A trip to Ancient City in Pingyao - China days 8, 9 and 10

For three day trip, I planned a small trip to the Ancient City in Pingyao. This was a good opportunity to ride the Chinese fast railway and domestic plane.

The plan was like this:

leave a big backpack in Beijing hostel and pack an only daily backpack,
buy a round-trip ticket for a fast Chinese railway from Beijing to the Pingyao but available was the only ticket from Beijing to the Pingyao so I changed plans – I bought a railway ticket from Beijing to the Pingyao and I booked a plane from Taiyuan after this I bought a railway ticket from Pingyao to the Taiyuan,
book accommodation in Ancient City in Pingyao.

Finally, travel plans look like this:

from Beijing to Pingyao by fast railway (225,5 RMB),
get a taxi from the railway station in Pingyao to the Ancient City (50 RMB),
2 nights in Ancient City,
get a taxi from the Ancient City to the railway station in Pingyao (40 RMB),
from Pingyao to Taiyuan by fast railway (1st class – 46 RMB)
from the railway station in Taiyuan grab a taxi to the airport (14 RMB),
flight from Taiyuan to the Beijing (372,97 PLN it is around 100USD),
back to the hostel by metro.

A bit of crazy plan but was fun.

How to pick up your ticket bought online?

My trains tickets I bought in some website online and I got information to pick up this ticket on the railway station. So I went to the railway station and in the ticket office I show my ticket number and my passport and she check data in computer – she found my ticket in the system and she prints me my tickets.

Railway system

Railway system is little different than I used in Poland because in Poland you have access to the platform where come train arrived and access to the railway station to wait for the train.

Here too you need to have a ticket like in airport to enter to railway station.

you need enter by a security gate,
next is a gate where will be checked you have a ticket for today train,
you go next and see on a big screen with information about all trains and where you need to go to the waiting room to wait for your train,
in the waiting room, you waiting for the start boarding to the train.

Information board - Beijing, China — Information board – Beijing, China

Waiting room on railway station - Beijing, China — Waiting room on railway station – Beijing, China

Railway station platform - Beijing, China — Railway station platform – Beijing, China

Train - Beijing, China — Train – Beijing, China

Train (1st class) - Beijing, China — Train (1st class) – Beijing, China

Pingyao, China - railway station — Pingyao, China – railway station

My awesome accommodation in Ancient City in Pingyao

Reservation for my accommodation I make on Airbnb (click here to get 28$ for a next your trip with Airbnb).

If you want to make reservations in the same place what I was – here is a link to this object: 豪华民俗风情土炕3人房

Sightseeing Ancient City in Pingyao

2 day for sightseeing Ancient City in Pingyao for me was enough. I think all that I want to see I saw.

Ticket to visit not allowed places (ex. wall, tower, museums etc.) without ticket cost 130 RMB and is valid for three days from the date of buy. I think good to buy this ticket and enter 22 places with this ticket.