Gaochang is the largest set of ruins in the Turpan basin and one of the great archaeological sites of the Silk Road. A walled city was first laid out here in the first century BC, on the northern edge of the desert where the mountain meltwater could be led onto the fields, and it grew into a substantial settlement on the route between China and the west. What stands today is a city of rammed earth: no stone was used, so the buildings have melted back into the ground, leaving walls, platforms, gateways and the outlines of streets across an area of about two square kilometres.
Its place in history
Through the fifth and sixth centuries Gaochang was the capital of a kingdom ruled by the Qu family, an oasis state wealthy on the caravan trade and on agriculture. In 640 the Tang dynasty annexed it and made it the seat of the prefecture of Xizhou, which kept the city prosperous for another two hundred years. The Chinese monk Xuanzang passed through in 629 on his way to India and, according to the account of his journey, was entertained by the king and stayed for about a month before continuing west. Later the city became the capital of the Uyghur kingdom that ruled the basin from the ninth to the thirteenth century. It was destroyed in the fourteenth century during the wars that ended that kingdom.
What you see
The outer wall still stands in long stretches, girdling the site for a distance of about five kilometres, pierced by gateways on each side. Inside, the street grid survives as low ridges, and three areas stand out: a large monastic complex in the south-west with a substantial stupa and the remains of a hall, the base of what is described as a palace or audience building at the northern end, and the remains of workshops and dwellings between them. Fragments of wall painting and sculpture have been found throughout; the best of it is in the regional museums. The scale is much bigger than visitors expect, and the site is properly understood only with a guide or a good map.
Practical notes
The ruins are about thirty kilometres east of Turpan and are reached by car, normally as part of a loop with the Astana tombs and Bezeklik. A shuttle or donkey cart runs from the entrance to the core of the site, and the ticket is separate from the others on the road. There is no shade at all and summer heat is extreme, so go early, carry water, and plan to spend an hour and a half rather than twenty minutes.
