The Ancient Town of Pingyao:A Cultural Pilgrimage

by+Alexandra+Etienne

The first time I visited Ping- yao was during the last MidAutumn Festival， which in retrospect was not quite the best time to visit. However， the crowds could not spoil the sense of fascination I felt upon discovering this place. As Chinas best-preserved ancient wall town， Pingyao is fantastic. Its old architecture and intense atmosphere infuse it with a mixture of wonder and time-warped realities.

While most other Chinese cities follow the pace of modernity at a galloping speed， Pingyao stays put， as though frozen in time. It appears so content and settled that it is clearly a rarity in China： a place where the past persists， stung by tourism maybe， but still imbedded and deeply committed to its past. By losing yourself in the winding alleys there or taking a stroll along the wall at sunset， you can grasp the poetry of this place – its story that is made of layer upon layer of history. The past lies at the core of this city， and is indeed Pingyaos identity in itself. As it lives on in the present， Pingyaos ancient past invites us to pause and reflect on what makes a place so special and worthwhile. I believe that the further back in time a city brings us， the more appealing it becomes. History thus encapsulates a story， which underlies the most fabulous cities we know.

Precisely because it has kept its beguiling narrative intact， Pingyao seduces us with its age-old charms： red-lantern-hunglanes set against night-time silhouettes of imposing town walls， elegant courtyard structures， ancient towers poking into the sky， a maze of creaking temples and old buildings… This is indeed the China of your dreams， so much so I could not help but notice a tinge of ‘in-betweenness，somewhere between the contemporary world and a muted past.

Pingyaos community of at least 30，000 locals reside in the old town – the heart and soul of Pingyao. I particularly enjoyed seeing the magnificent city walls which date from A.D.137. Each of the 72 watchtowers contains a paragraph from Sunzis The Art of War. Dotted around the entire structure， the watchtower reach 10 meters high， and the wall itself snakes its way for at least six kilometers. As for sight- seeing， I would simply recommend taking your camera and snapping the scenery and scenes that take your fancy. Pingyao is such a photogenic city， endowed with great mises-en-scene or daily life ‘snapshotsand excellent natural light. The sun imbues the scene with a sort of ethereal beauty， especially at dawn or sunset where light or a lack thereof re-creates and alters the surroundings color and tones you see， from bright to dark and more muted shades of red， blue， and grey.

My experience of Pingyao was like a photographic journey. I happened to be there during the annual Pingyao Interna-tional Photography Festival， which offered me a great opportunity to learn about the local art scene and enjoy the variety and breadth of artworks on dispay， from all corners of the world. Famous names and agencies such as Magnum， Aperture， National Geographic were represented， and some of my favourite landscape artists such as Sebastiao Salgado. The portraits were also impressive. The photographs intrinsically introspective character had a powerful， almost magnetic impact on me.

In real life Pingyao too， I find the effects of light captivating – the ways in which light can sublimate a person， or reinforce certain character traits by， say accentuating ones features.

Pingyao calls for an immersive， emotional voyage. If you take it in and see， hear， taste it all with nothing but your own body （and perhaps a bike）， then picturesque Pingyao could not disappoint.

A few anecdotes dotted my trip there. One of them was my encounter with a calligraphy painter who was selling art materials. Since I have a passion for art and Chinese art in particular， we ended up having a lengthy conversation. I was curious to know more about calligraphy per se.

This and other fond memories of interactions with the locals are ingrained in my mind， and with the contacts I made I hope to see them again soon ！ Being the only foreigner there was amusing as well.

Hence my first time in Pingyao was without doubt a highlight of my experience in China so far， and therefore I would be keen to explore it once more in the near future – minus the hordes of tourists ！