Dramatic scale and light inside.

Some of the more elaborate spaces have wooden temple facades outside.

Mammoth seated Buddha inside.Gateways mix wood and carved-out stone.

Thousands of tiny statues are carved out of some walls.

Much of the detail is still in beautiful condition and shows the uniqueness of each figure.

Soft light shows mottling of surfaces to best advantage.

The front of this space collapsed revealing the giant sculptures within.

Cave 18 is one of the most spectacular with its tall standing Buddha.

Buddha looms above once you are inside.

Sometimes the various spaces work together as an ensemble

Elaborate portals seem almost Egyptian in their scale.

Wood joinery is impressive in so many traditional Chinese buildings.

Timbers are massive. You see very few trees currently in the landscape that could produce this size pieces.

The complexity of the joinery combined with the complexity of the polygonal geometry makes for some tricky intersections.

Forty foot high walls that enclose the entire city.

NOrth Gate is one of six major entry points.

Delicate towers contrast sharply with fortified base.

Tops of walls are broad roads for moving around the periphery of the city.

Wood framing and bracketing in towers is as impressive as in temples.

South gate is even more foreboding than the north gate with huge blank walls.

Walls are mostly rectilinear, but this gentle curve near the south gate offers a remarkable counterpoint.

Sallyport through the wall into the city.

View from the top of the wall looking into the city.

Bell Tower spans over one of the city's major streets.

Other more minor streets have similar gateways.

Major streets are lined with very elaborate stone buildings.

Many of the old buildings are fully inhabited.

There is an elaborate pedestrian street scene in many areas.

Colorful make-shift shops abound.

There is a powerful contrast between the timeless old buildings and the ephemeral current inhabitation.

It's clear that this was once a very affluent place, but all of that glory is veiled in a patina of time.

Many buildings give the sense of protection and security natural to a banking center.

Though most buildings are stone, mud brick or rammed earth, wood is a common material as well.

Behind the street walls, most buildings are formed around courtyards.

Details in these interior environments are often lavish.

Residential and business uses were often mixed together around the courtyards.

Courtyards are filled with soft greenery and bright colors.

Interior rooms were small but sometimes beautifully appointed.

Some interiors are distinctly for business.

Business was also sometimes conducted from bed in residential quarters. These are mattresses placed on stone bases that kept temperatures more stable in a climate that can get very hot and very cold.

Harsh summer sun is nicely modulated by thick walls.

Traditional pedi-cab in "garage" off courtyard.

Contemporary versions of old rickshas are all over the streets today.

Pedaling a load of watermelons around would be really hard work.

In some parts of the city life on the streets is wonderfully lively.

Groups of guys hanging out is a national pass time in China.

Board games on the street are often a spectator sport.

Away from the main streets, the city is deteriorated and much quieter.

There are still signs of past glory.

But there is also poverty and neglect.

The courtyards are still the focus of life.

Outside of Pingyao to the south of the city is the Shuanglin Temple--also built around courtyards.

A kind of miniature version of the city, it has a series of portals that lead from court to court behind tall walls.

There is an austere beauty here you do not see in the restored Buddist temples in larger cities.

The wood is mostly unpainted and heavily weathered.

What color there is has been muted by time.

The traditional ornament is very powerful even without the normal polychrome surfaces.

Craft in the complex joints is more explicit than when covered by painted patterns.

As in the rest of Pingyao, time seems to have stood still over the last century.

This temple is particularly well known for its statures--like these guardians.

Many arms on a religious figure connotes great capability and power to do things.

At the peak of the market at 9:00pm or so the crowds are dense and represent every age group in the community.

Colorful and exuberant architecture is an appropriate framework for the market.

Permanent shops and restaurants mix with temporary stalls.

Pedi-cab stand at one end of the market to take people to and from.

A few people challenge the rules by bringing in bikes and motorcycles.

Landmark Drum Tower anchors one end of the market street.

Side street off of the main market leads to "turkish bazaar".

Displays are colorful and meticulously arranged.

The food on the main market street is the most luscious visual feast.

Sunflower seeds.

Pomegranites

Lots of mystery stuff.

Snake for dinner?

Rice cooked inside bamboo.

Supermarket in the middle of the open air market.

Full meals available on the street.

Bell Tower

Drum Tower

Courtyard House in Muslim Quarter

Great Mosque--largest one in China. It is interesting to see this mix of Muslim religion and Chinese culture embodied in a single piece of architecture.

Half actual size bronze chariot made of 3600 pieces found near the burial mound of emperor Qin Shi Huangdi's tomb.

Detail of chariot.

Chariot's four horses.

Tomb of Liu Qi, fourth emperor of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) on the other side of Xian from the Terra Cotta Warrior excavations.

Excavations of Liu Qi's tomb.

Flooded rice fields make swirling patterns accentuating the contours of the mountains.

Very labor intensive farming by hand.

Buildings and terraces are all generated by the contours of the landscape.

Stone entry gate on footpath to Zhuang village.

Wooden buildings are large, but dark and well integrated into the landscape.

Simple, sensible vernacular buildings.

Local forests are primary source of materials.

New construction follows longstanding patterns.

Different floors for different functions is articulated in the massing.

Slopes are steep and difficult for buildings to negotiate.

Bridge over irrigation channel.

A plaque in the bridge gave credit to all of the villagers who donated their time and resources to build it communally.

All transportation is via footpaths.

A few beasts of burden can negotiate the paths.

Mostly, humans are the beasts of burden.

Village life is slow and quiet.

Work is steady and constant.

There is a soft patina of age on everything.

Distinctive vertical stonework.

Emblem in paving that depicts the cooperation of three cultures--three fishes with one head.