Journalists wander the streets of the old town area of Pingyao county, on Nov 19. [Photo/pingyao.gov.cn]

The journalists walking along the street in the old town area, Pingyao county, Shanxi, on Nov 19. [Photo/pingyao.gov.cn]

A group of more than three dozen journalists from across China travelled to the county of Pingyao, Shanxi province, on Nov 19, as part of a media activity arranged by the provincial government to provide a series of special online reports on the area's green ecology, culture business and heritage protection.

The journalist guests visiting the Yuhao New Optical Corp, in Pingyao county, Shanxi, on Nov 19. [Photo/pingyao.gov.cn]

The first stop on the group's visit was an optical materials corporation that is working on a new type of lighting, with advanced technology. The next stop was for a tour of an old town that’s a world heritage site, where they got a look at a popular play, "Ancient Pingyao Once More", and saw the re-creation of a Qing Dynasty (1636—1912) town that left the journalists amazed by the area's cultural heritage.

This old town has been referred to as the "Wall Street" of Qing China, because it was the first currency exchange in Chinese history. Rishengchang was established on a street where China's finance industry originated, in 1824. At one time in the 19th century, it controlled the economic lifeline of the Qing government and had branches in more than 30 cities in China, and even extended its business to some parts of Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Americas.