Pingyao acts to maintain original landscapes of ancient city

The once-damaged wall of the Ancient City of Pingyao is now fully repaired. [Photo/Shanxi Evening News] 

The splendid traditional Chinese culture in the Ancient City of Pingyao in Pingyao county, North China's Shanxi province continues to shine due to the State's efforts to protect and utilize cultural relics. 

The original landscapes are the essence of the vibrant Chinese historical and cultural city. 

After more than 2,800 years of ups and downs, the 2.25-square-kilometer ancient city has preserved more than 300 cultural relics and nearly 4,000 traditional buildings, where traditional culture still survives in the everyday lives of residents. 

On Dec 3, 1997, it became the first in China to have an entire ancient city listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. 

Since 2012, the Pingyao county government has provided subsidies for the repair of traditional residences with private property rights. Nearly 1,000 houses in 105 courtyards have been renovated, and 57 illegal courtyards have been demolished. 

The newly-revised Regulations on the Protection of the Ancient City of Pingyao in Shanxi Province refined details regarding the protection of the ancient city's traditional style. The government has established an approval process for residential repairs to ensure that the ancient city's original appearance is retained. 

Governments at county, municipal, provincial and national levels have also stepped up protection of key cultural relics in the ancient city. 

Notable among them is the protection of the some 6,100-meter-long and 10-meter-high wall of the Ancient City of Pingyao, which was first built in the Western Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-771 BC) and renovated in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). 

In 2021, due to continuous heavy rainfall, 61 sections of the internal wall were damaged to the point of being hazardous, some of which collapsed or slipped. 

With the support of the Central government, the local cultural relics department entrusted a professional construction institution to adopt traditional techniques and more weather resistant and waterproof materials in wall repair. 

As end of the October last year, repairs on the 61 dangerous sections were completed.