The Carved City

Ahead of the commemoration on September 24, Chinese President Xi Jinping led a central delegation to regional capital Urumqi to join representatives from all ethnic groups and walks of life at a grand gathering marking the occasion.　

Over the past seven decades, Xinjiang has drawn on its rich natural and cultural resources to transform from a remote inland region into a vibrant modern hub.　

Xinjiang’s unique geography has endowed its cultural heritage with distinctive regional characteristics. Archaeological discoveries have greatly deepened understanding of its historical significance and its pivotal role along the ancient Silk Road which linked China and Europe.

One notable stop along this route was Jiaohe, located about 10 kilometers west of modern-day Turpan, around 200 kilometers southeast of Urumqi. During Zhang’s time, this fortress city served as the capital of the ancient Jushi Kingdom, one of the 36 kingdoms of the Western Regions at that time. 　

With a history dating back more than 2,000 years, the Jiaohe Ruins rank among the world’s largest, oldest and best-preserved ancient cities built from rammed earth. In 2014, the site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor, jointly submitted by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. 　

Jiaohe stands apart from other ancient cities because its structures were “carved” downward from the earth rather than built upward. 　

The city was created by excavating the ground )to form standing walls and underground rooms. The removed earth was compacted to build above-ground structures. The upper-level rooms served as living spaces, while the underground ones provided shelter from the scorching summer heat and the cold winter winds. 　

According to Li Xiao, a professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing and former director of the Turpan Regional Bureau of Cultural Relics, this construction style is unique worldwide. 　

From the earliest days of the Silk Road, Jiaohe was already an important trading center between East and West. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it evolved into the administrative and military hub of Xinjiang which was under the jurisdiction and administration of the Tang Empire. 

Most of the remaining structures date from the Tang period and the city’s layout still reflects Tang-era urban design. At its peak, Jiaohe had a population of about 7,000, with 34 streets and lanes and over 1,300 houses, more than 700 of which are still relatively well-preserved. 　

By the mid-14th century, the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) triggered widespread rebellion across the region, leaving Jiaohe abandoned. The city’s political and economic influence faded, but thanks to its remote location and arid climate, Jiaohe escaped total destruction. It remains today a rare and remarkably intact example of an earthen “carved” city. 

Situated at the southern foothills of the eastern Tianshan Mountains, Jiaohe stands on an elevated terrace about 30 meters above the riverbeds of two converging branches. Over time, the flowing waters carved out steep cliffs, creating natural defenses so effective that the city required no man-made walls. 　

The entire site resembles the shape of a willow leaf, stretching roughly 1,650 meters from south to north and up to 300 meters at its widest point, covering an area of about 376,000 square meters. 　

Jiaohe is believed to have had only two gates, an unusual feature for a city of its size. The East Gate was cut directly into the cliff and was thus barely functional, while the South Gate served as the main entrance. Evidence shows it once had a wooden door that was lost to fire. 

　

A straight, 10-meter-wide central street runs north from the South Gate through the entire city, dividing it into two distinct zones: the western side housed commoners, while the eastern quarter was reserved for officials and troops. 　

The residences, built with the rammed-earth technique, featured walls up to 10 meters high and 12 meters thick. Most lacked windows, a defensive design that reflected the city’s military considerations. 　

Viewed from above, the homes appear as walled compounds with hidden entrances. In the event of an attack, invaders could only stand atop the roofs, unable to locate doorways or points of entry. 　

Government offices occupied the city’s central section. Just north of these buildings lies an ideal vantage point offering panoramic views of the entire site. The best time to visit is late afternoon, when the desert sun softens and long shadows play across the earthen walls. 

At the northern end of the main street stands the Great Monastery, the city’s largest religious complex, covering 5,000 square meters. Further north lies an impressive stupa grove with 101 of Xinjiang’s earliest stupas, dating back to the sixth century. 　

Beyond the city walls, expansive burial grounds stretch along the northern and western edges of the terrace. 　

According to Chen Aifeng, deputy director of the research institute Turpan Academy, Jiaohe has clear functional divisions. Its residential areas are in the south, burial grounds in the north and centrally located government offices. This layout resembles that of the Tang Dynasty capital Chang’an (now Xi’an in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province), echoing influences from the Central Plains, the cradle of Chinese civilization.　

However, when viewing the entire terrace, including the northern burial grounds and surrounding sections, the central area is actually reserved for monasteries and stupa groves. Jiaohe, therefore, also embodies a layout centered on religion. 　

This reveals a fundamental difference between Eastern and Western city planning in antiquity. In the West, the city’s heart belonged to the gods, like Capitoline Hill in Rome and the Acropolis in Athens. In the East, it belonged to imperial power, as in Chang’an. Based on current archaeological findings, Jiaohe is the only known ancient city in China that integrates both Eastern and Western urban systems. 　

Its city layout and the diverse construction techniques of its buildings testify to the rich cultural exchange between Central China, the Western Regions and Central Asia. 　

From the late 19th century, explorers from Russia, Germany and other countries systematically looted numerous cultural sites in Turpan, including the Jiaohe Ruins. Countless relics, murals, manuscripts, Buddhist statues and wooden artifacts were taken overseas. 　

By the early 20th century, when Hungarian-British archaeologist Aurel Stein arrived, most of the major artifacts were already gone. He could only record the city’s architectural layout and its “astonishing cliff-carved defense system” in Serindia: Detailed Report of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China, a cornerstone of Silk Road archaeology. 　

Among the remaining treasures, the Human-Faced Terracotta Lamp stands out. Shaped from pottery into a cylinder, the lamp’s top forms the face of an elderly man, his drooping brow and small eyes full of expression, his straight nose and gentle smile lending warmth to his features. A circular opening in his crown once held oil to fuel the flame. 

　

Li Xiao recalled discovering the lamp in a temple well in 1994. According to him, it was no ordinary lamp but a luxury item likely used by nobles or the wealthy some 1,000 years ago. 　

Over the centuries, desert winds have worn down Jiaohe’s walls, temples and streets, while floodwaters eroded its cliffs, threatening the city’s very survival. 　

In 1961, the Jiaohe Ruins were designated a national-level protected site. Beginning in 1993, over 100 archaeologists and historians from China and abroad joined an eight-year conservation and restoration project. Their efforts culminated with Jiaohe being inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. 　

In April 2025, Ya’er Lake Grottoes, part of the Jiaohe Ruins and once a monastery, opened to the public for the first time, enriching the site’s exhibitions and visitor experience. 　

The grotto complex contains 22 caves from the fifth century, arranged in two tiers: the upper for meditation, the lower for living quarters. Inside are exquisite Buddhist murals and inscriptions in both Chinese and Sogdian, proof of deep cultural integration. After a year of restoration and digital upgrades, Cave 4 and Cave 7 are now open to visitors. 　

The digital restoration project uses AR technology to virtually recover the murals’ faded colors and missing lines. By wearing AR glasses, visitors can experience in immersive detail the ancient beauty that once flowered in the heart of a vast desert.