The ancient city wall of Pingyao is located in the central area of the ancient town. It was originally built during the reign of Emperor Xuanwang of the Western Zhou Dynasty and later expanded in the reign of Emperor Honghu of the Ming Dynasty, it’s the earliest and the largest-scale city wall in Shanxi, and China’s best-preserved town-level city wall. It has been placed on the list of World Cultural Heritage Sites.
Extending over 6 kilometers, it’s rectangular in shape with 72 watchtowers and 3,000 crenels is extraordinary. It is 6,157 meters long and 10 meters high. Its inner side is consolidated with earth and its outer side is built with bricks. The road in the wall is built with stones and bricks and it is wide enough to accommodate two wagons at the same time.
As a city wall for protection, the city wall has loopholes, shooting jets and crenels for resisting the enemy. There also a moat around the city wall. During the time when wars followed one another, the moat played an extremely important role in protecting the people in the ancient town.
Attention: In recent years, the city wall partially clasped twice. So, the preservation of the city wall has become a pressing issue.
Kuixing Mansion in the southeastern city wall is octagonal in shape and 24 meters tall. It’s covered with glazed facing tiles, which are exquisite and magnificent.
If you climb the city wall from the western gate, the first thing that comes into your vision is the statue of a warrior with weapons in his hands. Seriously looking into the distance, he is just like the guardian god of the ancient town.
