Houses and Courtyards
There are altogether 3797 traditional residential "quadrangles", courtyards enclosed by buildings on all four sides, among which 400 courtyards are still well-preserved. Most of these courtyards have been left over since Ming and Qing Dynasties; some are the Yuan Dynasty buildings enjoying a history of more than 600 years, which are rarely seen in other parts of China.
Residential constructions in Pingyao vary greatly in style. Some are single-doored courtyards with buildings on all four sides. Some are compounds with two or three courtyards in string, or with a grand passway between two courtyards. Some courtyards have another courtyard coupled, with the main or two main courtyards paralleling with each other. Most of the houses are wood-framed, having the walls built with bricks and the roofs covered with grey tiles. Some houses have brick-arched ceilings, or have another room built over this cave-like house. Usually, the wooden doors, windows, cornices and their supporters have intricate designs and decorations. Stone columns and their bases are also sculptured beautifully. Brick walls opposite to the courtyard front doors always have meaningful sculptures on them. Pediments on the house roofs are built up and covered by tiles with both ends decorated by tiger-faced tiles. The pediments on rich families' house roofs are usually fixed with elegant animal-shaped tiles specially made of baked clay. The residential houses in Pingyao bear all the typical characteristics of the houses in the central part of Shanxi Province.
