2022年山西省景点游 - 太谷老城01｜Knocking at the 400-Year-Old Door ｜Walking in Taigu Old City E01

Ugly modern apartment building and the old city. This massive staggering white pagoda built in Song dynasty over 1,000 years old. Hello everyone I am at Taigu today. This was a prominent commercial hub in China in Ming and Qing dynasties. I am going to walk around in the old part of the Taigu city. You're gonna see tons of the old architectures owned by wealthy business people. That white pagoda is something you cannot miss. It's really beautiful. It was said when they were made when they were constructing the white pagoda some craftsmen brushed rice paste on the surface of the pagoda so it still remained pretty white after a thousand years. I am now walking on the Nan Da Jie South Street and this old city has four major streets, eight small streets and 72 small alleyways. All these buildings are original made in Ming and Qing dynasty. Ming is from 1368 to 1644 and Qing is 1644 to 1911. I stepped into one of the courtyard house. Unfortunately the old houses were in poor condition so the people who lived there decided to dismantle the old house and build this new ones. A nice little garden. I'm so sad about the loss of the old architecture. Because this building has a such old wooden gate I thought it in its place would be an old place. Look at the old wooden gates. I find this beautiful house. I opened the gate and there is a wonderland ahead waiting for me. You see how deep the courtyard is. It's one courtyard after another. This must be a super rich family or a business. You see from the size of the building. This is very old. Very very old. See the original windows and wood carvings. Very tall building. High ceiling. Look at that building. Two-storied building. Now you have a sense how rich the Taigu is. Hundreds years ago. Incredible. Wealthy place. Porch with the red lanterns. Wooden porch. It oftenly shows the social status of the owner of the family. How wealthy the family is. Old architectures everywhere. There are too many. My eyes, my two eyes are not enough to use. Too many things to look at. This wealthy family built a pavilion on top. Very creative. Where he can oversee his neighbors. Some of these houses are in poor condition. There are signs as dangerous. Don't be too close. You know in China there are a lot of old city, old town. But when you go there you see the brand new buildings. They look like old style but they were actually newly constructed. The old building dismantled to build the similar style. Because it is much cheaper to dismantle the old and build the new than renovate to repair the old building. That's the problem. So the developer to save money they dismantled and built new. But this place is all old. No tourist, no tourism, no development yet. So that's why the old building could survive here. On the beams there are so many nice wood carvings. Originally you can tell they have colors so they must be colorfully painted. This is an eccentric Chinese phenomenon. The roof only has one side. You see the roof is leaning towards to the courtyard. So whenever it rains the rain will come to the courtyard. And in China the water is a symbol of fortune and wealth. So you want to keep the fortune and wealth in your courtyard. So only one-sided roof. This is like a painting on the beams. Originally I met a guy who lived here 300 years old. Originally. Original painting on the beam. I'm surprised by the height of the building. It must have been used as a reception hall to receive all the visitors. And he also mentioned that this was owned, belonged to a government official. So residence for a high-ranking government official. That's why he used such a big wood materials. Beams and columns. This is another wealthy family. You can tell by the fanciness of the front gate. This is a super fancy and beautiful. Different geometry. Like a belt with beautiful decoration. Another sad building. I feel sad about it. This building couldn't stand for much longer. I believe it will collapse soon.