Before coming to Shanxi, collect travel information and strategies as usual. I cut a stack of thick books and took them away, only to find out in Shanxi that everything here is very different from other tourist cities. You don’t need to look for those famous scenic spots with a strategy guide, because there are no earth-shattering events or events here. Some of the former residences of celebrities sought after by the world are just the humanistic culture and traditional customs inherited from ancient times to the present in Chinese history.
At 23:00 on the night of the 24th, the night plane from Guangzhou slowly landed at Taiyuan Wusu Airport. Wusu Airport is located 15 kilometers south of Taiyuan City. It can be said to be one of the smallest civil aviation airports I have ever seen, but it is the most important transportation hub in Shanxi. There is a CMB parked at the gate of the arrival hall. The price of 15 yuan per person to go to the city center should be said to be very cheap. It was almost late at night, and I looked at the capital city of Shanxi Province in the twilight. There were construction sites everywhere, and the workers on the night shift were still sweating profusely. The eyes are smeared black, just like "the whole city is covered with loess dust". Before coming to Shanxi, a friend advised us not to wear contact lenses. As a result, our bright eyes were "conquered" by the Loess Plateau, and we were choked with tears and noses.
The hotel we stayed in for the first night was located above Wuyi Square in the center of Taiyuan City. It was a three-star Bingzhou Hotel with a good reputation in Taiyuan. The room is a big bed room facing the street, 185 yuan is very cost-effective for a night's sleep. Tomorrow we have to get up early to catch the 8:00 train to Pingyao, so we will go to bed after taking a shower.
Bingzhou Hotel is very close to Taiyuan Railway Station. Because we missed the hotel's breakfast time, we had to buy a package at McDonald's on Yingze Street. There are still many construction sites along the way. Workers wearing hard hats like to look around at pedestrians, probably because there are many out-of-towners near the train station. I heard that it is most convenient to go to Pingyao by car. There is a bus terminal on this street, but I was told that the bus to Pingyao needs to take the bus at Jiannan Bus Station, which is not available here. So I had to go to the train station according to the original plan, but when I arrived, I was dumbfounded: I couldn't even get in the gate of Taiyuan Railway Station, because it was blocked by the crowd! Buying a ticket to enter the gate requires a long queue. Damn, why don't our trip to Pingyao go to waste? Forget it, don't think about it, go back to the hotel and charter a car. Apart from anything else, when we returned to Bingzhou Hotel, there was a little girl selling tickets for chartered coaches at the gate. We hired a Mazda, hired a tour guide, and paid 400 yuan for the transportation + tour guide in the Qiao Family Courtyard and Pingyao Ancient City. Along the way, there are tour guides explaining the various characteristics of Shanxi, which is also very enjoyable.
One of the star hotels with the longest history in Taiyuan——Bingzhou Hotel
In the center of Taiyuan, morning police exercises
Women selling "pigs", a street scene in Taiyuan
Taiyuan Railway Station
It was already noon when the travelers came to Qiao's courtyard. The Qiao Family Courtyard is located in Qi County, 80 kilometers southeast of Taiyuan. It was first built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and it is a typical courtyard of a large family in the Qing Dynasty. There are 19 courtyards in the entire mansion, and more than 300 rooms form a miraculous "Double Happiness" shape, which can be clearly distinguished from top to bottom. The Qiao Family Courtyard was a super mansion piled up with gold and silver at that time, and it was also a wonderful example of architecture. There is not a single plant or tree in the whole compound, with an almost absolute symmetry, layer upon layer of repetition, forming a huge deterrent.
On the top floor of the main entrance hangs a plaque of "Fuzhong Langjiao" donated by the governor of Shanxi at that time. It can be seen that the owner is an important person in the government. Stepping into the courtyard from the high threshold, there is a row of red lanterns hanging high in front of you, which makes people imagine a certain movie scene. Indeed, the Qiao Family Courtyard is the filming location of Zhang Dao's masterpiece "Raise the Red Lantern". Everything here records the life and customs of the feudal family in the Qing Dynasty. Screening walls, hanging flower doors, and screens are all impressive backgrounds. For us, apart from taking pictures everywhere with a camera, it is more important to understand the thoughts of such powerful social groups at that time. Thoughts: The threshold is built higher than the knee to keep money from flowing out; the mirrors placed everywhere in the room are used to monitor the work of servants and servants; Write the name of a boy from a foreign race, and the name of your own daughter will not appear...
A row of red lanterns reminds people of a famous movie
Qiao's courtyard is a good place for taking pictures
joe family tree
I stand under the high garden wall
Joe's Courtyard back garden
The real name of the Qiao Family Courtyard is Qiao Zaizhongtang
The ancient city of Pingyao is located 22 kilometers south of the Qiao Family Courtyard. It was built by General Yin Jifu in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Since then, the ancient city has maintained its original appearance for nearly a thousand years. It was not until the early Ming Dynasty that in order to resist foreign enemies, it was built on the original basis expansion. To this day, Pingyao still maintains the appearance of a county town in the Ming Dynasty, whether it is the city walls or the streets and alleys. Since vehicles are not allowed to enter the city, we ordered an electric car outside the city and visited the main attractions of the ancient city for 30 yuan. Hey, there is such a cheap thing in the world!
As soon as you enter the ancient city, you will be attracted by the unique blue-gray ancient walls of Pingyao and the simple folk customs everywhere. Most of the houses in the city still retain the pattern of traditional courtyard houses. The people live a leisurely life and spend endless time standing outside. Wherever our car goes, 100% of the residents pay attention to us from head to toe. . The streets in the city are narrow and criss-cross like a chessboard. If you are traveling on your own, do not choose to walk, otherwise you will definitely get lost. The old man is not only proficient in driving, but also works very hard as a tour guide, taking us to visit various attractions along the most convenient route. We went to Qingxu Temple, Confucian Temple, Pingyao Grand Theater, Chenghuang Temple, County Government Office, Jinjing Tower, Ming and Qing Streets and the most famous Rishengchang Bank. In Qingxu Temple, we touched the Taoist stele for good luck, and paid 100 yuan "tuition fee" to calculate the horoscope; in the Pingyao Grand Theater, we savored the scene of people gathering to watch the opera at that time; Thoughts; the majestic trial apparatus and courtroom in the county government's Qinmin hall make people hear the shouts of "mighty..." from all over the government. At Rishengchang Bank, we saw the glorious historical achievements of the first treasurer, Lei Lutai, and learned that as early as the Qing Dynasty, my country already had banks, which could perform basic banking functions such as remittance business, local deposits, and withdrawals from other places. . However, the most memorable thing is the encounter between Jinjing Tower and Ming and Qing Streets.
Jinjing Tower and Ming and Qing Streets are located in the South Street of Pingyao Ancient City, in the center of the ancient city, where the most tourists are, because there are 78 large and small shops on this 750-meter-long ancient street. Under the leadership of the old man, we bought four packs of Pingyao beef at a beef shop, and we didn't know we were cheated until we ate it! It is well known that Pingyao is rich in beef, among which "Guanyun" brand should be the best brand. The beef that the owner gave us to try was smooth and easy to chew, well-proportioned in fat and thin, which should be Guanyun brand; but the four packs we bought home made people feel nauseous and had a strong chemical smell. It seems that the old man and that black shop are in the same group! That's how we fell for the tricks of these "hooligans". I thought that Shanxi people not only know how to do business, but some people do it a bit unscrupulously.
Praying for good luck
Pingyao Grand Theater
Pingyao City God Temple
The mighty yamen in the county yamen
Jinjinglou
Ming and Qing Streets
China's first bank account (bank)
The prototype of bill exchange
Pingyao Ancient City Wall is the last place we left Pingyao. Climb up the city wall and overlook the ancient city. The blue-gray tiled roofs are well-proportioned and well-proportioned. The streets and alleys are full of traffic, which is a scene of a thriving ancient city. The ancient city of Pingyao and Lijiang are listed as historical and cultural ancient cities by the World Heritage. Her profound ancient historical and cultural traditions attract people from all over the world.
Standing on the ancient city wall, people feel sublimated. It is said that there are 3,000 crenels and 72 small enemy towers here, which symbolize the 3,000 disciples of Confucius and 72 sages, making this bustling commercial city full of literary talent. Although I was a little regretful when I met unkind people during the trip, the cultural charm of Pingyao still left a deep impression on me.
Pingyao Ancient City Wall
The car encountered another accident on the way back. When we came here, a road that was in good condition was suddenly blocked by mounds of dirt, which made us go around a lot and couldn’t find a passable entrance. From the first day in Shanxi, there was constant light rain. With muddy paths and traffic jams, it was already past 9 o'clock at night when we returned to Taiyuan.
On the second day in Taiyuan, there were basically no sightseeing tasks. I stayed at the Shanxi International Trade Hotel for the last two nights booked on Ctrip. It is currently the only five-star hotel in Taiyuan. The location of the hotel is excellent, located on Fuxi Street, very close to Xinjian South Road, Liuxiang Commodity Street and other shopping streets, and Tianmei Famous Store, the most luxurious high-end shopping center in Shanxi, is also nearby. We booked a high-rise double bed room at 720 yuan/night. The night view of Taiyuan's commercial center can be seen from the window, which is very beautiful.
There is really nothing interesting in downtown Taiyuan, because of time constraints, and of course the lazy muscles of the body. We did not go to Jinci Temple, the most famous scenic spot in Taiyuan, but spent most of the day wandering around downtown Taiyuan. There is nothing in Liuxiang Commercial Street in the shopping area, but there are a lot of people, which may be directly related to the consumption level of Taiyuan. There are no brands in the pedestrian street here that have been seen in Guangzhou or Shanghai and Beijing. The most annoying thing is the construction site, no matter in Taiyuan. Wherever you go, construction sites are always the most common sight. I heard that the Taiyuan government has done a lot of work and is committed to creating an ecological Taiyuan City. The newly built Fenhe Park has even won the "Exemplary Award for Improving Human Living Environment" issued by the United Nations Environment Programme. Perhaps it is for this reason that creating beauty cannot be achieved overnight.
Yingze Street in Taiyuan is basically equivalent to Beijing's Chang'an Street, running from east to west, across the center of Taiyuan. The names of the streets in Taiyuan City are quite interesting. They refer to the north-south direction as the road, and the east-west direction as the street. The road signs are blue and the street signs are green. In this way, it is very convenient to give directions to tourists who are new to Taiyuan. Yingze Street is not long, and it takes about 20 minutes to walk from Liuxiang to Xinjian South Road. Later, we couldn't stand the torture of the sandstorm in the urban area. After we ate two pieces of fried chicken at Dicos, we took a taxi back to the hotel. The indoor swimming pool of Shanxi International Trade Hotel is very good. Lying in the water and looking up, you can see the towering twin towers of the hotel through the glazed curtain wall, which is very spectacular. One side of the pool wall is transparent glass, and the outside is a rest room. People can lie on the sofa in the rest room and watch people swimming around in the pool, just like watching goldfish, haha.
A new shopping street in Taiyuan - Liuxiang Commercial Street
Busy traffic on Yingze Street
hazy sky in taiyuan
Shanxi International Trade Hotel is the only five-star hotel in Taiyuan
Cafeteria on the 5th floor of the hotel
The towering twin towers of Traders Hotel are the landmark buildings of Taiyuan City
For dinner, we chose the Southeast Asian cuisine buffet restaurant on the 5th floor of the World Traders Hotel. Although there are not enough mouth-watering seafood here compared to Guangzhou and Shanghai, there are still quite a lot of classic salmon sashimi and steak. Present the Fortune Wings Card of Hainan Airlines when paying the bill to enjoy a 15% discount, which is highly recommended.
Traveling in Shanxi, although I didn't go to Datong and Wutai Mountain, but the overall feeling to me is relatively simple and unpretentious, and the emphasis is on the nature that is born and raised. If I had to give advice, I would tell you:
take off your contact lenses
Don't expect the weather to match your good mood
Live in a luxury hotel
Save time by chartering a car to various attractions
Try authentic Shanxi sliced noodles
I am Daren J, a boy who has traveled all over 111 countries with his handsomeness and talent.
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