A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – Jiaohe (in Chinese: ‘where two rivers meet’) is considered one of China’s oldest, largest, and best-preserved earthen cities.

It was built 2,300 years ago, and its ruins are located along the Silk Road in the Yaernaizi Valley, 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) west of Turpan in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.

Ruins of Jiaohe, a city where all the buildings were dug from earth and wood was rarely used. Credits: China Tour Guide

As wood was rarely used, all its buildings were constructed from the earth. People dug houses and rooms downward from the ground and built them with dried bricks.

Jiaohe’s main street was long and went down to the center of the islet (1650 m in length, 300 m wide), dividing the city into two parts. The western part was for ordinary people, and the rulers lived in the east. In the northwestern part of the city is a Buddhist monastery, and around China’s oldest Buddhist stupa, there are 25 smaller stupas built in all directions.

Buddhist stupa at Jiaohe Ruins. PH๏τo: commons.Wikimedia

Jiaohe, which covered 220,000 square meters (2,368,168 square feet), was not like many other ancient cities.

First, it had only two city gates; the South Gate was the main one and vanished long ago, and the East Gate was cut from the side of the cliff, and a few remnants are still recognizable today.

No house gates faced the streets; military defense was seemingly the highest priority for this desert military town with a stronghold from 1,600 years ago.

Turfán (Turpan/Tulufán) es una ciudad-oasis en la Región Autónoma Uigur de Xinjiang en la República Popular China. Ruinas de la antigua ciudad de Jiaohe. Image credit: Colegota – CC BY-SA 2.5 ES

According to Tang dynasty records, Jiaohe had a population of 7,000. Second, typical city walls that usually surround other ancient cities were never found in the town; instead, Jiaohe faced cliffs on three sides.

Both excavations and historical records reveal evidence that Jiaohe (or ‘YarkH๏τo’) was a flourishing ancient trading center and Jiaohe’s military importance.

Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862 – 1943) was a British archeologist and explorer of the Silk Road who traversed 25,000 miles of central Asia and western China. He suggested that the name ‘YarkH๏τo’ is a combination of Turkic and Mongolian words.

The ancient city of Yar?ol near Turpan in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China Image credit: Gregor Kneussel – CC BY-SA 3.0

With a history of more than 2,000 years, Jiaohe Ancient City stands isolated on a 30-meter-high plateau in the Ya’ernaizi Valley, 10 kilometers east of Turpan. The whole city of Jiaohe Ancient City stretches about 1650 meters from south to north and 300 meters from east to west.

The relics, still identifiable in this unique city, originated from Tang Dynasty (618-907) architectural style. According to Tang Dynasty historical records, Jiaohe was the capital of the Jushi Kingdom in 108 BC and remained until 450 AD.

Archaeological excavations revealed traces of the Jushi Kingdom at Jiaohe Valley, shedding more light on the early period of the region.

Later, Jiaohe continued to be an essential site for the Silk Road until it lost importance and was eventually destroyed by Genghis Khan.

Written by – A. Sutherland AncientPages.com Staff Writer

Updated on April 25, 2023

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