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.