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Sleep inside the walls; the town is worth the evening, not the day
Coaches from Taiyuan arrive around ten and leave by four, and between those hours the main streets are a souvenir corridor. Before and after, the lanes belong to the people who live in them. Stay in a courtyard guesthouse inside the walls — most have kang beds and a rooftop — and plan the wall walk and the quiet lanes for early morning or the hour before dark. Winter rooms can be cold in a courtyard, so ask about heating before you book.
Two stations, and the fast one is not the near one
**Pingyao Ancient City** takes the high-speed trains — about half an hour from Taiyuan, three hours from Xi'an, four from Beijing — and is a short taxi from the walls. The old **Pingyao** station is nearer the gate but serves slow trains only. Book the high-speed leg ahead in season and tell your guesthouse which station you are arriving at; most will send someone, because taxi drivers at the ancient-city station are not always keen on a five-minute fare.