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. |
