The Ruins of Ancient City of Gaochang & Jiaohe

The Ruins of Ancient City of Gaochang

The ruins of Ancient City of Gaochang lies 47 kilometers of Turpan city.The history of the ruins can date back to the second century BC as a garrison town of the Western Han dynasty.Then it was the capital of Gaochang Administration.Gaochang Kingdom,Xizhou Administration.And it had been the political,economic and cultural center of Turpan area before it was ruined by wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty,having been in use for 1400 years.The high city walls,the ruins of city moat tell the past glory of the city.The outer city is an irregular square shape,about 5.4 kilometers in circumference.The inner city was just in the middle of the outer,the southern and western walls comparatively well maintain,about 3 kilometers in circumference.The palace complex,in rectangular shape,was located in the most north,with several earth platforms remaining.And there was a small somewhat square earth castle.In the northern part of the inner,there is a pagoda-shape building which is 15 meters tall.The ruins of a grand temples is seen in the south-west part of the outer,it is said that the platform in the temple was very attractive as it was here,Xuanzang,the famous Tang Monk used to give lectures.

The Ruins of Ancient City of Jiaohe

The Ancient City of Jiaohe is just about 10 kilometers west of Turpan,located in the Yarnaz Valley.The ruins perched atop a narrow terrace shaped in an literature describes,the name of Jiaohe was given as “confluence of two rivers by the two sides of the city on the cliff”.And the river water formed the terrace into earthed cliffs which is about 30 meters in height.It is the largest,oldest,and best preserved earthen city on earth.The city includes city gates, streets and lanes, government office, temples, domestic houses, cave houses, wells, and an underground temple. In history,Jiaohe used to play an important role.In the time of the Han Dynasty,Jiaohe was the capital of the state of South Jushi.In the time of Tang Dynasty,Jiaohe was the first residence site of Anxi Administration.And it was abandoned around the Yuan Dynasty.Because of the less rain and its location on the cliff,the shape of the ruins maintains well.And the buildings of the offices,pottery-making sites,residence,temples and pagodas can be seen now.