from $490* per person	2 Days	Year-round
Comfort accommodations		Exertion level: 3
Operator: WildChina		12 people max

Pingyao’s bankers were undoubtedly the most powerful and affluent businesspeople during the Qing Dynasty, literally holding China's wealth in their hands. While its status as the financial capital of China is long gone, and the city has become a popular destination for Chinese tourists, Pingyao still retains traces of its former glory in its picture-perfect, ancient architecture, as immortalized in Zhang Yimou’s internationally acclaimed film, “Raise the Red Lantern.”

 

This short immersion experience in northern China’s Shanxi province retraces the memories of Pingyao’s wealthy past, providing a window into the lives of those who controlled China’s banks. We visit courtyard mansions once inhabited by powerful financiers, China’s first bank and Shuanglin Temple’s ancient Buddhist sculptures.