Lingshi Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in Apr)

Traveling inside China, I found this ancient world heritage place called Wang Family Compound, it is a lively area surrounded by walls, with a mini city inside, from shops to restaurants, temples and museums. The traditional architecture and the many activities to do were really great!! #merrychristmas

Visit the Wang Family Grand Courtyard in Shanxi to witness the world-renowned 'Folk Forbidden City'

The Forbidden City is known for the majesty of the royal family, while the Wang residence is known for the prominence of the Shanxi merchants. The Wang Family Grand Courtyard, which started with selling tofu, was built by the Wang family over 300 years during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It includes five lanes, six forts, and one street, covering a total area of 250,000 square meters, with thousands of rooms. Courtyards connect to courtyards, and houses connect to houses. It is even larger than the Forbidden City and is rightfully called the 'Number One Residence of Chinese Folk Houses'. 🎫Ticket: 50 RMB/person The Wang Family Grand Courtyard only sells joint tickets, which include: Wang Family Grand Courtyard➕Wang Family Estate➕Hongya Canyon➕Gypsum Mountain ⌚Opening hours Wang Family Grand Courtyard: 8:30-16:50 Wang Family Estate: 8:00-16:30 Hongya Canyon: 8:00-16:50 Gypsum Mountain Scenic Area: 8:30-16:00 🌈Tour route Enter through Shilu Fort and exit through Hengzhen Fort, from east to west. When you reach Hengzhen Fort, you can go from low to high to the garden, then climb the surrounding wall to overlook the entire complex, and finally descend along the wall. 🌟Core visiting areas Gaojia Cliff Buildings (Shilu Fort) and Hongmen Fort Buildings (Hengzhen Fort), with a stone bridge connecting the two forts in the middle. ✅Shilu Fort is an official residence, built by the luxurious mansion of the brothers Wang Rucheng and Wang Rucong, who were officials of the fourth and fifth rank respectively, complete with ancestral halls, embroidered buildings, kitchen courtyards, school courtyards, servant courtyards, family courtyards, and flower courtyards, all exquisitely decorated. ✅Hengzhen Fort is a civilian residence, equivalent to a large community for the Wang family. The main alley in the middle and three horizontal alleys form a regular 'Wang' character. The fort has 88 courtyards with simpler decorations. 💟3 major highlights 1️⃣Rigorous layout Layered buildings and courtyards, front halls and rear bedrooms, each layout reveals a hierarchy of respect and order, and a distinction between the inside and outside. In Shilu Fort, the younger brother Wang Rucheng's residence has a wider gate tower due to his higher official rank, but it is not as tall as his brother's. 2️⃣Three-carving art Brick carving, wood carving, and stone carving are rich in themes and auspicious meanings. Taking stone carving as an example, there are carvings representing the 'Twenty-four Filial Exemplars' indicating that filial piety is the most important virtue, seahorses among clouds symbolizing a journey of thousands of miles, bamboo joint carvings on door frames suggesting rising step by step, and stone statues of a large monkey carrying a small monkey symbolizing generations of nobility. 3️⃣Couplets and plaques There are couplets in the halls and plaques on the doors. The number of couplets and plaques and the depth of their content are unique in the culture of Shanxi merchants. One of the plaques bears the four characters '规圆矩方' (circular rules and square norms), with an extra dot under the character '矩' (norm), implying that a little more discipline leads to fewer troubles. 📣Explanation Be sure to listen to the explanations, otherwise, it will be difficult to deeply understand the details and connotations. The guide fee is 120 RMB, and you can join a group. Alternatively, a 30 RMB electronic guide is recommended, with a 100 RMB deposit returned at the exit. It has automatic induction, providing explanations automatically when you reach the corresponding tour area, and also offers tour route suggestions.

An ancient mansion in Shanxi from the Qing Dynasty that is even larger than the Forbidden City

🏨 Wang Family Courtyard 🚉Transportation Guide: Departing from Taiyuan, take the train from Taiyuan South to Lingshi East Station. Remember, Lingshi East Station is the closest to Wang Family Courtyard (about fifteen minutes by Lingshi No. 7 bus) Once you arrive at Wang Family Courtyard Station, it's just a five to six hundred meters walk, very close. If you reach Lingshi Station, also take the Lingshi No. 7 bus, it takes about 40 minutes to get to Wang Family Courtyard Station. 🍽Dining Recommendations: There are many restaurants where the bus stops, which is considered a residential area. Inside the Wang Family Courtyard, which is purely a scenic area, there's no food for sale! 📝Note tips: As soon as you enter the main gate, on the left hand side there is a small hut where you can ask for a tour guide, 120r for a guide (you can join with many people). It's essential to hire a guide, or at least join a group with one, especially for the residences of the two Wang brothers. After listening to the explanations, the experience is completely different. The essence of the explanation is also the residences of the Wang brothers. ❤Recommended Reason: The biggest impression is the difficulty of life for women during the Qing Dynasty; not stepping out of the main gate or the second gate meant being trapped in such a small courtyard (no matter how exquisite it is) Sons live on the first floor, daughters on the second floor (also called the Embroidery Building). Thirteen years old going up to the Embroidery Building, fourteen cutting hair, fifteen getting married (it's quite poignant) 🌟Highlights: Moreover, the architectural beauty, both in the grand scheme and the details, is captivating. The stone carvings and wood carvings all have stories and meanings. The Wang family had a high level of education and placed great importance on the education of their children! The Wang family started with selling tofu and built a courtyard larger than the Forbidden City, using only the interest from their savings ('In all trades, a master emerges'). 💰Average Cost: 30r per person in the off-season 👍Most Recommended: The best photography spot is the stairs going up on the right-hand side facing the Dingjia Garden, taking photos with Dingjia Garden as the backdrop. There's no need to go to Wang Family Manor; aside from the name 'Wang,' there's not much connection. The tour guide's explanation takes about 1h, and you can control your own wandering time to be about 3h, which is quite sufficient. Although it's said to be larger than the Forbidden City, the area we visited is actually not that large. Many courtyards are not open due to similar layouts, so 3h is more than enough.

Wang's Grand Courtyard is a hidden treasure in Shanxi for sightseeing

Wang's Grand Courtyard was built over more than three hundred years during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The entire complex consists of five alleys, six fortresses, and one street, covering an area of 250,000 square meters, which is 100,000 square kilometers larger than the Forbidden City, making it the largest private residence in China, known as the 'Folk Forbidden City'. So it's quite tiring to visit, but definitely worth it! With limited time, I decided to visit Wang's Grand Courtyard! 🌟 Three Highlights of Wang's Grand Courtyard 1️⃣ The Imperial Edict This is an imperial edict issued to the Wang family during the reign of Emperor Jiaqing, preserved by generations of the Wang family and later voluntarily donated. This edict is not only a precious physical document left by the Wang family's ancestors, but also a reference for studying the history of the Qing dynasty, the documentation system, the bureaucracy, calligraphy, knitting, and their evolution and development. 2️⃣ The Thousand-Worker Bed The 'Thousand-Worker Bed' displayed in the 'bridal chamber' of the Dunhou Mansion's backyard uses various decorative techniques such as carving, inlaying, painting, and drawing. It features red as the main color to reflect the festive atmosphere, paired with the vibrant Chinese red and the rich gold lacquer, showcasing its unique elegance as a 'wedding bed'. 3️⃣ The Complete Map of the Great Qing's Eternal Unification The 'Complete Map of the Great Qing's Eternal Unification' displayed in the Ningrui Residence's hall is a printed edition, but it is a valuable scientific document for studying the historical changes of China's territory and administrative regions. History has witnessed its beginnings, development, and decline. In the vast courtyard, beyond the visible prosperity and grandeur, one begins to ponder and explore the reasons for the decline of Wang's Grand Courtyard, as well as how to prevent such events from happening to ourselves. ✅ The main reasons for the decline of Wang's Grand Courtyard are: 1️⃣ The Wang family began to decline after the Daoguang era of the Qing dynasty, mainly due to the lack of ambition among the descendants and increasing extravagance. The descendants of the Wang family, due to opium and the avoidance of war, sold their vast family business to outsiders and fled to Sichuan with substantial wealth (the spiritual decline due to opium addiction). 2️⃣ The grand scale, huge cost, and lavishness of Wang's Grand Courtyard inevitably attracted excessive restrictions from the imperial court. The court's increasing exploitation of the Shanxi merchants made it difficult for the Wang family to escape misfortune (restrictions caused by excessive luxury). 3️⃣ The Wang family's ideal of achieving success through the imperial examinations and fundamentally growing their business led to their decline (forgetting the core competitiveness that initially led to their wealth). Therefore, only by choosing the right direction, keeping up with the times, adhering to the original intention, living frugally, keeping a low profile, practicing self-discipline, and working diligently can wealth be passed down from generation to generation, and the family prosper! ✅ When visiting, it is essential to hire a guide. Without a guide, it's like a dog looking at the stars, wandering from room to room without understanding the significance of Wang's Grand Courtyard, only recognizing it as a Qing dynasty architectural style. However, with a guide, you will understand how meticulous and meaningful the Qing dynasty architecture of Wang's Grand Courtyard is. The architectural style is detailed in every aspect, from the front hall to the back bedroom, with a courtyard style that ensures privacy and distinguishes between the noble and the humble. The thresholds, carvings, stone piers, and brick carvings of the courtyard all have unique meanings, and every detail is breathtaking. ✅ For example, the kirin at the entrance symbolizes wealth, the steps on both sides of the entrance must be symmetrical, the crane and turtle represent longevity, and the monkeys on the stone pillars represent generations of nobility. There are too many details; this is the style of architecture during the Qing dynasty, while the adjacent Ming dynasty architecture is much simpler without so many details. As for why, that's something for the guide to explain in detail.

Hold on! Recommendations for 7 travel destinations suitable for October-December

Avoiding the National Day, staggered travel from October to December, if you haven't planned yet and don't know where to go, look here, I have compiled 7 super beautiful tourist attractions for you, collect them and go with your family and friends! 1⃣️Guangwushan Starting from October every year, the land of China from north to south will be ignited by this fire-like red, known as the 'longest natural red carpet in Asia'! It is the largest red leaf viewing area in Asia, and the red leaf season lasts for a month~ 🎈 Guangwushan Town, Nanjiang County, Bazhong City, Sichuan Province 2⃣️Changbai Mountain This is a magical world that is not inferior to Kanas, Tianchi, canyons, forests, waterfalls, every scene is incredibly beautiful. In winter, the snow-capped mountains, the frozen Tianchi, plus the sky blue that is unbelievable, it's just too beautiful! 🎈 Southeast of Chibei District, Erdaobaihe Town, Antu County, Jilin Province 3⃣️Tengchong The average annual temperature is 19℃, the climate is comfortable and pleasant, and it has also been rated as 'one of the most suitable places for human habitation'. Here, you can completely fall in love with autumn and take you into the beautiful season of golden yellow fallen leaves in Ginkgo Village and the romantic Wuliang Mountain winter cherry blossoms. 🎈 Western Yunnan Province 4⃣️Shennongjia In October-November of Shennongjia, it is even more 'colorful' that makes people lose their self-confidence - as far as the eye can see, the hills and valleys are all colors splashed by the autumn wind The colorful oil painting-like light and shadow, the pure sky is vast and Deep, a few white cotton-like floating clouds are floating leisurely~ 🎈 Northwestern Hubei Province 5⃣️Shanxi In Taiyuan City, visit Hengshan and Jinci to understand Chinese ancient architecture and religious culture. You can also go to Pingyao Ancient City and stroll in this small town with a history of 4,000 years, feeling the strong historical atmosphere on the stone street 6⃣️Western Sichuan The colorful forests in Western Sichuan are blooming, and the maple leaves are brilliant, attracting tourists from all over the place. If you can encounter such a color feast, it will definitely leave a heavy color in your memory~ 🎈 Western region of Sichuan Basin 7⃣️Yunnan The autumn in Yunnan also contains grandeur, the trees with colorful layers, reflecting on the lake, like the mirror of this autumn color, the distant snow-capped mountains, also willingly become the background. The tenderness of the wind, flowers, snow and moon, the just right coolness, the leisurely half-day leisure, the grandeur of the golden...

Ping Yao Gu Cheng aka Ping Yao Ancient City. This ancient city is located in Ping Yao City, Shanxi province. I guess many people herd about this place, about this very famous city and germ of Shanxi Province (not Shaanxi). This is the one of the most well preserved ancient cities in China. Thriving through the centuries in the ancient time, it has survived twenty's century and appears in its unique and charming style in front of our eyes. I would like to emphasize this is real city, all buildings are really ancient, not the new made after 2000 year. Really, unique place. The city is presented by its ancient streets and everywhere small museum are ready to accept guests. Every building is a museum, ancient hall or rich family yard. There are a lot of special artifacts. Totally, the visiting requires two days to visit every small place. Ticket gives the access to every location. Each place in this city deserved separate introduction. #urbanexplorer#roadtrip#museumquest

ancient city of Pingyao. a nice short breather away from the typical hustle and bustle of China’s bigger cities. all the buildings have been painstakingly preserved and you get to enjoy being lost among its many alleys.

Pingyao is one of the old ancient city in China which is still very original and it is also one of the UNESCO world heritage site. This ancient city is surrounded by its outstanding city walls which were used by the guards to protect the city from enemies in the past. If you come here, try to find hotel inside the ancient town as it is a really nice area. You can also find many traditional restaurants and shops inside :) #HalloTrip

LingShi Meteorite Park in Jinzhong, Shanxi | "LingShi" is a meteorite that was discovered over 1400 years ago

There is only one city named after a meteorite, and that is LingShi County in Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province. During the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, toured to Jinyang, and when he reached the territory of Pingchang County, the official carriage had difficulty traveling. A road was opened along the river, and a huge stone was found, which looked like iron but not iron, like stone but not stone, with a grayish color and a clanging sound. Legend has it that the stone bore the words "Great Way Eternal Auspiciousness", and Emperor Wen considered it an auspicious omen, thus bestowing the name "LingShi" on it, and decreed the establishment of a county in the southwest of Pingchang, named after the stone as "LingShi County", which has a history of over 1430 years to this day. The local villagers regard this as a sacred stone and come to burn incense and worship during the spring and autumn festivals, praying for peace. According to scholars who have studied the stone's quality and shape, this is an ancient meteorite that fell from the sky, weighing 6.8 tons, with the part exposed above ground being 1.6 meters high, 1.5 meters in diameter, and approximately 2.4 cubic meters in volume. Scientific tests and analyses have shown that "LingShi" is an iron meteorite. Its hardness is 5.5-6.0, it is magnetic, and its main component is iron, with a content of 96.17%, with other elements like nickel, titanium, manganese, etc., none of which exceed 1% in content. Its external volume is second only to the iron meteorite displayed in the Urumqi Museum. The volume of the part buried underground remains a mystery to this day. Legend has it that during the Japanese invasion of China, a Japanese officer named Yamaguchi Dairoku attempted to transport the "LingShi" to Japan. Soldiers dug for several days without finding the base, so they had to give up. Originally, the LingShi stone was placed outside the north gate of LingShi County in the Lvzu Temple, but later the Lvzu Temple was rebuilt into the Tianshi Park, adjacent to the LingShi Cultural and Arts Center. Citizens and tourists can touch the "LingShi" up close and take photos with it. 📍Detailed address: Tianshi Park: East side of the Cultural and Arts Center in LingShi County, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province Tickets: Free admission

Hancheng Ancient City in Weinan, Shaanxi

A leisurely ancient city - Hancheng, Shaanxi Hancheng Ancient City: The old city of Hancheng was built during the Sui Dynasty and has a history of 1500 years. It is one of the most well-preserved ancient cities in the country, retaining architectural styles from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Among them, there are 16 Yuan Dynasty buildings. Hancheng's 'Yuan Jian' is one of the most concentrated places in the country. A Ming and Qing ancient street, a group of ancient buildings, a batch of quadrangle ancient residences, all well-preserved, make it one of the six best-protected Ming and Qing ancient cities in China. The ancient city of Hancheng contains many historical relics and cultural landscapes, including the Confucian Temple, Jiulang Temple, Hancheng North Camp Temple, East Camp Temple, Qingshan Temple, Yuxiu Bridge, City God Temple, County Government Office, Top Scholar Mansion, Li Zicheng's Palace, Jincheng Old Street, homes of famous people, and quadrangle residences. 1. Navigate to Hancheng Ancient City to arrive It is recommended to first visit Hancheng's mutton restaurant for a delicious Hancheng mutton meal before heading to the ancient city, where there is a food street, but it mostly offers snacks and tends to be crowded. Location: Near 54 Huomiao Alley, Hancheng City, Weinan, Shaanxi 2. Parking: There is an underground parking lot in the ancient city 3. Admission: Free 4. Estimated visiting time: 2-3 hours Pass through the food street to reach the ancient street, where merchants line both sides, interspersed with ancient buildings, small attractions, folk museums, etc. 5. Opening hours: 11:00-20:30 (all year round) 6. Special recommendations: Hancheng Sichuan pepper, Sichuan pepper yogurt, Sichuan pepper-related foods (available for tasting), flour-based foods, wontons, fried dough twists, mutton...

Ancient City of Hancheng, Shaanxi

The ancient city of Hancheng, the city was first built during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the fourth year of Dading in the Jin Dynasty (1164), the city wall was built with soil. In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1640), Xue Guoguan, the prime minister of the city, proposed to the court for approval, advocating local officials and gentlemen to donate funds to change the soil city wall into a brick city wall. The four city gates are inscribed with 'East with the Yellow River', 'Liang Yi West Lapel', 'Pubei Hancheng', and 'Longmen Shengdi'. In order to protect the ancient city, the municipal government made a decision in the early 1980s to protect the ancient city area and build a new city area, so that the ancient streets are well protected. The main street that runs through the north and south of the ancient city of Hancheng is the main street, which is dragon-shaped, reaching a kilometer long, slightly curved, like a dragon lying horizontally; the Jin Dynasty pagoda at the top of the Yuanjue Temple on the north side of the ancient city is like a dragon head, and the ancient stone bridge at the south end is like a dragon tail. The dragon-shaped main street has 72 lanes that crisscross, are orderly, and accessible in all directions. There are more than 5,200 houses in the ancient city, including more than 770 buildings and shops and houses of certain protection value. The ancient shops along the main street are Ming and Qing buildings, most of them are two-story buildings, with warehouses upstairs and shops downstairs, front shops and rear residences, brick and wood structures, and blue brick gray tile sloping roofs, which are typical of the northern ancient city. The well-preserved concentrated courtyards in the ancient city include Zhang Lane, Gaojia Lane, Bozi Lane, Nanying Temple Lane, Wanwan Lane, etc. There are 13 ancient buildings with more than 70 buildings protected in the block, with a large number, large scale and various types, especially the Confucian Temple, the City God Temple, and the Dongying Temple are connected into a piece, reaching more than 700 meters, which is a major feature of the ancient city.

6-day tour from Xi'an to Shanxi (from south to north)

🚗🚗🚗Travel route: Day1: Tongguan Yellow River Ancient Ferry→Guoquelou→Yongle Palace→Yuncheng Salt Lake Day2: Hongtong Dahaitu Root-seeking Ancestor Worship Park→Shanxi Wang's Grand Courtyard→Zhangbi Ancient Castle→Mianshan Scenic Area Day3: Pingyao Ancient City→Qiao's Grand Courtyard Day4: Yungang Grottoes→Hanging Temple Day5: Mengshan Giant Buddha→Shanxi Museum Day6: Dangjia Village→Hancheng Ancient City

For Huoshan, it was little known until I went there. I only know that it is a county in the hinterland of the Dabie Mountains in western Anhui. This trip to Huoshan gave me a new understanding of Huoshan. This is the core of the revolutionary base area of the western Yunnan. In addition to the magnificent natural scenery of the main peak of the Dabie Mountains, there are also wine and food, buried in The natural hot springs in the mountains, the Huoshan sarcophagus with high health care value, the blue-throated bee tiger of China's most beautiful birds, and the Foziling Reservoir of the first hydropower station in the Huaihe River Basin. This is the best place to travel with a loved one, and go to Takahashi Bay with him or her to watch the blue-throated bee tiger who is loyal to love, and he or she is in the spa town. Relax in a hot spring, and take a boat ride with him (her) to enjoy the beautiful and tranquil Foziling Reservoir, and climb with him (she) to climb the peak of the Dabie Mountain peak to see the sunrise and sunset...