'Rishengchang Exchange Shop in Wind and Rain' movie starts in Pingyao

Rishengchang Exchange Shop in Pingyao ancient town, Shanxi province

The movie "Rishengchang Exchange Shop in Wind and Rain" started shooting in Pingyao ancient town, Shanxi province on March 25.

It is based on the story of the first exchange shop in China – Rishengchang –reflecting the pioneering and innovative spirit of the Jin Merchants.

It also reflects the high commercial ethics of Jin Merchants, and the splendid one-hundred-year history of Rishengchang Exchange Shop.

Zhang Zetian, who is in charge of the movie, said that it combines ideology, art and entertainment, to inherit the Jin Merchant spirit and promote the Jin Merchant culture. Pingyao ancient town, with more than 2,700 years of history, owns rich high-level cultural resources, which gives the movie the opportunity to discover more treasures there. He added.

The Rishengchang Exchange Shop is the origin of China's modern banking system, boasting great social and cultural values, with rich capital, and wide coverage around the country in the old days. It is located on the prosperous West Street in Pingyao, known as the top commercial street in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It was the first and largest draft bank operating remittance business in China. The shop kept running for over 100 years, and its branches had spread across 35 cities in China. The business had been expanded to Europe, the United States, and many Southeast Asian countries. Now the bank has been renovated into a museum with more than 20 exhibition halls, divided into two parts to display historical materials and its original appearance. People can learn about China’s banking history here in the museum.

Edited by Brian Salter