A millennium-old ancient city just 21 minutes from Taiyuan, once known as China's Wall Street

In China, there is such a place, it is a millennium-old ancient city just 21 minutes from Taiyuan, once known as China's Wall Street, free yet little known! Perhaps curious friends will ask, where exactly is this place once called China's Wall Street? What are the unknown secrets there? With these questions and curiosity, today let's talk about the stories of Taigu Ancient City. Taigu Ancient City has a long history and grand scale. The city was founded in the sixth year of Jiande of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (577), and has a history of more than 1400 years. During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, the city was heightened with brick-built gates. In the fourth year of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, the brick city was rebuilt, with an added circular wall, on an unprecedented scale. Over the next few hundred years, with continuous repairs, the city walls became tall, thick, and complete with facilities such as enemy towers, barbicans, and moats, until the walls were eventually demolished. Inside the city, there were four streets, eight wells, and seventy-two alleys, with the Drum Tower at the center, radiating three main streets to the east, south, and west, and the old county government office to the north of the tower. The houses in the city are mostly two-story buildings with front porches, relatively high in architectural grade, and still retain the old architectural style. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Jin merchant guilds emerged in Taigu, bringing a great deal of wealth to the city. Taigu Ancient City was expanded again and again, far exceeding the scale of Pingyao Ancient City.