Pingyao,located in Northern China, is 600km from the Capital Beijing and 1300km from Shanghai. It is a well-preserved ancient county-level city in China with about 2700 years of history. Ping Yao is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city, its urban fabric reveal the evolution of architectural styles and town-planning in Imperial China over five centuries. Of special interest are the imposing buildings associated with banking, for which Ping Yao was the major center for the whole of China in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The ancient city of Pingyao was listed as National Historical and Cultural City of China in 1986 and listed as World Cultural Heritage in 1997.