Jiaohe Ruins

Jiaohe Ruins

The Jiaohe Ruins is an ancient Chinese archaeological site found in the Yarnaz Valley, 10 km west of the city of Turpan, Xin jiang province, China. It was an important site along the Silk Road trade route leading west, and was adjacent to the Korla and Karasahr kingdoms to the west.

The city was built on a large islet (1650 m in length, 300 m wide at its widest point) in the middle of a river which formed natural defenses, which would explain why the city lacked any sort of walls. Instead, steep cliffs more than 30 metres high on all sides of the river acted as natural walls. The layout of the city had eastern and western residential districts, while the northern district was reserved for Buddhist sites of temples and stupas. Along with this there are notable graveyards and the ruins of a large government office in the southern part of the eastern district.It was finally abandoned after its destruction during an invasion by the Mongols led by Genghis Khan in the 13th century.

The site was partially excavated in the 1950s and has been protected by the PRC government since 1961. And the ruins of Jiaohe are mentioned in the mystery novel Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station, by Dorothy Gilman.