"Jiaohe" The lost city of Chechi/Cheshi Gurjars.

"Jiaohe" The lost city of Chechi/Cheshi Gurjars.


Characteristic


Massive historical ruined metropolis in Xinjiang and one of many greatest preserved cities of its time in China.A highlight of travel towards the fascinating and stunning Turpan place.Some massive structures continue being this kind of being a ruined tower and certainly one of China’s oldest Buddhist stupas that is certainly about one,four hundred years old.Like Gaochang, the city was abandoned about the 12 months one,four hundred.You will find there’s museum regarding the Cheshi/Chechi or Gushi individuals in the vicinity of the ruins.

OverviewMost tourists feel that the ruins with the historic city of Jiaohe are Turpan’s greatest travel highlight. It is far more intact than the close by ruins of Gaochang, though the cities ended up built and fell into disuse at regarding the identical instances. The individuals who lived while in the area all around Gaochang employed it as a source for fertilizer, and farmers leveled it for fields. They also purposely destroyed artwork and manuscripts that they discovered there, fearing the Moslem leaders injunction versus trying to keep idols and bogus guides. The neighborhood individuals found it much more difficult to cultivate Jiaohe. There is no surface h2o or karez irrigating the top of the islet. The islet is surrounded by two canyons and steep cliffs. This produced access for the metropolis much more tough, and even though farmers cultivated within the canyons around it, they couldn’t easily cultivate within the metropolis or carry supplies away. This can be why Jiaohe is better preserved than Gaochang. The islet is about 300 meters or 1,000 feet extensive at its widest level and 1.six kilometers or possibly a mile extended, and it had been known as Jiaohe due to the fact in Chinese Jiaohe signifies rivers meeting. It really is among the greatest preserved ruins of its historic era in China, so it’ll probably be the highlight of the trip to Turpan.

The islet is between canyons that are about 20 to 30 meters or about 65 to one hundred feet deep. The islet is formed like a dagger with its suggestion pointing on the southeast. The people built the metropolis from earth. They excavated the ground to depart standing structures or dug rooms underground, and they constructed with dried bricks. There was an extended main road that went down the middle with the islet that divided the town into two components. The western aspect was for typical individuals, and the rulers lived within the east. The northwestern portion of the city had a Buddhist monastery and stupas. There was also a cemetery and an underground temple in the far northwestern stop. The city is said to have only had two gates. One particular was at the southwestern corner and a single was while in the east. It really is unusual for the metropolis of this size to get only two gates. There may possibly be vestiges of a 3rd gate. On the northwest aspect, there is a Buddhist monastery and a massive tower that is certainly among the most significant remaining ruins.

History

One of the mysteries of the area is a previously unknown Caucasian civilization that lived in the area more than 2,000 years ago. Until about 20 years ago, these people who unknown. But lots of tombs have recently been found all over Xinjiang that show that the first settlers were Caucasian. It is still not clear where they came from, so the history of the region is still unclear. It is known that about 300 BC there were Caucasians at Jiaohe about 46 kilometers to the east because their tombs were recently found there. There is a museum about them at Jiaohe. These people who were at Jiaohe are called Cheshi/Chechi or Yuezhi and other names. It is also known that during the 1st millennium, people called Tocharians left behind libraries of documents written in two Tocharian Indo-European languages. It is known that Tocharian Buddhists helped to spread Buddhism along the Silk Road.

Background

In tombs around Jiaohe that date to 300 BC, the continues to be of Caucasians have been lately discovered. So some historians propose that the initial inhabitants of the islet may well are Caucasians. The Gushi men and women who have been Caucasians lived around the islet inside a city named Cheshi. About 100 BC, the Han Dynasty started trade with western nations. The Han wished to handle the trade and also to defend it from rival empires. The Cheshi/Chechi folks arrived below the management of the Han Empire about sixty BC. Perhaps 1,000 troops had been stationed there following that. Then, the Han Dynasty lost control with the region, along with the Han Empire collapsed. Other kingdoms controlled the location right up until the Tang Dynasty. In 640, a Tang basic conquered the area such as Gaochang. Nearly all of the building that stays is in the Tang Dynasty era. It’s said that seven,000 people lived in Jiaohe in the 8th century.

The Tang Empire was defeated regarding the year 856. Around that time, a group of Uighurs fled for the location soon after one more people called the Kyrgyz conquered their primary territory about Mongolia far to the northeast. The Uighurs took handle of northern and western Xinjiang. Concerning the yr 1209, the Uighurs submitted to Genghis Khan of the expanding Mongol Empire. Then concerning the center of the 14th century, the Mongol Empire collapsed. The resulting disruption of trade, warfare, and maybe also a lack of drinking water and a drier and colder environment connected with all the Little Ice Age caused people to abandon the former fortress city.

Touring RoutinesFind out concerning the successive civilizations of individuals who lived there.Appreciate the stark attractiveness with the ruined city along with the surrounding desert canyons and hills.Head to the Cheshi Museum to learn regarding the Cheshi/Chechi folks. http://www.chinahighlights.com/…/bezeklik-thousand-buddha-c… http://www.chinahighlights.com/t…/attraction/jiaohe-ruin.htm