Pingyao County is located in central Shanxi Province, China. It     1     (consist) of five towns and nine villages, covering an area of 486.5 square miles. This small county was noted for some     2     (impress) architectures in ancient conventional styles.

As the birthplace of the Jin Businessmen during the Ming and Qing     3     (dynasty), it played an important role in the economic development of Shanxi during that period. The first Chinese trading shop was opened there. For     4     next hundred years, the city was home to almost all of the large trading shops in the country.

Its City Wall is rated     5     (high) of the “Three Treasures” of the county together with Zhenguo Temple and Shuanglin Temple. With a total length of six kilometers, the City Wall covered by bricks and stones is about 12 meters tall and 3 to 6 meters wide on top. From a bird’s eye view, the rectangular (长方形的) wall represents a tortoise (龟). A tortoise was     6    (traditional) considered a symbol of longevity, conveying the residents’ hope     7     the Ancient City would be permanently secure.

Pingyao is no longer very prosperous (繁荣的),     8     the grand Pingyao Old City, constructed a thousand years ago, stands the test of time.     9     (wander) along the Ancient Street inside the old town, you can still sense its former grandeur. Since it was listed as UNESCO World Heritage in 1997, Pingyao     10    (become) a hot destination of millions of tourists.