Shanxi merchants
In the next thirty years, eleven were established in Shanxi province, including Pingyao and the neighboring counties of Qi County, Taigu, and Yuci. By the end of the nineteenth century, thirty-two with 475 branches were in business covering most of China, and the central Shanxi region became the "de facto" financial centre of Qing China. The Chinese banking institutions of draft banks or were also known as "Shanxi banks" because they were owned primarily by Shanxi merchants.