Ping Yao, Ancient City

During my stay in China, I visited the ancient city of Ping Yao.
The city was walled, and shaped like a turtle, with six gates of
the four sides of the city. The walls were over a meter thick, and
also incredible high. Even through the many years of erosion, the
walls today still stand in good condition, showing the ingenuity
of the ancient Chinese.

Many structures inside the city are also standing. Among these
buildings is a temple worshipping the ancient philosopher, Confucius.

Confucius had over 3000 followers, among them, there were 72 main
followers.The temple has six rooms and a courtyard in the middle.
The largest room contains the statue of Confucius himself, and the
other six rooms contain his 72 main followers, with twelve in each
room. These statues are still standing in perfect condition, with
expressions on each of their faces.

Another important structure in the city is the bank and post office.
These were the most important structures in the city. If you wanted
to deposit money, you would first go to the weighing room. In there,
your gold and silver coins would be weighed individually. You would
then receive a check displaying the amount of money you deposited.
A code would be written on the back of that paper so that you could
not change the information.

Also, the post office was with the bank. Mail was important, and codes
were used when communicating. You would have to start a letter with
the word that ended your last letter. Also, if you wanted to ask your
relatives how usiness there was, you would say something else, like
asking themhow’s the weather.

The city of Ping Yao, is still rich with life today. Antique sellers
and restaurants fill many buildings on the streets. Just like over a
thousand years ago, the city still has life.