Pingyao

This magistrate turned out to be a regular Sherlock Holmes. He got to the truth and punished the guilty!

Courtroom performance: This is a performance put on regularly to demonstrate the drama of a Magistrate's Court hearing.

Watching daddy do his work. (He was writing a poem for my Grandson, Oscar.)

Courtyard performance

Performances in in one of the courtyards

Typical Pingyao home.

I was walking along the top of the city walls, when, seemingly out of nowhere this group of cyclists were happily peddling towards me. They gave a whoop and passed by. I think they were workers who were repairing sections of the wall. It was amusing, nonetheless.

To fill you in, Pingyao is a walled Ming dynasty city - similar, in some ways, to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Pingyao's inhabitants live and work in the old buildings, and either follow their old trades or are directly involved in the commercial aspects of tourism. Some effort is currently being made to renovate some buildings, but a great deal of work is still needed. The risk is that Pingyao will become a theme park, if that hasn't happened already.

Scribe

Early morning

I thought a sepia photo might capture the old world feeling this place has. That is, before all the tour groups hit the streets.

Early morning

I got up early one morning to see the town waking. Pingyao wakes gradually and quite gently.

Early morning

Confucian Temple show

Confucian Temple show

Confucian Temple show

Confucian Temple show

Confucian Temple show

Confucian Temple show

Confucian Temple show

Confucian Temple show

The next few shots were taken in a show that is held nightly in the Confucian Temple. Like the acts in the Lao She Teahouse in Beijing, these were all comic. I should also say that the standard of performance was as good as the big city performances. Once again, we were the only Westerners present.