Mallikurwatur Ruins

Located on the west bank of the Jade Dragon Kashgar River, 25 kilometers away to the southeast of Hotan, Mallikurwatur Ruins is believed to be the ancient city of Yutian Kingdom. Once an important regional capital on the Silk Road, Mallikurwatur Ruins have been abandoned for more than 1,500 years. It was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit of the Autonomous region in 1962.

With a length of 10 kilometers from the north to the south and a width of 2 kilometers from the east to the west, Mallikurwatur Ruins is surrounded by the sand mountains in the west, Mount Kunlun in the south and Jade Dragon Kashgar River in the east. Many villages are dotted in the north of the ruins. Ancient tombs, architectural buildings and mysterious caverns can be found there. Many cultural relics have been excavated from here, including the jade articles, pottery pieces, bronze Buddha and a large number of old coins like Wu Zhu Qian in the Western Han (206 BC-24 AD) Dynasty and Kai Yuan Tong Bao of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

In the early times, the square double city wall can be found in the site. However, only several mound with different size, agger and pillar remain now. Many pottery pieces with red, green and gray colors are spreaded on the floor. Stylobates distributed intensively to the south of the city. Someone thought this area as the old palace.