Jiaohe Ruins

交河故城

The world's largest, oldest and best-preserved earthen-architecture city. A two-thousand-year-old capital of the Cheshi people on a willow-leaf-shaped plateau, and a World Heritage Site.

Jiaohe Ruins lies in Yarnaz Valley, about 10 kilometres west of Turpan city centre. It sits on a willow-leaf-shaped loess plateau at the confluence of two river valleys. The plateau is about 1,650 metres long and up to 300 metres wide, and cliffs about 30 metres high on all sides provide natural defence. From the 2nd century BC it was the capital of the Former Cheshi Kingdom. The Han dynasty established the Wuji Colonel here, and the Tang dynasty set up the Anxi Protectorate General here. The city was destroyed by war at the end of the Yuan dynasty. It was not built up but carved downward from the plateau. Government offices, temples, residences and streets were all excavated and rammed from the earth using subtractive techniques. It is the largest, oldest and best-preserved earthen-architecture site in the world. In 2014 it was inscribed as part of the World Heritage site “Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an–Tianshan Corridor.” The visit route enters through the south gate and follows the central avenue north, passing the government offices area, the east and west residential areas, the central great stupa, the Great Buddha Temple and the northern stupa forest. The full route is about 2–3 kilometres and takes 1.5–2 hours. Admission in peak season is about CNY 70 (about CNY 35 in the off-season). You can hire a guide or rent an audio guide, as the ruins themselves have no text explanations. Notes: the city has no shade at all, so in summer it is best to enter at 8–9 a.m. or after 6 p.m. The sunset that turns the earthen city golden is the best time for photography. Keep to the designated paths and do not climb the earthen walls. Bring water, a hat and sun protection. It is only a few kilometres from the Karez Well Folk Village, so the two can be scheduled for the same half-day.

Jiaohe Ruins

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