Having planned a 4-day weekend in Pingyao, with some family friends, we were looking forward to arriving at this Ming-era city, the only one in China which still retains its city wall fully intact. But upon arriving in Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi Province, our hearts (and lungs) darkened. Shanxi Province is China’s industrial heart, providing over two-thirds of the energy to the voracious country. Smokestacks spewing black to toxic-yellow clouds lined the treeless, brown (in May!) landscape as we made the two-hour drive from Taiyuan to Pingyao.
Pingyao itself is quaint and, under the grit of nearly 300 years, lovely. But under a choking cloud of smog, it was hard to be overly enthusiastic. I wanted to clap a gauze face-mask over my toddler who was happily oblivious to the pollution. Unfortunately, Pingyao is approximately 100 kilometers from Linfen, notorious as the most polluted city in China. Despite its location in the countryside, Pingyao sits under a shroud of coal-burning industrial air pollution that sadly likely covers the entire region.
It’s a shame. The folks we met in Pingyao were some of the nicest we’ve come across in all of China. Chatty, happy to meet international guests, we found Pingyao-ers to be welcoming and interesting. Shanxi Province itself has a long and fascinating history and holds some fantastic sights including the Cloud Ridge Caves (home to over 50,000 Buddhist statues cradled in caves carved into the mountainside), the 1,400 year old Hanging Monastery, the Wooden Pagoda - one of the oldest wooden buildings in the world, and Wutaishan, one of China’s holy Buddhist mountains.
I write this not to discourage you from visiting Pingyao or Shanxi Province, but to be fairly forewarned. Go and enjoy some of China’s historical gems, but remember to conserve energy while you’re there and perhaps you’ll save a lump of coal from being turned into smoke that you’ll breathe the next day.
