard buildings, along with numerous historic sites, temples and institutions such as China’s first bank, Rishengchang, and the historic city wall.
