Pingyao, China

Reviving traditional skills and fostering award-winning community restoration of historic homes

Founded by Emperor Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty in the 9th century BC, the central Chinese city of Ping Yao took its modern shape in the mid-14th century. Brick-and-stone walls, six kilometers in circumference with 72 watchtowers and 3,000 crenellations came up to protect the merchant class who served the Silk Road trade routes extending across China into Central Asia and beyond. At its zenith, around 22 banks operated along the sett-paved lanes of Ping Yao, which had evolved by late Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) into a financial center for the whole of China.

Post imperial China’s capital moved eastward, leaving behind this three dimensional chronicle of Han Chinese architectural style and urban planning over more than five centuries, told through nearly 4,000 Ming- and Qing-era shops and dwellings as well as temples and historic sites such as Rishengchang, China’s first bank. This rich built legacy stood in stark contrast to the poverty of its inhabitants by the time Ping Yao was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. Around Ping Yao’s walled heritage quarter, many significant structures suffered damage caused by unregulated overcrowding and haphazard additions.

Global Heritage Fund joined forces with the Ping Yao County Government to prepare a master conservation and management plan in which residents could apply for funding to restore their homes in the Ping Yao vernacular, building owners could receive incentives in support of authentic restoration for adaptive reuse and craftspeople could obtain training or support to maintain traditional arts. This innovative collaboration between public and private stakeholders was conceived as a model for heritage conservation across Mainland China.

For our initial efforts, we chose the Fanjia Jie area for its remarkably unharmed sett-paved streets punctuated by courtyard residences from the late Qing Dynasty to the Early Republic period. Our goals were to establish the integrity of historic structures, to create a pleasant living environment for residents and to provide visitors with insights into Ping Yao’s traditional life.

Equally important, our Heritage Development Program encouraged locals to rediscover Ping Yao’s traditional arts and cuisine. We identified and employed elderly members of the community skilled in endangered crafts to work with us. Many would not have been able to continue in these disappearing trades without our support.

In partnership with the Pingyao County Urban and Rural Planning Bureau, we organized a training course for next generation Ping Yao conservationists, to impart world-class methodologies while supporting educational and commercial opportunities for local youth.

Our work in Ping Yao was recognized with the Global Vision Award for Preservation from Travel + Leisure, as well as an Award of Merit in 2015 from the UNESCO Asia Pacific Conservation Awards.

Some images courtesy of Kuanghan Li and Xiaodong Wang