Historic city · Cultural centre · Shanxi
Jinzhong
晋中
Home of Pingyao and the Shanxi merchant compounds
Jinzhong is a prefecture-level city in central Shanxi, south of Taiyuan, whose counties were the heartland of the Shanxi merchants and bankers of the Ming and Qing. It includes the Ancient City of Ping Yao, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997, the great courtyard compounds of the Qiao, Wang and Cao families, and Mount Mian, associated with the origins of the Cold Food Festival.
Key facts
Overview
Jinzhong occupies the fertile Taiyuan basin south of the provincial capital and the Taihang uplands to the east. Its county towns grew rich on long-distance trade from the Ming onwards — in salt, tea, grain and cloth — and in the nineteenth century their merchants ran the remittance banks that moved money across the Qing empire.
The wealth of these families is visible in the walled town of Pingyao, whose streets of shops and banks survived almost unchanged, and in the fortified mansions of the countryside, with dozens of courtyards, carved brick and wood, and private lanes. Today the city is the main destination for heritage tourism in central Shanxi.
Names and nicknames
晋商故里
“home of the Shanxi merchants”
Pingyao, Qixian, Taigu and Jiexiu were the home towns of the great merchant and banking families.
榆次
The central district and seat of the city, often used as its name before Jinzhong became a prefecture-level city in 1999.
History
Pingyao's walls were rebuilt in brick in 1370, and the town kept its Ming street plan. Merchants from the area joined the Ming frontier trade supplying the Great Wall garrisons and later the tea route to Mongolia and Russia. In 1823 the Rishengchang dye firm in Pingyao turned into the first remittance bank; by the late nineteenth century banks from Pingyao, Qixian and Taigu had branches throughout China. They declined after the fall of the Qing in 1911, leaving the architecture that brought Pingyao its World Heritage listing in 1997.
1370
Pingyao walls rebuilt
The Ming rebuilt the town walls in their present form, with six gates, 72 watchtowers and a moat.
15th–18th century
Rise of the Shanxi merchants
Local merchants profited from supplying the frontier garrisons and from the salt monopoly, then built trade networks to Mongolia and Russia.
1823
Rishengchang founded
The first piaohao, a bank transferring money by draft between its branches, opened in Pingyao.
1756 onwards
Qiao family compound
Built in stages by the Qiao merchant family of Qixian, whose business included the Dadetong bank.
1997
UNESCO World Heritage
The Ancient City of Ping Yao was inscribed with the Shuanglin and Zhenguo temples nearby.
Landmarks
Historic site
Ancient City of Ping Yao
平遥古城
Walled town with its Ming street plan, market tower, county yamen and hundreds of courtyard houses.
Museum
Rishengchang Bank Museum
日昇昌票号
The original premises of China's first remittance bank on West Street in Pingyao.
Temple or shrine
Shuanglin Temple
双林寺
Temple south-west of Pingyao with more than two thousand painted clay figures of the Song to the Qing.
Temple or shrine
Zhenguo Temple
镇国寺
Its Wanfo Hall of 963, from the Northern Han, is one of the oldest timber halls in China.
Historic site
Wang family compound
王家大院
Hillside complex of courtyards in Lingshi, known for its brick, stone and wood carving.
Neighbourhoods
Yuci old town
榆次老城
The rebuilt old town of the city seat with its Confucian temple and county yamen.
Taigu
太谷
Former banking town, now a district, with the Cao family compound nearby and Shanxi Agricultural University.
Food
Pingyao beef
平遥牛肉
Salted and slowly cooked beef, sliced and eaten cold.
Taigu cakes
太谷饼
Round sesame-topped cakes, soft and lightly sweet.
Wantu
碗秃
Buckwheat jelly steamed in a bowl and eaten cold with vinegar and chilli.
Culture
The culture of Jinzhong is the culture of the Shanxi merchant: an ethic of trust and thrift, family business houses with strict rules, and patronage of opera, temples and guild halls. Pingyao's polished lacquerware is still made in the town, and the Pingyao International Photography Festival, held each autumn since 2001, fills the old courtyards with exhibitions.
Getting around
- Pingyao Ancient City station and Jinzhong station are on the Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway; the conventional Pingyao station is just outside the walls.
- The walled town of Pingyao is compact and largely closed to cars; walking, bicycles and electric carts are the usual way around.
- Taiyuan Wusu International Airport, between Taiyuan and Yuci, serves the area.
Day trips
Mount Mian
绵山
Cliffs and temples in Jiexiu associated with Jie Zitui, whose legend lies behind the Cold Food Festival.
Zhangbi fortified village
张壁古堡
Village fortress in Jiexiu with a network of defensive tunnels.
Chang family manor
常家庄园
Extensive merchant estate in Yuci of a family that traded tea with Russia.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Jinzhong Municipal People's Government — Jinzhong Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Ancient City of Ping Yao — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Pingyao — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More cities in Shanxi
- Taiyuan太原Capital · Historic city · Industrial centreDragon City of the Fen valley, where the Tang dynasty began
- Datong大同Historic city · Industrial centreNorthern Wei capital of the Yungang Grottoes on the Great Wall frontier
- Xinzhou忻州Scenic area · Historic cityGateway to Mount Wutai and the Yanmen Pass
- Yuncheng运城Historic city · Cultural centreSalt lake, Guan Yu's hometown and the Stork Tower on the Yellow River bend
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