The Niya Ruins

The Niya Ruins,lying in the deep desert about 150 kilometers north of Mingfeng County.Jingjue State was one of the 36 well known states in  the Western Han Dynasty.It was also one of the sub-cities of old Yutian Kingdom.The Niya Ruins are considered as the site of ancient Jingjue Kingdom.Now this site is a major national historical and cultural protection site.The Ruins,20 kilometers long from the north to the south,more than 10 kilometers wide from the east to the west,circled by huge pyramid-shape sand dunes in three direction,with the area of about 150 square kilometers,consist of more than 150 sites around a Buddha Pagoda,and the shapes of the ancient cities,villages can be dimly recognized.From the Ruins,thousands of valuable items have been found,including various wooden,iron,bronze items and pottery,stone artifacts,woolen-woven items as well as the Han Dynasty coins and a large number of inscribed wooden tablets.Some archaeologists compared Niya ruins to that of Pompei.

   From the size and relics,we can see that this placed used to be one of the important sites for the transportation,cultural exchange,commercial confluence and military on the southern Silk Road,And the other reason made the city like this is probably the invaders and the dangers from its enemies somewhere around the desert.