[2025 Turpan Attraction] Travel Guide for The Ancient City of Gaochang (Updated Jun)

I bought a cheap plane ticket after seeing just a few photos of Turpan. But it was incredibly beautiful and the atmosphere was completely different from China. And when you go to Xinjiang, you absolutely must eat lamb skewers a day!! It's chewier and tastier than any lamb skewers I've ever had. #Turpan #吐魯番 #新疆 #新疆旅遊

Gaochang Ancient City in Xinjiang: A Hidden Gem This is the last stop on our tour of Turpan, Xinjiang: Gaochang Ancient City. Compared to Jiaohe Ancient City, it is less well-known. When the travel agency recommended this attraction to me, I was happy to accept it because I had heard the story of Xuanzang and the King of Gaochang. I hired a guide at the attraction for CNY 100, and the tour lasted about 50 minutes. The guide was not available, so the deputy director (I later saw the director on a variety show and was very excited!) personally took us on a tour of the history of Gaochang Ancient City: 1. The predecessor of the Gaochang Kingdom was a garrison of soldiers from the Central Plains during the Western Han Dynasty. The soldiers brought people, food, and technology, and gradually formed a community. This is one of the historical reasons why there are more Han people in northern Xinjiang than in southern Xinjiang. 2. The city walls of the Gaochang Kingdom were constructed in the same way and served the same function as the city walls in Chang'an (now Xi'an), with an outer wall, an inner wall, and a palace. The city walls also had horse faces and urn cities. Because the Gaochang Kingdom always existed as a vassal state, especially during the Tang Dynasty, it naturally learned from its big brother. The common people lived between the outer and inner walls, the nobles lived between the inner wall and the palace, and the king lived in the palace. 3. The city walls were built using the rammed earth method from the Central Plains, with obvious holes in the walls. The original holes contained wooden beams, which served a similar function to modern steel bars in load-bearing walls, making the walls thick and strong, and allowing them to stand for thousands of years. There are also many shallow holes in the walls, which were used to test the strength of the walls by shooting arrows at them. The walls were considered strong enough if the arrows could not penetrate them or even broke on the ground. Of course, building city walls with earth was only suitable for this dry, rainless environment. 4. Gaochang developed from a garrison to a county, and then to a kingdom, gradually becoming a political, economic, and cultural center in the Western Regions. The name Gaochang means "high terrain, prosperous people." In the early days, it was ruled by four families: Kan, Zhang, Ma, and Qu, with the Qu family ruling for the longest time. The story of Xuanzang and the King of Gaochang, Qu Wentai, took place here and is still talked about today. The director talked for a full hour. We arrived at noon, and the director stood in the sun to explain everything to us, while we were fully armed (as in picture 9). I was very impressed with the director.

🏜️Gaochang Ancient City is located in Gaochang District, Turpan City. The city is divided into three parts: the outer city, the inner city, and the palace city. In addition to the residential areas, the city also contains the remains of Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Manichaean, and Nestorian sites. Gaochang was first mentioned in the Han dynasty as Gaochangbi. It became Gaochang County during the Wei and Jin dynasties, and continued to be used during the Northern Liang, Qu Gaochang, and Gaochang Uyghur periods. It was the most important military and political center for the governance of the Western Regions, and an important transportation and cultural hub in the Western Regions and on the Silk Road. 🏆In 1961, Gaochang Ancient City was listed as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.

#traveldiaries In the middle of the Gobi Desert lies the ancient city if Gaochang. This ancient city has been abandoned for about 1000 years ago but people nowadays can inky watch the remnants of how the city used to look like. It is really massive and I don’t recommend it walking around there , just go with a shuttle bus to take you to different interesting spot inside the city ruins. Tips: 1. Cover up and apply sun cream as there is no shade here at all. You’m surely get sunburnt if you’re not covered up. 2. Do not wander beyond the concrete roads as they are not sure if some areas are hallow underground so just stay on the concrete roads. 3. Bring water- so hot here and there are bo shops around so be sure to pack your self a bottle of water. Ticket price: 40 Length of Visit: 1 hour (since it is a guided trip with the shuttle bus and you’re together with the other tourists so you kind of just follow the majority. If most tourists are done in one area then it is time to head to the next stop. Enjoy 😊 #tripblazers #trip #tripmoments #china #chinatrip #xinjiang #historicallandmarks

Covering an area of about 2.2 million square meters, the ancient city is surrounded by mountains and has a low-lying terrain. It has a temperate continental climate and is dry with little rain throughout the year. It was the central town of the Turpan Basin from the Western Han Dynasty to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (1st century BC - 14th century AD). It has a history of about 1,400 years, including the Western Han Dynasty Gaochang Wall, Gaochang County, Gaochang State, Tang Dynasty Xizhou, and Gaochang Uighur.

The Ancient City of Gaochang Carrying the high temperature, I walked into the ancient city over the years This is where Xuanzang gave his sermons I learned about the story of Xuanzang and King Qu Wentai of the Gaochang Kingdom Feeling the kingdom from thousands of years ago It's right beside me Standing in front of the broken walls and remnants I marvel at walking on the same land as Xuanzang, separated by a thousand years —It's really hot on the feet

The ancient city of Gaochang is located at the southern foot of the Flaming Mountains, in the delta of the Mutou Gou River, in Sanbao Township, more than 40 kilometers east of Turpan City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Covering a total area of 2 million square meters, it was the central town of the Turpan Basin from the Western Han to the Yuan and Ming periods (1st century BC to 14th century AD), spanning approximately 1400 years. The ancient city of Gaochang includes three layers of cities: the outer city, the inner city, and the palace city (Khan Fortress). Within the city site, there are numerous religious ruins and relics. The temple buildings contain Manichaean murals and Buddhist murals, statues, and more. The city is rich in relics, with documents and classics in different scripts unearthed. The palace city is located at the northernmost part, with two well-preserved temple ruins at the southwest and southeast corners of the outer city. In the middle of the northern part of the inner city, there is an irregular square palace city, commonly known as the "Khan Fortress." The ancient city of Gaochang was abandoned in the late 13th century due to wars, and most of the buildings have disappeared. In the northern palace city, many tall palace foundations remain, generally about three and a half to four meters high, indicating the presence of palace buildings up to four stories high. To the north of Gaochang city was originally a vast Gobi desert, where most residents were buried after death. The entire cemetery extends from the northeast to the northwest of the city, about five kilometers long from east to west and two kilometers wide from north to south, covering an area of about ten square kilometers. Since the beginning of this century, more than 500 tombs have been excavated and cleaned here, unearthing various historical relics such as documents, silk, wool, cotton, linen fabrics, epitaphs, coins, clay and wood figurines, pottery and wooden utensils, paintings, crops, fruits, and food, numbering in the tens of thousands.

The ancient city of Gaochang is located in Sanbao Township, Turpan, Xinjiang. There are few tourists here, but I prefer such visits, which allow me to savor them carefully. Standing at the lecture platform of the Big Buddha Temple📸🌹, I imagine Master Xuanzang preaching here, as if the Sanskrit sound is still lingering... Looking at the barren desert before my eyes, I can't help but sigh: No civilization can withstand the ravages of war🤔. Sometimes the best way to understand local culture is to chat with the locals. The ethnic minority uncle who drives the local train proudly told me: This place has a history of 2,000 years. Wherever we went, he reminded me to walk on the wooden path. This shows their love for this land👍💕. I am very curious, there is no water here, how did people survive in the past? The uncle told me: There is water, you just need to dig a well 150 meters underground. I immediately realized that the melted snow from the snow-capped mountains had seeped deep into the underground. I also immediately had a deep respect for the ancients and the locals. #XinjiangTourism #BeautifulXinjiang