Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tickets for trains (especially to Xi'an) are tough to get in summer, so plan
ahead. Your hotel/hostel should be able to help. Trains depart for the following
destinations:
Beijing
hard seat/sleeper ¥92/170, 11 to 14 hours, three daily
Datong
hard seat/sleeper ¥62/123, seven to eight hours, four daily
Taiyuan
¥15, 1½ hours, frequent
Xi'an
hard seat/sleeper ¥67/134, 8½ to 10½ hours, five daily
Getting Around
Pingyao can be easily navigated on foot or bicycle (¥10 per day). Rickshaws
run to the train and bus stations for ¥10.
Around Pingyao
Most hostels and guesthouses will arrange transport to the surrounding sights.
Climate
Wutai Shan is at high altitude and powerful blizzards can sweep in as late as May
and as early as September. Winters are freezing and snowbound; the summer
months are the most pleasant, but always pack a jacket, as well as suitable shoes
or boots for rain, as temperatures fall at night.
Wang Family Courtyard
More castle than cosy home, this Qing-dynasty
former residence
(Wangjia
Dayuan; admission ¥66; 7.30am-7pm)
is grand and has been very well
maintained (note the wooden galleries still fronting many of the courtyard
buildings). Its sheer size, though, means that the seemingly endless proces-
sion of courtyards (123 in all) becomes a little repetitive. Behind the castle
walls are interesting and still-occupied
cave dwellings
(
yaodong
), while in
