[Photo provided to China Daily]

Qixian county's ancient city is a story of faded glory－one that's perhaps set to stage a revival as tourists discover its ancient allure.

It was once a quadrant of North China's most prosperous banking cluster.

But the settlement has been all but forgotten by outsiders. That's partly because the neighboring ancient town of Pingyao's early and advanced tourism development left Qixian in its shadow.

Yet Qixian is more like Pingyao's sister city, rather than a lost cousin.

Still, there are sibling differences.

One is Qixian remains mostly intact－save for its walls, four embrasure towers and four barbican gates.

These barricades' bricks were cannibalized to rebuild houses in the 1950s, following the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and the civil war from 1946 to 1949.

(Pingyao's walls remain largely intact.)

It has also largely so far escaped renovation, unlike Pingyao, which was renovated and repackaged as a tourist destination starting a decade ago.

Only a few shops and eateries have sprung up to serve Qixian's visitors.

Residents lead quiet lives.

They believe the settlement's feng shui blesses them.

The 3-kilometer, square city wall stood 6 meters high.

Two perpendicular flagstone streets intersect in the center of downtown.

The quadrants these 10-meter-wide thoroughfares spliced into districts had their own schools and wells. Government and military departments were constellated throughout, as are 11 temples, each with its own Buddha or god that overseas a particular realm of residents' life.