Pingyao, Shanxi in early spring is still warm and cold, but there are endless tourists coming to Pingyao Ancient City to visit. Visiting and taking photos in the streets and alleys, selecting Jinzi specialties in the shops, and tasting special food in the restaurants... Among the blue bricks and black tiles, tourists are enthusiastically experiencing the unique charm of the thousand-year-old ancient city.

"Pingyao Ancient City has a history of more than 2,800 years and is a world cultural heritage. Today, it is still the living home of Pingyao people and a living ancient city." On the Yingxun Gate Tower, tour guide Zhang Xiaoyun explained to tourists the development and changes of Pingyao Ancient City.

The streets of Pingyao Ancient City are constantly flowing (photo_alt_20190808" >On January 27, 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to Pingyao Ancient City to inspect the appearance of the ancient city along the streets and alleys, and understand the protection and utilization of local cultural heritage and the development of characteristic operations. The General Secretary pointed out that we must respect history, culture, and ecology, comprehensively protect historical and cultural heritage, coordinate tourism development, characteristic management, and ancient city protection, build a solid bottom line for cultural relics safety, and protect the precious wealth left to us by our predecessors.

"I listened to the General Secretary's earnest instructions up close and have more confidence in Pingyao's future development." Zhang Xiaoyun has been working as a tour guide for 13 years. She deeply feels the vigorous pulse of the cultural and tourism development of Pingyao Ancient City, and also feels that you must use your heart and emotion to protect the ancient city.

The Pingyao Ancient City Wall is about 6 kilometers long, and there are special people walking 24 hours a day and detailed monitoring records are made. These "physical examination reports" of the ancient city walls provide data support for protection and repair.

Cultural security personnel carefully inspected every corner of Pingyao ancient city wall (CCR reporter Lang Qi Photo)

"The rammed earth inside bricks is wrapped in the ancient city wall, and it needs to be protected and repaired in two ways: ancient buildings and soil ruins." Shao Shuai, the head of Pingyao City Wall's emergency repair technology, said, "At present, from soil quality ratio to ramming data, we have formed a set of ancient city repair standards, making the ancient city wall more weather-resistant."

Shao Shuai's home is in Pingyao Ancient City, and the city wall is the "playground" he remembers as a childhood. Nowadays, Shao Shuai often takes his children to walk under the city wall, "Tell the story of the city wall, so that children can have a deeper understanding of the history of their hometown, and also let them know to respect history and protect the ancient city from an early age."

Remembering the earnest instructions of the General Secretary, in recent years, Pingyao County has taken the construction goal of "heritage protection, international tourism destination, Shanxi merchant cultural window, and special product display site" to continuously explore the integrated development model of cultural industry and tourism industry, so that the ancient city cultural relics "live" and the culture "fire".

Pingyao Film Palace, transformed from an old factory building, is the host of Pingyao International Film Festival and has also become a popular landmark for tourists to check in to Pingyao Ancient City in recent years.

During the 2024 Pingyao International Film Festival, tourists exchanged in the Film Palace (photo taken by Lang Qi, reporter of China Radio and Television Network)

Pingyao Film Palace has 6 viewing halls, and also brings together coffee bars, bookstores, cultural and creative stores and other formats, which not only retains the historical charm of the old factory, but also is full of fashion elements. "The tradition and modernity of Pingyao Film Palace are integrated with both viewing and viewing effects, which inspires new vitality in Pingyao Ancient City. We have a slogan that allows the audience to feel the sound and painting effects of the film exhibition in the Film Palace." said Lei Wenbin, the head of Pingyao Film Palace.

Not only has the movie palace, but also the scene experience drama "See Pingyao Again", the 3D light show in the city wall, the Pingyao Marathon, etc. have been launched one after another... Tradition and fashion collided with bright fireworks in Pingyao Ancient City. In 2024, Pingyao Ancient City received a total of 10.12 million tourists and ticket revenue reached 134 million yuan. The cultural and tourism industry has become a characteristic industry for Pingyao to strengthen the county and enrich the people.

Producer: Luo Hongbing

General Planning: Zhang Jun Yu Feng

Producer: Wu Gang Gong Xinhui

Coordinator: Tao Yude

Producer: Zhang Jie

Producer: Zhang Jie Lang Qi

Creation: Pingyao County Party Committee Propaganda Department