Loulan Ancient City

Located about 300 kilometers northeast of Ruoqiang County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and on the west bank of Lop Nur Lake, Loulan served as the capital and economical, political, and cultural center of Loulan Kingdom. It is recorded that the ancient city was founded in the second century BC in an oasis with rich water, lush grass and flat topography, where agriculture, stockbreeding and fishing were all very developed un ancient times.

As one of the major stops on the old Silk Road, the city was a center for the trading of silks, teas, fruit and jewels with the inland. However, this prosperous city suddenly disappeared from the history at about the 4th century, only leaving some ruins in the desert. It is honored as “the Pompeii in the Desert”. The rise and the fall of this ancient city have presented us a mystery to the following generations.

Discover of the Loulan Ancient City

In 1901, a Swedish adventurer named Sven Hedin was exploring the Lake Lop Nur area and discovered the ruins of the kingdom buried under the yellow sands of the Taklamakan Desert accidentally. What he found startled the whole world. The extant ruins of Loulan city approximately present a square shape, with each city wall of about 330 meters. The whole city is about 1.1 square kilometers. Most part of the building was damaged in the wind and rain, only some broken courtyard and towering pagodas left in the city. Weathered in the wind and rain for thousands of years, the pagoda is still about 10.4 meters above the ground, which served as a symbol to find the old city from afar. Quite a few ancient cultural relics have been found in the Loulan Ancient City, including all kinds of utensils and corns, among which the most precious one is the transcript “Strategies of the Warring States” in Jing Dynastry (265-420).

Sanjian Fang

Sanjian Fang is a three room lies in a line. As one of the two adobe buildings and the highest buildings in the ancient city, Sanjian Fang is probably the government office of Loulan city. Many precious books and documents were unearthed from the corner of Sanjian Fang, including the transcript “Strategies of the Warring States” in Jin Dynastry (265-420).

The Loulan Beauty

The Loulan Beauty was discovered in 1980. The beauty is well preserved and dedicate in appearance. Her skin is reddish-brown and with a slight elasticity. With image processing, the beauty, who lived in thousands of years ago appeared vividly. Experts confirmed that the woman lived some 3,800 years ago.

Some people think that the Loulan city disappeared in the war, while some people think that it declined in the lack of water and the ecological deterioration. Today, archaeologists and historians at home and abroad are still working hard to resolve the continuing mystery of this ancient kingdom.