Special Trip Photos - Ancient Pingyao, March 19-21, 2010

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In March we did a special trip to Shanxi Province for a 3-day visit to the ancient walled city of Pingyao. As well as exploring the city, we hiked in the hills outside the walls.

Special treats included a command performance of Shanxi Opera, and two nights in a boutique 5-star courtyard hotel right in the center of the old city. We had guided tours of the alleys, thoroughfares, and the key historical sites, and also headed outside the ancient city walls to visit the ‘Civilian Forbidden City,’ the Shuanglin Temple, and to take a hike in the hills around the White Cloud Temple.

Huijie snapped too many shots for one page - below are a few highlights; you can find many more photos from this trip in our Pingyao 2010 photo set.

First day

Group photo, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

The happy group of travellers.

Dog and statue, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

Small dog with a stone lion.

Street performer, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

A street performer in period costume.

Stairs and hall, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

Climbing steps towards an ornately decorated tower.

Pingyao City Walls, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

We circled the city, walking on the old walls.

Opera performer, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

Dinner on the first evening was accompanied by a command performance of Shanxi-style opera.

Shanxi Opera performer, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

Second day

Biking the streets of Pingyao, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

We got on the bikes and headed towards a temple outside of the city.

Lunch, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

Shanxi specialties for lunch.

The streets of Pingyao, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

One of the main streets of Pingyao.

Papercutting, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

Back at the hotel, we got to try our hand at papercutting.

Third day

Cave dwellings, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

While hiking on the third day, we spotted quite a few dwellings dug into a hillside.

Hillside houses, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

More of the hillside houses.

Alley and gate, Beijing Hikers Ancient Walled City of Pingyao trip, 2010/03/19-21

This alley led up towards the ornamented gate of a temple.