As the sun climbs the sky and night turns to day the night train will pull into the train station at Pingyao around 7:00. Our representative will be waiting to take you to your hotel in the city centre which is surrounded by a city wall; the drive will only take about 5 minutes. You’ll stay at a traditional courtyard hotel. As most courtyard hotels in China, this hotel was built in local (folk) style with many little staircases, vistas and a patio. Courtyard hotels are somewhat noisy since all rooms face the same patio. The hotel rooms are small, but have all necessary amenities such as a fan, air conditioning, shower and toilet (very close together), a TV and a refrigerator. Your double/ queen sized mattress lies on an elevated Stone platform called a kang. Once your room is ready you can freshen up and have some breakfast.

Then it’s time to stroll through the small streets in the compact city centre. You could rent a bike, but it really isn’t necessary. You’ll see far greater detail by walking through the city: small entrance gates, small gardens, temples and vistas (with entrance fees) all of which decorated with colourful red Chinese lanterns. Don’t miss the central clock tower; you’ll have an aerial view of the entire city from the top of the tower. If you’re planning on having dinner in the town in the evening, you may need to eat early. We noticed during our stay that most restaurants close early; however the diner at the corner of the two most important streets was open later in the evening.

The area surrounding Pingyao isn’t that memorable, except for the ancient Buddhist Zhenguo Lotus Temple. The temple is extremely charming and peaceful; allow yourself to dream away from the tourists and the crowds of Pingyao and to achieve a sense of peace and calm. According to the local tourist brochures for the temple: 'Its calmness makes it a temple'. When you enter the temple, keep an eye out for the unique construction of wooden Lotus support beams and the 1000 year old tree.

Combine a trip to the temple of Zhenguo with a trip by car to the Family Qiao’s courtyard-house, with its 25 courtyards and 300 rooms. These days the residence is a museum and it lies about 2 hours north of Pingyao. The blockbuster hit ‘Raise the Red lantern’ was filmed here. The estate is somewhat touristy; however the house itself and the attributes on display are quite interesting. If you’d like to arrange a rental car to use during these day trips, be sure to add this to your quote request. Car rental costs $130 for rental between 8:30 - 12:30. 

If you’re looking for some peace and quiet during your trip, don’t make any plans for the rest of the day and just do some shopping and have a long lunch (lunch starts around 11:30 in China). At the end of the afternoon you'll be picked up at your hotel and taken to the train station. We'll make reservations for a hard sleeper in the train to Xi'an for you.