Pingyao, a small city about 90 kilometers (56 miles) away from Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi Province, is famous for its well preserved ancient city wall. As it borders on the southern edge of the Taiyuan Basin and joins the Loess Plateau to the south, it has been an important communication hub in old days along the bank of the Yellow River. Its advantageous location benefited the city to be a famous commercial center over the country. Paralleling Xian, Nanjing and Lijiang, it is one of time-honored cities that have survived with its ancient walls. The present wall is one of the best examples from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when China saw a construction campaign over the land.

Mt. Wutai(Five Terrace Mountain) is one of Buddhism¡¯s Four Sacred Mountains, and is dedicated to the Bodhisattva of Wisdom Manjusri (Wen shu). The name refers to the flat tops of the five principal peaks. About forty temples remain in the region, many in the monastic village of Taihuai nestled in the center of the five peaks, and others farther a field in the mountains. The Tayuan Si (Temple of the Pagodas) was built in Tibetan style in the Ming period, with a 50meter high bulbous, whitewashed dome characteristic of the style. Behind the pagoda is a two story Ming-period library which contains an older revolving sutra-case, holding rare religious texts. The nearby Xiantong Si (Temple of the Manifestations) is one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries in the world.

(Buddhist Grottos)Datong is another famous place for ancient Buddhist Grottos in China. Here you can seethe 1,500-year-old Buddhist grottoes of Datong - From the 56-foot Seated Buddha to tiny figures just a few centimeters tall every wall and archway is crammed with carvings, including serial-type representations of scenes from Buddhist mythology and the lives of famous monks. Datong has several other tourist attractions ¨C uch as the 600-year-old Nine-Dragon Screen made of glazed tiles, the Huayan Monastery with the largest wooden shrine hall in China, and the Shanhua Monastery, intact since 713.

All fees quoted on this site are in three currencies: sterling (British Pound), Euros and US dollar, based on the exchange rate of RMB on 29th March, 2006. We reserve the right to change the dates and fees without prior notice. For more information about trip dates, please click here

7-DAY EXTENSION TRIP TO SHANXI