Pingyao repairs ancient city walls

Pingyao ancient city is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Several parts of its ancient city walls are in danger because of aging problems.

The Pingyao bureau of cultural relics started a rescue repair project in April for six sections of the ancient walls suffering from the most severe conditions.

The work is undertaken by professors from the Shanxi Ancient Architecture Protection Institute. “The six section of walls for repair lie in the west, north and east city walls. All of them are facing a terrible situation,” said Ren Yimin, vice-director of the Shanxi Ancient Architecture Protection Institute.

The repair project has a total investment of 15 million yuan ($2.45 million) and is scheduled to complete at the end of October. Workers will repair the walls section by section according to their degree of damage.

Pingyao ancient city measures a length of 6,163 meters and an area of 2.25 square kilometers with six barbicans, four turrets and 72 watchtowers. The existing city wall was built in 1370 and is the most complete ancient city wall from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties in the country.

The ancient city walls suffer from interior holes, inner wall collapses, cracks, rotted bricks and a poor drainage system on top.

Edited by Lin Hong and Michael Thai