Pingyao Ancient City: A 2,700-Year-Old “Poverty-Preserved” Fortress Rivaling the Forbidden City

You might be surprised to learn that China has an ancient county town built 2,000 years earlier than the Forbidden City, with a scale comparable to the imperial palace yet still perfectly preserved today. For over a millennium, 42,000 residents have continued living inside its walls. From above, the dense clusters of traditional courtyard houses create a breathtaking panorama. The 6,163-meter-long city walls (about 12 meters high) stretch unbroken, with South Street forming the central axis, flanked by four main avenues and eight smaller lanes. The crisscrossing Youyan Alley and other pathways function like veins, connecting every corner of…