Jiaohe Ancient City - Best-preserved City Ruins in the World

Jiaohe Ancient City was founded and built by Cheshi people from the 2nd century B.C. to the 5th century, and reached its peak in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (A.D. 420-589) and the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907). From the 9th to the 14th century, Jiaohe City was caught in successive wars for its important strategic position, which led to its gradual decline. During the Chahetai period at the end of the Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 1271-1368), Jiaohe City was seriously damaged and finally abandoned. The whole city has been in use for nearly 2000 years and has been abandoned for 700 or 800 years. Walking in the ruins, it seems that you can hear the camel bells of the caravan in the ancient times.

Jiaohe Ruins is on the 30-meter high loess platform at the intersection of two rivers, that’s also why it is called Jiaohe (means the place where two rivers meet in Chinese). It is a willow leaf shaped city with a length of about 1650 meters. It is narrow at both ends, and about 300 meters wide in the middle. The ancient city is surrounded by cliffs. Three gates are built on the cliffs in the east, west and south. All the buildings are made of rammed earth, and the layout is similar to that of Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty. Clay Bodhisattvas, government offices, Buddhist temples, pagodas, streets and alleys, as well as workshops, dwellings, military training grounds can all be found in the city.

It needs about 2 hours to tour around Jiaohe Ancient City. At the entrance stands a museum, where you can see a replication of Jiaohe Ancient City and have a basic understanding of the city in advance. Then you can get into the ruins and have a closer look at this ancient city.

After thousands of years of ups and downs, the main structure of the city is still miraculously preserved, which should benefit from the dry and rainless climate of Turpan. The total area of the ancient city is 470,000 square meters, and the existing building remains cover 360,000 square meters. Most of the buildings in the city were built in the Tang Dynasty, and the whole city retains the architectural characteristics of the Central Plains before the Song Dynasty.

A central avenue running through the city divides the residence into the east and west parts. Walking on the weathered path, you can roughly feel the glorious past of Cheshi Kingdom. At the north end of the avenue is a large-scale temple with an area of about 90,000 square meters. In the eastern part is a large residential area of about 78000 square meters, a small residential area, and an official district. In addition to the dwellings, there are also many handicraft workshops in the west area. On both sides of the avenue are high and thick walls with no doors and windows facing the street. Because the city is built on a 30-meter high cliff, there is no need to build a city wall. The south gate was the main channel for transporting supplies and troops in ancient times. Due to the unique position, it is said that one man at the south gate is able to resist an army! The traffic network, gate and other buildings all reflect the defensive guiding ideology of the construction. It is fair to say the whole ancient city is a huge military fortress.

In addition, it is incredible that most of the buildings in the city, regardless of their size, are basically excavated from the high platform in a way of "reducing the land and retaining the walls". The temples, government offices, city gates and houses all have raw earth walls. The streets and alleys are long, narrow and deep, like winding trenches. It can be said that this city is a huge ancient sculpture. Its architectural technology is not only unique in China, but also rare in foreign countries, reflecting the wisdom and great creativity of ancient people.

TIPS: It is most recommended to visit Jiaohe Ancient City in the late afternoon so that you can avoid the strong sunlight at noon and it is possible to catch the grand sunset.

Jiaohe Ancient City is located at Jianggelemaisi Village, Ya'er Country, Turpan 吐鲁番市雅尔乡将格勒买斯村, about 11 km to the west of Turpan downtown. As it is a famous attraction in Turpan and not far away from downtown, it is convenient to get there. Jiaohe Ancient City is about:

• 11 km, 25 minutes' drive from Turpan downtown;
• 7.5 km, 15 minutes' drive from Karez System;
• 49 km, 70 minutes' drive from Gaochang Ancient City;
• 40 km, 50 minutes' drive from Flaming Mountains;
• 16 km, 30 minutes' drive from Turpan North Railway Station;
• 18 km, 35 minutes' drive from Turpan Jiaohe Airport.

Step 1: Get to Turpan First

Turpan is on the Lanzhou-Urumqi High-speed Railway. Therefore, it is convenient to get to Turpan by high speed train from cities on the Silk Road such as Urumqi (1h), Dunhuang (3.5h), Zhangye (5h), Jiayuguan (6.5), Lanzhou (9.5-10h), Xining (8-8.5h), Xian (12.5h), etc. You can also fly to Turpan from Lanzhou (2.5h), Beijing (5.5h), Chengdu (5.5h), Changsha (4.5h), Zhengzhou (4.5h), etc. But the flight schedule is not stable. It is also available to get to Urumqi (the capital of Xinjiang) first, which has more flights between major cities in China, and then transfer to Turpan. Read more about Turpan Transportation >

Step 2: Turpan to Jiaohe Ancient City Transfer

The fastest and most convenient way is no doubt taking a taxi or chartering a car. From April to October, you can take a tourist bus (about CNY 20) to Jiaohe Ancient City. On ordinary days, city bus is also available to Yaer County, and then you need to take a local tuktuk to the site.

Travel with China Discovery: If you want to get rid of hustle of public transportation and troublesome navigation, you can book a private tour package which covers sightseeing, dining and transfer from us. Our knowledgeable local tour guide and skilled driver will escort you to visit Jiaohe Ancient City with speed and convenience, and take care of all the details. You just need to focus on sightseeing. Contact us to customize a worry-free tour package now!