Atlas of China
Jinzhong 晋中Jìnzhōng
Walled Pingyao, temples of painted clay and the bankers' courtyard mansions
About Jinzhong
Jinzhong is the heartland of Shanxi's merchant bankers. Pingyao Ancient City, founded in the 14th century and a financial centre for all China in the 19th, is a World Heritage Site together with Shuanglin Temple, which holds more than 2,000 painted clay figures, and Zhenguo Temple, whose Wanfo Hall dates from 963. The merchants' mansions include the Qiao Family Compound, where Raise the Red Lantern was filmed, and the Wang Family Compound, one of the largest of Shanxi's courtyard houses.
What to eat in Jinzhong
- Pingyao beef (平遥牛肉)
- Taigu cake (太谷饼)
Featured places in Jinzhong
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Pingyao Ancient City 平遥古城
An intact Ming walled town of courtyard inns, where China's first draft banks were born
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Mount Mian 绵山
Cliff temples, plank walkways and gorges on the mountain of the Cold Food legend
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Qiao Family Compound 乔家大院
Walled courtyards of a Qing merchant-banking family, the set for Raise the Red Lantern
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Wang Family Compound 王家大院
Fortified courtyard 'castles' of a Qing merchant and official clan on a loess hillside
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Shuanglin Temple 双林寺
Some 2,000 painted clay Buddhas, saints and guardians crowded into ten temple halls
Listed sites in Jinzhong
72 listed sites are in Jinzhong. These are the 15 rated 5A or 4A; see all 72 in the Shanxi list.
- Chang Family Manor 常家庄园 4A scenic area
The fortified manor of the Chang family, Qing-dynasty merchants who traded tea to Russia, in Chewang village south-west of Yuci. - Dazhai 大寨 4A scenic area · National heritage site
A village in the Taihang foothills that was promoted nationwide in the 1960s and 1970s as a national model for agricultural production, under the slogan "In agriculture, learn from Dazhai". - Eighth Route Army Headquarters Memorial, Matian 麻田八路军总部纪念馆 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
From 1941 to 1945 the Eighth Route Army's front headquarters and the Communist Party's Northern Bureau were based at Matian, a village in the Taihang mountains near the Hebei border. - Hongya Canyon 红崖峡谷 4A scenic area · on the map
A forested canyon in the Taiyue range, named for the red rock of its steep cliffs, and one of the scenic areas of Taiyueshan National Forest Park. - Hougou Ancient Village 后沟古村 4A scenic area · on the map
A loess-plateau farming village in Dongzhao township, near the border with Shouyang county, where the houses are cave dwellings cut into the hillsides in stone, earth and brick. - Jiulong International Cultural and Ecological Tourism Park 九龙国际文化生态旅游区 4A scenic area · on the map
A leisure and holiday resort of about 3,900 mu (some 2.6 sq km) in the hills of Yuci District, close to Taiyuan. - Mount Shigao 石膏山 4A scenic area · on the map
A forested mountain scenic area in the Taiyue range, rising to 2,532 m, of which about 20 of its 75 sq km are open to visitors. - Taihang Longquan Scenic Area 太行龙泉 4A scenic area · on the map
A large national forest park and scenic area in the Taihang Mountains south of Zuoquan, with a waterfall, lakes, temples and an alpine meadow. - Wujin Mountain National Forest Park 乌金山国家森林公园 4A scenic area · on the map
A forested mountain park on the boundary between Taiyuan and Yuci, run as a leisure resort that combines religious sites, walking paths and an amusement park. - Xiaohe Lotus Bay 潇河莲花湾 4A scenic area · on the map
A riverside leisure area on the Xiaohe River in south-east Yuci, laid out around 2020 as the first part of the planned Xiaohe Arts Town. - Xiaoxigou Tourist Town 小西沟文旅康养小镇 4A scenic area · on the map
A purpose-built tourist town that opened in July 2021 on the site of a former quarry in the hills east of Taiyuan, after the quarry had been cleaned up and replanted. - Yuci Old Town 榆次老城 4A scenic area · on the map
A large quarter built from around 2000 on the site of the old Yuci county town and laid out as old-style streets. - Zhangbi Castle 张壁古堡 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
A walled fortress village with gullies on three sides and a convex-shaped wall about 374 m by 244 m, entered through a barbican at its north gate. - Zhaoyu Ancient City 昭馀古城 4A scenic area · on the map
The old centre of Qi County, a town on the Great Tea Road whose Ming and Qing courtyard houses have been renovated for visitors. - Zhenguo Temple 镇国寺 4A scenic area · National heritage site
A Buddhist temple in Haodong village, listed with Pingyao Ancient City and Shuanglin Temple as part of the 1997 World Heritage site.
Getting to Jinzhong
Train, flight and driving times from the cities most visitors come from, with stations, fares and how many run a day; each opens the full comparison.
- Zhengzhou 郑州 to Pingyao · train 3 h 45 min with a change at Taiyuan
- Datong 大同 to Pingyao · high-speed train 2 h 14 min, 10 a day, from ¥153
- Xi'an 西安 to Pingyao · high-speed train 2 h 25 min, 11 a day, from ¥159
- Beijing 北京 to Pingyao · high-speed train 3 h 35 min, 6 a day, from ¥251
- Tianjin 天津 to Pingyao · train 10 h 22 min, 1 a day, from ¥102
On the map
Open Jinzhong on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Jinzhong on the map