World Cultural Heritage: The Ancient City of Ping Yao (3)

Outside of the north door of the ancient wall, there is the Zhenguo Temple, which is the second valuable treasure of the Ancient City of Ping Yao. The temple’s Buddhist hall dates back to the period of the Five Dynasties (10th century). Spanning over 1,000 years, the temple is the third most ancient wooden building, and the colored sculptures from the Five Dynasties Period placed in the hall are rare and precious works of art.

The third valuable treasure of the Ancient City of Ping Yao is the Suanglin Temple in the southwest. The temple dates back to the second year of Wuping during the Northern Qi Dynasty (571), and there are over 2,000 colored sculptures made during the Yuan and Ming dynasties (13th century to 17th century). The sculptures are still preserved in more than 10 halls, hailed as the “treasure house of colored sculpture art.”

The Ancient City of Ping Yao is one of the origins of the famous Jin Merchants in China’s ancient business history. During the fourth year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty (1824), the prototype of China’s first modern bank, the Rishengchang exchange store, was established. Three years later, the Rishengchang established many branches in other provinces, and in the 1940s, their business was further extended to Japan, Singapore, Russia and other countries. Encouraged by the Rishengchang, the business of exchange stores in the city boomed. At its heyday, there were up to 22 exchange stores, and the city was once the financial center of China.