Where to Stay in Pingyao (Tips, Photos & Map)

Plan your Pingyao Tour? With the completion of the Taiyuan Xian high speed train railway, now  people  can easily reach Pingyao by highs peed trains from Beijing ( 4 hours ) and Xian ( 3 hours ).

With easy access to Pingyao,  people mainly focus where to stay in Pingyao in the process of arranging their individual trips to Pingyao.

Unlike other big cities bestowed with big lavish hotels, Pingyao features small guesthouses, hostels and hotels,  most of them offering over 20 some rooms. Many hotels and inns are built based in the traditional courtyards, old houses in the northern China.

These old courtyards turned guesthouses and hotels hold a great interest for western travellers, sipping tea or coffee in an elaborated courtyard,  sleeping on stone beds ( Stone Kang Beds),  and immersing themselves in the traditional Chinese atmosphere. There are over 20 courtyard turned guesthouses and hotels available for your choose.

If you have no fancy for stone kang beds and prefer to stay in a splurge hotel with modern facilities, Pingyao will not let you down. The Kylin Grand Hotel is a 5 star hotel with spacious rooms equipped with luxury facilities.

So where should I stay in Pingyao? While choosing a hotel in Pingyao, basically people would consider three factors – Location, Service and price. Let’s go one by one and finally I’d like to recommend some of the ideal hotels I know for your reference.

Pingyao Tourist Sketch Map

The ancient city wall of Pingyao is 6km in circumference, like a smaller Xian city wall which has a perimeter of 14 km.

Pingyao Ancient City Layout

The ancient city wall of Pingyao is 6km in circumference, like a smaller Xian city wall which has a perimeter of 14 km. The similarity of the two ancient cities also lies in their street grid pattern layout featuring four main streets in the two walled cities, e.g. North Street, East Street, South Street and West Street.

Each street is linked to a gate.  One of Pingyao Ancient City’s unique features is that it is not square in shape. Actually the whole city leans to the northwest and  its “North”  is replaced by “Northwest”. So all the lanes and streets slant.

South Street 
The south and west streets in Pingyao ancient city are most important, rife with souvenir stalls, restaurants, hostels, hotels as well as major attractions. The tallest City Building in Ming & Qing Style is situated on the middle of the south street.

On the south street, you find Tong Xing Gong Armed Escort Agency, Chinese Armed Escort Agency Museum, Xie Tong Qing Draft Bank. Some popular hotels are also located on the south street, like Tian Yuan Kui Hotel and Harmony Guesthouse.

West Street
The must see Ri Sheng Chang (the First Draft Bank of China) is on the west street. Yun Jin Cheng Hotel, a five star folk-custom hotel is on the west street too.

Chenghuang Temple Street
This interesting street is not missed. On the street you are able  to visit City God Temple ( Chenghuang Temple ) and Confucius Tempe. The 5 star Kylin Grand Hotel is also on the street.

Yamen Street 
West of Chenghuang Temple Street is Yamen Street. Yamen literally means ” the bureaucrat” that refers to the local government. On the street is located the former Pingyao County Government’s office compound, a well-preserved county-level government offices in China. Zhengjia Guesthouse is on Yamen Street.

North Street
Actually the North Street is not directly linked to the South Street.  North Street starts somewhat west from West Street, also a busy and commercial street lined up with some hotels and restaurants.

East Street
A bit less commercial other streets. But still you could find nice cafes and restaurant on the East Street. Of course,  Pingyao Ancient City boasts more these above mentioned streets with numerous lanes radiating  from the main streets, worth your exploring a few hours.

Generally it is preferable to choose a hotel in South Street, West Street, Yaman Street or Chenghuang Temple Street. Now I’d like to recommend one guesthouse ( stone kang beds) , one hotel ( stone kang beds) and one luxury hotel ( modern standard room ).

Inns and Hotels reommended in Pingyao

1. Harmony Hotel 和义昌客栈

A lively 300 year old Qing Dynasty building  with two cozy courtyards inside.  It is located at 165 South Street inside the ancient city of Pingyao. Over a dozen of rooms circle the two courtyards.

All the rooms offer stone kang beds with wooden bed top tea tables. The owners of the guesthouse,  husband and wife speak good English. Tel: 0354 – 5684952

2. Tian Yuan Kui Guesthouse 天元奎客栈

This guesthouse is located on Ming and Qing Street, the core of Pingyao Ancient City, northern part of South Street, next to the attractions in Pingyao such as Tong Xing Gong Armed Escort Agency, Chinese Armed Escort Agency Museum, Xie Tong Qing Draft Bank.   Hotel Tel: 0354 – 5680069

3. Kylin Grand Hotel 平遥麒麟阁大饭店

This luxury modern hotel is located at No.76, Chenghuang Temple Street in Pingyao Ancient City, adjacent to the City God Temple and Confucious Temple.  Hotel Tel: (0354)5689988.

It is a boutique Hotel with its theme focused on the local Jin commercial culture in Ming and Qing  dynasties. Its Ming and Qing style building well matches the theme.

A Major Hotel List in Pingyao

For normal season, you don’t have to prebook your stay in Pingyao. But in high season as well as on Chinese holidays and weekends, you are advised to reserve your accommodations in advance.

Hotel booking is simple, send an email, or just give a call. See below the hotel list with phone numbers:

Tip:  Hassle-free Pingyao & Shanxi Guided Tours

If you don’t want to do a self-guided tour and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for organized tours to Pingyao and Shanxi Province:

Pingyao Tour
Pingyao Car Rental with Driver

Datong Tour
Datong Car Rental with Driver

Taiyuan Tour
Taiyuan Car Rental with Driver

Shanxi Tour

Further Readings

How to Visit Pingyao
Best Time to Visit Pingyao
What to see in Pingyao
Where to Stay in Pingyao
How to get to Pingyao by bus
How to get to Pingyao by train
Beijing Pingyao High Speed Train
Pingyao Taxi

Visit Qiao Family Courtyard
How to Visit Zhenguo Temple
How to Visit Shuanglin Temple
How to Visit Wang Family Compound
How to Visit Zhangbi Ancient Castle
How to Visit Lijiashan Village (Tips, Photos & Map)
How to Visit Qikou Ancient Town (Tips, Photos & Map)
The Best Place to See Sunrise in Pingyao Ancient City

Any questions, just drop a line.