Pingyao lures foreigners with Ming-era style
By Shan Juan (China Daily)
PINGYAO, Shanxi: It is a place where East meets West, where ancient merges with modern.
This file photo shows a bird's eye view of Pingyao Ancient City, a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in North China's Shanxi Province.
The De Ju Yuan Hotel in Pingyao Ancient City, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997,
combines perfectly preserved traditional Chinese courtyards dating back to the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644), with guest rooms that feature telephones, Internet access, cable TV,
air conditioning and hot running water.
Within the traditionally styled dining hall, stacks of newspapers and magazines in English
and French fan out on the tables, while behind the bar there is a wide selection of
foreign spirits including whisky, vodka and even Baileys Irish Cream.
We like to cater to our guests from Europe and the US, Lei Cailing, the hotel's English-
and French-speaking owner, said.
"Baileys is popular with Western women, while men tend to go for whisky," Lei
said.
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"And unlike Chinese customers, our foreign guests don't talk so loud and are better
mannered."
Forty-year-old Lei opened the hotel with her husband Yuan Zengfu in 2001, after they were
both laid off from a local textile factory.
Located within China's best-preserved walled city, the courtyard hotel can accommodate as
many as 30 guests in rooms comprises that come complete with kang (traditional Chinese
beds).
In 2005, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing and his wife stayed at the De Ju
Yuan Hotel during a visit to Pingyao. A photograph of them has been on display there ever
since.
"Thanks to word of mouth since their visit, our hotel became very popular with French
customers," Yuan said.
"The hotel has friendly staff, a nice atmosphere and good food. I'll come
again," one French guest told China Daily.
The key to the success of the hotel is providing great service and putting customers
first, Lei said. "We try to provide a quality service and serve good food that
appeals to all tastes," she said.
"Also, we don't hike our prices during the high season, which runs from April to
early October." Rooms at the De Ju Yuan cost from 165 to 368 yuan ($22-$50) per
night.
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Lei Jun, a divisional director with the local tourism bureau, said Pingyao receives about
1 million tourists a year, about 18 percent of which are foreigners.
The city has become popular with foreigners due to its superb examples of traditional
architecture and numerous cultural attractions, he said.
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