Things to do in Qi County

No. 16 of Best Things to Do in Shanxi

The Qiao's Family Compound

The Qiao's Family Compound is located in the center of Qiaojiapu village, Qi county, also known as "The Qiao Family CourtyardIt was the residence of Qiao Zhiyong, a renowned commercial and financial capitalist in the Qing Dynasty, and has served as a filming location for over 30 movies and TV series, including "The Qiao Family Courtyard" and "Raise the Red Lantern." If you've seen these films, you'll surely recognize the scenes here: rows of red lanterns hanging high, towering brick walls, exquisite carvings, beautiful bracket sets and upturned eaves, and deep alleys. This is the famous The Qiao Family Courtyard. This is a residential complex from the Ming and Qing dynasties, its architecture resembling a castle, imposing and grand, typical of the living style of a large northern family during the Ming and Qing periods. Viewed from above, the entire courtyard layout resembles the Chinese character "囍" (double happiness), symbolizing good fortune. The complex is meticulously laid out yet also varied; even the more than 140 chimneys on the rooftops are unique. It is said to have been built by the imperial family.The Forbidden CityThere's a saying that "for residential architecture, visit the Qiao family courtyard". Upon entering the Qiao family courtyard, a straight stone-paved path approx. 80 m long divides the six courtyards into two rows, north and south. According to traditional naming, the three courtyards on the north side of the Qiao family courtyard are called the old courtyard, northwest courtyard, and study courtyard from east to west. The three courtyards on the south side are called the southeast courtyard, southwest courtyard, and new courtyard, reflecting the construction sequence of each courtyard. The brick carvings, painted decorations, and inscribed plaques in each courtyard are exquisitely crafted. The standout is the "hundred longevity characters" screen wall at the main entrance, featuring 100 uniquely styled seal-script "longevity" characters, where art and culture blend seamlessly. The brick carvings at the land god shrine are also noteworthy. Under the eaves of every room in the Qiao family courtyard, you'll find genuine gold-painted decorations, notably created using the raised paste technique with meticulous layering and final gold application. Among the many inscribed plaques at the Qiao family courtyard, the one personally calligraphed by Fu Shan in the fourth courtyard is particularly remarkable.Danfeng pavilion“Plaque”, when visiting here, be sure to learn about the story behind this plaque. Additionally, there are three treasures in the Qiao Family Courtyard: the ten-thousand-people ball, the rhinoceros gazing at the moon mirror, and the nine-dragon lantern. The rhinoceros gazing at the moon mirror was the treasure that brought wealth to the Qiao family, while the nine-dragon lantern was a gift from Empress Dowager Cixi, located in the courtyard at the southern center. Today, the Qiao family courtyard also serves as a folk museum, with its six courtyards respectively displaying agricultural life through the seasons, life rituals, inner gardens, commercial customs, luxurious furnishings, and the history of the Qiao family. Visitors can explore while learning about the Qiao family's philosophy of life, household management, and business.

No. 1 of Fall Viewing Attractions in Pingyao County

Zhenguo Temple

Located in Pingyao County, Zhenguo Temple is one of the oldest wooden structures in China. The area of Zhenguo Temple is not large. Its important building is the main hall on the central axis. It is also called the Wanfo Hall. The overall frame of the hall is tightly structured and exquisitely crafted. It preserves the wooden structures of the Five Dynasties a thousand years ago; in the Wanfo Hall, the statues of the millennium are still colorful, and are the finest in ancient sculpture art. In the Sanfo Hall behind the Wanfo Hall, the walls are filled with murals of Buddhist stories of the Ming Dynasty, which are delicate and vivid.

2026 Asia 100 - Night Attractions

Pingyao Ancient City

Pingyao Ancient City is one of the best-preserved ancient cities in China and, along with Lijiang Ancient City, is one of the two ancient cities in China to have successfully been designated as a World Cultural Heritage site in its entirety. Pingyao was once the financial center of China during the late Qing dynasty. Walking into this once-prosperous ancient city, you can feel the atmosphere of Shanxi merchant culture everywhere. The streets, shops, and residences within the ancient city still maintain their traditional layout and appearance. The overall street pattern is in the shape of the Chinese character 'tu', consisting of four main streets, eight small streets, and seventy-two lanes. The ancient city has six city gates in total, and the areas around the south gate and west gate are where visitors are concentrated. When touring, you usually enter the city through the lower west gate and walk along West Street to Rishengchang Exchange Shop, where you can learn about the development history of ancient banking and experience the legend of Shanxi merchants conducting business across the world. South Street, which runs north-south through the city, is the central axis of the ancient city. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, South Street gathered more than half of the country's financial institutions and was known as the "Wall Street of China" at the time. Today this street is called the Ming and Qing Ancient Street, and most of the ancient city's attractions are concentrated here. Centered on the landmark Market Tower, attractions such as Xietongqing Exchange Shop, Weitaihou Exchange Shop Museum, and the Chinese Escort Agency Museum are distributed around it, and a large number of shop buildings from the Ming and Qing periods are preserved along the street. At the Pingyao County Government Office in the south of the ancient city, you can see a large number of ancient documents and instruments of torture, and there is a daily performance of the county magistrate holding court; the City God Temple and the Confucian Temple in the east of the city have grand and refined architecture. The ancient city wall is very well preserved, and climbing the wall offers a panoramic view of the ancient city. The gate tower of Yingxun Gate at the south gate is especially exquisite, and watching the sunset from the city wall in the evening is a magnificent sight. In addition to the ancient city itself, the Zhenguo Temple and Shuanglin Temple outside the city are also part of the World Cultural Heritage. The Ten Thousand Buddha Hall of Zhenguo Temple is entirely made of wood, assembled with mortise and tenon joints without a single nail; Shuanglin Temple preserves painted sculptures from the Yuan to Ming dynasties, which are exquisite in form and renowned as a "treasure house of Eastern painted sculpture art."

Zhaoyu Ancient Town Tea Merchant Cultural Tourism Zone

The ancient city of Zhaoyu was first built during the Taihe period of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It has a history of more than 1,500 years and is one of the "oldest" county towns in my country's more than 2,000 counties. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it flourished due to the development of tea merchants, and became a trend of "living in the countryside, setting up a store in Zhaoyu, and doing business all over the world". The ancient city of Zhaoyu is slightly longer from east to west (about 850 meters) and slightly shorter from north to south (about 700 meters). It is rectangular and has a circumference of about three kilometers. There is a missing corner in the southeast direction of the city, and the whole city is shaped like the gauze hat worn by ancient officials, so it is called "Gauze Hat City". The layout of the entire urban area is centered on the cross street, with four main streets in the east, west, south and north intersecting vertically, with the south straight and the north straight, and the east and west corresponding. With the cross as the skeleton, the whole city is supplemented by 28 streets and alleys that run vertically and horizontally with it. Most of these streets and alleys are neat and standardized, parallel to the main streets, showing that the entire layout structure is rigorous, reflecting the traditional architectural design thought system of ancient my country. Whether it is the shape of the "Shamao City", the layout of the city with the south straight and the north straight, and the east and west corresponding, the deep courtyards with luxurious decoration, exquisite painting and dazzling brilliance, the street shops with open columns and two-story structures, or the numerous temples and pavilions that follow the rules and are rigorous, they have achieved the unity of functional use and architectural art, and have a very important position in the history of Chinese architecture and aesthetics. It fully embodies the harmonious unity of the five basic characteristics of the classical landscape city theory of "symbiosis, coexistence, common prosperity, common joy and common elegance", and can be called a classic of the ancient city. In January 1994, it was approved by the State Council to be announced as a national historical and cultural city. In 2011, "Qixian Jinshang Old Street" was rated as a "Chinese Historical and Cultural Street". In December 2015, the Chinese Society of Business History awarded Qixian the title of "Tea Horse Road - Tea Merchant Capital". In March 2019, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage included the "Tea Horse Road" in the "China World Cultural Heritage Preliminary List". At the same time, the 13 existing tea merchant sites in Qixian were also included in the "China World Cultural Heritage Preliminary List". The open attractions in Zhaoyu Ancient City Cultural Tourism Area include the "Shanxi Merchant Culture Museum (Qu Family Courtyard)", "Qu Benqiao's Former Residence", "Tea Horse Road Museum (Changyuchuan Tea House)" and "Qi County Treasure House".

Selected for Best Things to Do in Shanxi

Shuanglin Temple

Shuanglin Temple is an old temple listed on the World Heritage List along with Pingyao Ancient City Wall and Zhenguo Temple. The sculptures made completely of wood-tire clay in the temple are valuable, integrating the essence of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties colorful lay sculptures. The Avalokitesvara of the Bodhisattva Temple is of high quality. She sat in front of the green background, and she was graceful and elegant, with a gentle and calm appearance. Each arm is rounded and plump, and the ratio to the body is just perfect. There is no feel of stiff, reaching the harmonious and perfect realm of sculptural art.

Qu Family Grand Courtyard

No. 2 of Best Things to Do in Pingyao Ancient City

Pingyao Ancient City Wall

A world relic with six gate towers, Pingyao Ancient City Wall is a stately and elegant architectural wonder. Famous for its skillfully crafted defense facilities, made of bricks, compacted earth and stones, the ancient wall was a vitally important part of the security for the cities of Fucheng and Pingyao. A popular destination for vacationing visitors, the beautifully preserved city wall area is now a national treasure, offering evidence of the sophisticated construction techniques of long ago. This is where you can experience the atmosphere of an ancient time with remnants of military structures, from turrets and lookout hideaways to iron cannon and equipment used as protective systems. Also known as Turtle City, symbolizing eternity, Pingyao city houses the thick wall, which looks like the image of a tortoise from an aerial view, with the South Gate resembling the tortoise's head. Taking a stroll on top of parts of the ancient wall, starting at the North Gate, takes you on a peaceful walk with nice views and a perspective of China back in time.

2026 Asia 100 - Family-friendly Attractions

Jinci Temple Museum

Jinci Temple Museum is located at the foot of Xuanweng Mountain by the banks of the Jin River. It is an ancestral temple built to commemorate Tang Shuyu, the founding feudal lord of the State of Jin, and is also one of the earlier surviving royal sacrificial gardens in China. There is a saying that "you have not truly visited Taiyuan until you have visited Jinci." The ancient buildings in the museum are arranged in sequence along the central axis, among which the Xian Hall, the Flying Bridge over the Fish Pond, and the Hall of the Holy Mother are known as the "three treasures," while the Zhou Cypress, the Never-Aging Spring, and the Song dynasty attendant statues are known as the "three wonders"—these are the core highlights of any visit. The "Three Treasures" are located on the central axis and can be visited together. Xian Hall is the place where sacrificial offerings are placed. The hall is surrounded by railings instead of walls, making it well-ventilated and bright, and its beam structure is simple and lightweight. The Flying Bridge Across Fish Pond is on the west side of Xian Hall. It is a cross-shaped ancient bridge built over a square pond, resembling a modern overpass in form, and this type of bridge structure is extremely rare among surviving ancient buildings. The west end of the bridge connects to Shengmu Hall, the oldest surviving building in the museum. Wooden carved dragons coil around the porch columns in front of the hall, making them relatively early surviving examples of wooden coiled dragons. The hall interior was built using the reduced-column method, creating a rather spacious interior. It houses dozens of Song Dynasty colored sculptures, with the main statue of Shengmu seated in the shrine and the remaining attendants arranged on both sides with varied expressions. One attendant statue is half joyful and half sorrowful, vividly lifelike and moving. With Shengmu Hall as the center, you can also seek out the "Three Wonders." The Zhou Cypress is located on the north side of Shengmu Hall. It is said to have been planted in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and its trunk leans south like a reclining dragon, full of ancient majesty. The Never-Aging Spring is located on the south side of Shengmu Hall and is the main source of the Jin River. The museum also houses the Stele of the Inscription and Preface to Jinci, composed and handwritten by Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, whose running-script calligraphy is vigorous and forceful. In the southern part is the Shifang Fengsheng Zen Temple, said to have originally been the villa of the Tang Dynasty general Yuchi Gong. In the Futu Courtyard, the Sarira ShengSheng Pagoda can be climbed for a distant view. The Jinci temple fair has been passed down to the present day and has been included in the national-level intangible cultural heritage list. The Water Mirror Stage, an ancient theater stage in the museum, is an important venue for activities during the temple fair.

Sandodo Museum

Located in Beiguang Village, Taigu County, it was the courtyard of Cao's family, a wealthy businessman in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Due to the large number of cultural relics in the courtyard, it was turned into a Sanduotang Museum ("Sanduo" means more blessings, more longevity and more children). The compound covers an area of 6,468 square meters and is shaped like a longevity from a distance. The courtyard is divided into two parts, north and south, with a total of 15 small courtyards and more than 270 houses. The layout of the whole courtyard is reasonable, heavy and simple, and its architectural style not only integrates the architectural styles of the north and the south, but also absorbs the ancient architectural styles of Europe.

No. 3 of Best Things to Do in Pingyao Ancient City

Rishengchang Draft Bank

Rishengchang Former Bank is located in the West Street in the ancient city of Pingyao. At that time, the operation network was almost all over China, and now the Rishengchang Former Bank has become the China Former Bank Museum. Here, some of the physical materials used in the operation were kept, showing the glorious history of the ancient Chinese banking industry. The Rishengchang Former Bank is a high-rise building. In order to prevent theft, there are wire nets on the sky and bells on the nets.