Pingyao is a small town in a dusty province of Shanxi, only 3-4 hours away by bullet train from Beijing. There are two reasons tourist congregate to Pingyao. First, it is one of the best preserved medieval towns in China. Second, Pingyao was China’s first Wall Street.

Pingyao je gradić u prašnjavoj pokrajini Shanxi, samo 3-4 sata brzim vlakom od Pekinga. Dva su razloga zbog kojih turisti hrle u Pingyao. Prvo, to je jedan od najbolje očuvanih srednjovjekovnih gradova u Kini. Drugo, Pingyao je bio prvi kineski Wall Street.

Pingyao is an old town, but through much of its existence it was clouded in irrelevancy. Things started to change in 1823 when the country’s first modern bank Rishengchang (meaning Sunrise over Prosperity) was founded in the city. At the height of the city’s power, twenty two banks were in operation, with many subsidiaries across the country. The wealth of the city came from funding trade between Qing China’s powerhouses in the South (areas around modern Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou) and Russia, with silk and tea moving north and wool and fur moving south.

Pingyao je star grad, ali veći dio svog postojanja bio je posve nevažan. Stvari su se počele mijenjati 1823., kad je u gradu osnovana prva moderna banka u zemlji, Rishengchang (što znači Izlazak sunca nad blagostanjem). Na vrhuncu moći grada poslovale su dvadeset i dvije banke, s mnogo podružnica diljem zemlje. Bogatstvo grada dolazilo je od financiranja trgovine između gospodarskih središta Kine dinastije Qing na jugu (područja oko današnjeg Šangaja, Nanjinga i Hangzhoua) i Rusije: svila i čaj išli su na sjever, a vuna i krzno na jug.

First Chinese bank

Prva kineska banka

It might seem strange that the first bank in China was created only in the 19th century, but this shows the deep traditionalism of Chinese economic doctrine. China’s economy was based around agriculture, where most of the Chinese found employment, and craftsmanship. Chinese have always distrusted and looked down upon merchants: people who do not produce anything but make money by moving the products of another person’s labour from point A to point B. In a society where social hierarchy was based on moral considerations, rather than wealth, merchants were at the bottom.

Možda se čini čudnim što je prva banka u Kini osnovana tek u 19. stoljeću, ali to pokazuje koliko je kineska ekonomska doktrina bila duboko tradicionalna. Kinesko gospodarstvo temeljilo se na poljoprivredi, u kojoj je radila većina Kineza, i na obrtu. Kinezi nikad nisu vjerovali trgovcima i gledali su ih s visoka: to su ljudi koji ništa ne proizvode, nego zarađuju prenoseći plodove tuđeg rada od točke A do točke B. U društvu u kojem se društvena hijerarhija temeljila na moralnim mjerilima, a ne na bogatstvu, trgovci su bili na dnu.

If there were bankers in ancient China, they would have displaced merchants at the rock bottom of moral hierarchy. Chinese, like ancient Greeks and Romans, found it unnatural for “money to beget money”. The fact that engaging in such unnatural economic acts enabled bankers to become incredibly rich, made hating them all the sweeter. However, the 19th century was a period of immense turbulence in China as her Empire, closed to the world for centuries, was being preyed opened by the European Empires. As the Qing Dynasty in Beijing was coming to terms with China’s backwardness and the need to modernize in order to fight off Western incursions into its sovereignty, one family made history in a provincial backwater to set up the country’s first modern bank.

Da je u drevnoj Kini bilo bankara, oni bi trgovce istisnuli sa samog dna moralne hijerarhije. Kinezima je, kao i starim Grcima i Rimljanima, bilo neprirodno da „novac rađa novac“. To što su se bankari baveći se takvim neprirodnim ekonomskim radnjama mogli nevjerojatno obogatiti činilo je mržnju prema njima još slađom. No 19. stoljeće bilo je razdoblje golemih potresa u Kini jer su njezino Carstvo, stoljećima zatvoreno prema svijetu, silom otvarala europska carstva. Dok se dinastija Qing u Pekingu mirila s kineskom zaostalošću i potrebom za modernizacijom kako bi se oduprla zapadnim nasrtajima na svoj suverenitet, jedna je obitelj u provincijskoj zabiti ušla u povijest osnovavši prvu modernu banku u zemlji.

So much history in this town and yet I have managed to allocate only one full day to explore it. China is the third largest country in the world by land area and even when you have 3 months to explore it, you need to be economical with time. I have arrived at Pingyao railway station at 23:30 and was greeted by my first unpleasant travel experience in over 2 months in China – there were no taxis! I mentioned it was a small town, but I never imagined I would have to wait for half an hour to get a taxi. Didi, Chinese Uber is fully functional, and you can call typical “Uber” vehicles or regular taxis. I have even maxed out additional payments on the app to lure taxi drivers and still no response. I was at the high-speed railway station and they are always further away from the city (over 6km in this case), so walking with my large 20kg backpack was not an option. I began to seriously consider booking a room at the nearest accommodation. But then finally, at midnight, I managed to get a taxi.

Toliko povijesti u ovom gradu, a ja sam za njegovo razgledavanje uspio odvojiti samo jedan cijeli dan. Kina je po površini treća najveća zemlja na svijetu i čak i kad imate 3 mjeseca da je istražite, morate štedjeti vrijeme. Na željeznički kolodvor u Pingyaou stigao sam u 23:30 i dočekalo me prvo neugodno iskustvo u više od 2 mjeseca putovanja Kinom – nije bilo taksija! Spomenuo sam da je to mali grad, ali nisam ni slutio da ću na taksi morati čekati pola sata. Didi, kineski Uber, radi bez problema i možete pozvati tipična „Uber“ vozila ili obične taksije. U aplikaciji sam čak do maksimuma podigao dodatna plaćanja da privučem taksiste i opet ništa. Bio sam na kolodvoru za brze vlakove, a oni su uvijek dalje od grada (u ovom slučaju više od 6 km), pa hodanje s mojim velikim ruksakom od 20 kg nije dolazilo u obzir. Počeo sam ozbiljno razmišljati o tome da rezerviram sobu u najbližem smještaju. A onda sam napokon, u ponoć, uspio dobiti taksi.

Next morning I woke up at 7 am went to explore this beautiful town. It was love at first sight! After visiting so many historical monuments that look brigher and shinier now than they did when they were built, the city walls of Pingyao are full of cracks. This place is authentically old!

Sljedeće jutro probudio sam se u 7 i krenuo istraživati ovaj prekrasni grad. Bila je to ljubav na prvi pogled! Nakon što sam posjetio toliko povijesnih spomenika koji danas izgledaju sjajnije i blistavije nego kad su izgrađeni, gradske zidine Pingyaoa pune su pukotina. Ovo je mjesto autentično staro!

Chinese city walls are not made of stone, but of earth covered with stones. There are many parts of Pingyao city walls where you can see it. As the city’s economic fortunes took a turn for the worse after the collapse of the Chinese Empire in 1911 – it turns out that warlordism (1920s and 1930s), World War II and communism are bad for banking business – the city’s walls that were guarding its 40 000 inhabitants went into disrepair. Luckily, Chinese “renovators” still did not just pour tons of concrete cement over it to make it look better.

Kineske gradske zidine nisu od kamena, nego od zemlje obložene kamenom. Na mnogim dijelovima zidina Pingyaoa to se može vidjeti. Kad je gradu nakon raspada Kineskog Carstva 1911. gospodarski krenulo nizbrdo – pokazalo se da su vladavina gospodara rata (1920-ih i 1930-ih), Drugi svjetski rat i komunizam loši za bankarski posao – gradske zidine koje su čuvale njegovih 40 000 stanovnika počele su propadati. Srećom, kineski „obnovitelji“ još uvijek nisu jednostavno izlili tone betona preko njih da bi bolje izgledale.

City Walls

Gradske zidine

As you enter the old town, you can imagine the splendor and opulence being created by the banks during the city’s heyday. You need to pay 125 yuan and then you can explore all historical sites in the old town. My first two destinations were banks. Even though Rishengchang is the oldest and most famous bank in the city, I liked Xietongqing much more. In Xietongqing you are able to see the vaults area, where banks would guard their silver and gold deposits. It was reported that they had special guards trained in martial arts (dare I say kung-fu) who even slept over the gold and silver bars. Also, the banking family had the honor of hosting for one day in 1900 one of the most extraordinary person in Chinese history – Empress Dowager Cixi. Truly a larger than life figure, the second most important woman in Chinese history has fallen on hard times, as she was forced to flee Beijing after the alliance of foreign imperial forces occupied Beijing during the Boxer uprising.

Kad uđete u stari grad, možete zamisliti sjaj i raskoš koje su banke stvarale u zlatno doba grada. Trebate platiti 125 juana i onda možete razgledati sve povijesne znamenitosti u starom gradu. Prva dva odredišta bile su mi banke. Iako je Rishengchang najstarija i najpoznatija banka u gradu, meni se Xietongqing svidjela puno više. U Xietongqingu možete vidjeti prostor s trezorima, gdje su banke čuvale svoje zalihe srebra i zlata. Priča se da su imali posebne čuvare izvježbane u borilačkim vještinama (usudim se reći kung-fuu), koji su čak i spavali na zlatnim i srebrnim polugama. Osim toga, bankarska je obitelj 1900. imala čast jedan dan ugostiti jednu od najizvanrednijih osoba u kineskoj povijesti – caricu udovu Cixi. Uistinu veća od života, druga najvažnija žena u kineskoj povijesti tada je proživljavala teške dane jer je bila prisiljena pobjeći iz Pekinga nakon što ga je tijekom Bokserskog ustanka zauzeo savez stranih carskih sila.

After two banks, it was time for two temples – the town’s main Confucian and Taoist temples. Even though I have seen dozens and dozens of temples by now, I was pleasantly surprised by these two temples. They were small, but quite delightful.

Nakon dvije banke došlo je vrijeme za dva hrama – glavni konfucijanski i glavni taoistički hram u gradu. Iako sam dosad vidio na desetke hramova, ova su me dva ugodno iznenadila. Mali su, ali baš dražesni.

As you walk through the old city street, you should not skip Ming-Qing streets, also known as Eastern and Southern streets, which are full of restaurants and souvenir shops. To finish off your tour of the old town, you must climb the walls. You can walk around the entire town, but the sun was getting strong so I did not do it this time. At only 2km in length, it is very doable and I think worth the effort if you have more time.

Dok šećete ulicama starog grada, ne biste smjeli preskočiti ulice Ming i Qing, poznate i kao Istočna i Južna ulica, koje su pune restorana i suvenirnica. Da zaokružite obilazak starog grada, morate se popeti na zidine. Možete obići cijeli grad, ali sunce je postajalo sve jače pa to ovaj put nisam učinio. Sa samo 2 km dužine to je sasvim izvedivo i mislim da je vrijedno truda ako imate više vremena.

Check out the difference between the city wall in Pingyao and Datong – a city which is currently in the process of being rebuilt to look 1000 years old. Do you notice any difference? Datong watch towers look much nicer, but I would also say more flammable. I am no military expert but I would think you do not want your main defense to catch fire so easily. Historical accuracy and common sense have to make way for visually pleasantry in modern China. Pingyao is one of the few places in China where I actually trust that the historical monuments I am seeing are a reliable representation of how these monuments looked like when they were built. This is why I love Pingyao and why you must include it on your travel itinerary.

Pogledajte razliku između gradskih zidina u Pingyaou i Datongu – gradu koji se upravo obnavlja tako da izgleda kao da je star 1000 godina. Primjećujete li kakvu razliku? Stražarske kule u Datongu izgledaju puno ljepše, ali rekao bih i zapaljivije. Nisam vojni stručnjak, ali mislim da ne želite da vam se glavna obrana tako lako zapali. Povijesna točnost i zdrav razum u modernoj Kini moraju ustupiti mjesto onome što je lijepo oku. Pingyao je jedno od rijetkih mjesta u Kini gdje stvarno vjerujem da povijesni spomenici koje gledam vjerno prikazuju kako su izgledali kad su izgrađeni. Zato volim Pingyao i zato ga morate uvrstiti u svoj plan putovanja.

I just had enough time to catch a 50-minute taxi to see Wang clan mansion. You can get there with 2 buses or train + bus, but I paid around 25 euros return, which is very cheap by European standards, so could not be bothered with public transportation. I would lose a lot more time and save maybe 15 euros. Wang were the dominant family for centuries in this part of Shanxi. Throughout centuries they have expanded their home base to three walled fortresses that exist today, though you can visit only two of them.

Imao sam taman dovoljno vremena da uhvatim taksi i nakon 50 minuta vožnje vidim rezidenciju klana Wang. Do tamo možete doći s 2 autobusa ili vlakom i autobusom, ali ja sam platio oko 25 eura u oba smjera, što je za europske pojmove vrlo jeftino, pa mi se nije dalo gnjaviti s javnim prijevozom. Izgubio bih puno više vremena, a uštedio možda 15 eura. Wangovi su stoljećima bili vodeća obitelj u ovom dijelu Shanxija. Kroz stoljeća su svoje sjedište proširili na tri utvrde opasane zidinama koje postoje i danas, iako možete posjetiti samo dvije.

Wang family mansion is a good representation of life in China, where the key family unit was not nuclear family but extended families or clans. Generations of the same clan lived together and provided many services, like education, that were the responsibility of the state in Europe. Even in the 19th century there were barely any state schools, while the oldest Chinese university – Imperial University of Peking – was established only in 1898! It would be completely wrong to assume that China did not have an educational system because it did not have Western educational institutions. Education in China, like most other aspects of life, was the responsibility of the family, not the government.

Rezidencija obitelji Wang dobro prikazuje život u Kini, gdje osnovna obiteljska jedinica nije bila uža obitelj, nego proširena obitelj ili klan. Naraštaji istog klana živjeli su zajedno i brinuli se za mnoge stvari, poput obrazovanja, koje su u Europi bile odgovornost države. Čak ni u 19. stoljeću gotovo da nije bilo državnih škola, a najstarije kinesko sveučilište – Carsko sveučilište u Pekingu – osnovano je tek 1898.! Bilo bi posve pogrešno pretpostaviti da Kina nije imala obrazovni sustav zato što nije imala zapadne obrazovne ustanove. Obrazovanje je u Kini, kao i većina drugih područja života, bilo odgovornost obitelji, a ne vlasti.

As I was walking on the walls of one of the Wang fortresses, I could not help but be happy that I am leaving this part of China. It is early June and the sun is becoming more and more unbearable. Luckily, in the next few days I will be traveling to the most northern area in China, where Russians and Jews have made a more lasting impact on the local culture than Han Chinese. But before I reach these cooler parts, it was time to explore the souvenir shops of the old town in Pingyao at night. The local artisans specialize in jewelry boxes, painted by hand, or so they say.

Dok sam hodao po zidinama jedne od utvrda obitelji Wang, nisam mogao a da ne budem sretan što odlazim iz ovog dijela Kine. Početak je lipnja i sunce postaje sve nepodnošljivije. Srećom, sljedećih dana putujem na krajnji sjever Kine, gdje su Rusi i Židovi ostavili trajniji trag na lokalnoj kulturi nego Han Kinezi. No prije nego što stignem u te svježije krajeve, došlo je vrijeme da noću obiđem suvenirnice u starom gradu Pingyaa. Lokalni obrtnici specijalizirani su za kutije za nakit, oslikane rukom, ili barem tako kažu.

I will also remember Pingyao as the town where I discovered buckthorn juice. Google says buckthorn is poisonous so make of it what you want. At the time of writing this blog, my stomach is making me no problems.

Pingyao ću pamtiti i kao grad u kojem sam otkrio sok od pasjeg trna. Google kaže da je pasji trn otrovan, pa vi zaključite što hoćete. U trenutku dok pišem ovaj blog želudac mi ne stvara nikakve probleme.

I did not ask because I preferred not to know, but what do you think? Should I eat these fishes or they are there to eat me? My feet, to be more precise. China always springs some ludicrous surprise on you. 🙂

Nisam pitao jer mi je bilo draže ne znati, ali što vi mislite? Trebam li ja pojesti ove ribe ili su one tu da pojedu mene? Moja stopala, da budem precizniji. Kina vam uvijek priredi neko šašavo iznenađenje. 🙂

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