[4] There was already a settlement in place at Pingyao by the reign of the Xuan King (r. c. 827 – c. 782 BC), when the Zhou raised earthen ramparts around the site.

Rishengchang was the first and largest, controlling almost half of China's silver trade under the late Qing before going bankrupt in 1914 in the aftermath of the Xinhai Revolution.

[8] Pingyao is located on the east bank of the Fen River near the southwestern edge of the Taiyuan Basin,located in the central part of Shanxi Province in northern China, southwest of Taiyuan Basin in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and eastern Loess Plateau.

Pingyao still retains its urban layout from the Ming and Qing dynasties,[5] conforming to a typical ba gua pattern.

Despite the ancient city being in a state of disrepair, the old urban layouts and walls still can take any visitor back in time to the Ming and Qing dynasties from which the town originated.

By the third generation, the family head was Qiao Zhiyong who built the merchant business into an Empire over the Shanxi province where Pingyao is located.

In total, the courtyards alone are surrounded by 313 rooms with several connective alleys making patrol easy for the guards working within the complex for the Qiao family's protection.

Gutao directly oversees 10 administrative villages:[16] In the early years of Pingyao, the city played a notable part in the workings of China's Wall Street.

Merchants were frequently robbed when traveling to Pingyao which resided between the imperial Xi' and what is now Beijing, making it a vital trade route.

3,811 farmers worked 9977 mu (613 ha or 1,510 acres) of arable land, producing 33.7m RMB of crops, livestock, and other goods.

[18] The service sector, including tourism, produced less income than industry—790m RMB–but was growing rapidly and marked for special focus by local government.

[14] Pingyao Ancient City is located 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan, Shanxi, and is one of the world historical and cultural heritage sites approved by the United Nations.

It is a large ancient architectural complex composed of complete city walls, streets, shops, temples, and residential buildings, reflecting the historical style of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

[20] Since that high point in 2007, the government has reduced the number and length of China's "golden weeks", spreading domestic tourism more equitably throughout the year.

The Global Heritage Fund has also worked with the Pingyao County People's Government to protect the town against overdevelopment and damage from its high volume of visitors.

[17] Other local products are Changshengyuan rice wine (长升源黄酒), bean flour Minjian (豆面抿尖), and Jiupian (揪片).

The Conservation and Revitalisation Programme of the Ancient City of Ping Yao was initially proposed and approved in 2014 and has received a vast number of groups interested in working together in order to meet a series of objectives, including: Tongji University, Pingyao County People's Government and Bureau of Natural Resources as well as the Global Heritage Fund and UNESCO experts.

The primary objective is to repurpose several unused sites within the ruins of the ancient city to be used as museums and other functions to revitalize the heritage of Pingyao.