World Heritage Identification Number: 812
World Heritage since: 1997
Category: Cultural Heritage
WHE Type: Archaeological Sites
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇨🇳 China
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
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The Ancient City of Ping Yao: A Well-Preserved Example of Traditional Han Chinese Urban Planning
The Ancient City of Ping Yao, located in central Shanxi, China, stands as an exceptional testament to the evolution of architectural styles and town planning in Imperial China over five centuries. This historic city, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, offers a unique glimpse into the rich cultural heritage of China.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Ping Yao is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city, founded in the 14th century. Its urban fabric shows the evolution of architectural styles and town planning in Imperial China over five centuries. Of special interest are the imposing buildings associated with banking, for which Ping Yao was the major centre for the whole of China in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (ii): The townscape of Ancient City of Ping Yao excellently reflects the evolution of architectural styles and town planning in Imperial China over five centuries with contributions from different ethnicities and other parts of China.
Criterion (iii): The Ancient City of Ping Yao was a financial center in China from the 19th century to the early 20th century. The business shops and traditional dwellings in the city are historical witnesses to the economic prosperity of the Ancient City of Ping Yao in this period.
Criterion (iv): The Ancient City of Ping Yao is an outstanding example of the Han Chinese city of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (14th-20th centuries) that has retained all its features to an exceptional degree.
Encyclopedia Record: Pingyao
Pingyao, officially Pingyao Ancient City, is a walled city in central Shanxi, China, famed for its importance in Chinese economic history and for its well-preserved Ming and Qing urban planning and architecture. Administratively, it comprises the town of Gutao in Pingyao County, Jinzhong. According to the seventh Chinese census data, the permanent resident population of the county is 450,697. Compared with the 502,712 people in the sixth national census in 2010, it has decreased by 52,015 people in ten years, a decrease of 10.35%, and the average annual growth rate is -1.09%.Additional Site Details
Area: 245.62 hectares
Number of Components: 3
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
Coordinates: 37.20139 , 112.15444
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© Nicor, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
