Pingyao County is located at the middle of Yellow River, east of Loess Plateau, southwest of Taiyuan Basin, 616 kilometers away from the capital Beijing, and 543 kilometers away from Xi'an. Pingyao County is the best preserved prototype in Ming and Qing dynasties style, conforming to a typical bagua pattern. More than 300 sites in or near the city have ancient ruins. Preserved Ming and Qing style residences numbers are close to 4,000. The streets and storefronts still largely retain their historical appearance.
The county belonged to the kingdom of Jin in the spring and autumn Period, and became a part of the Kingdom of Zhao in the Warring States Period. In 1997, under the ruling of the People’s Republic of China, it became a World Heritage Site, including the outlying Zhengguo Temple and Shuanglin Temple.
You can visit all of the spots in county and experience the life in Ming and Qing dynasties by buying a ticket to enter. If you come to county during the Spring Festival, you will have a chance to participate in local folk activities such as worship star, worship stove fairy, eating local diets etc. As the gifts, you can choose the representative local specialties, include lacquerware, Pingyao beef, Wild Yam powder, handmade shoes, paper cutting, rice wine, opera facebook and so on, however, Pingyao is suitable for tour all year around.