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Friday, 10 October 2014

China Silk Road Travel Part 11: The Ruins Of Jiaohe


A very interesting place we visited was the ancient city of Jiaohe. This place is located in Yarnaz Valley about 12km west of Turpan. Jiohe which was once upon a time a capital city was abandoned after its destruction by the Mongols led by Genghis Khan in the 13th century.
The plateau on which Jiaohe is located.
What is left of the city is just a maze of ruined dwellings and shrines carved out mostly from loess soil.
It was extremely hot and dry here. We regretted not bringing an umbrella along.
Erosion has caused this piece to look like two camels kissing.
What was this before?
doorways without doors
This city was excavated in the 1950s and was recently included in the world heritage list.
Walls are entirely mud bricks
Remnants of what used to be a  Buddhist Stupa
There were no signs of flora. How did the ancient people ever survive under such harsh conditions? It's a real wonder.

China Silk Road Tour Related Posts: 
Part 1: Overview
Part 45: Shaanxi Sunshine Grand Theatre

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