Jiaohe Ruins

» Turpan, Xin Jiang

Jiaohe Ruins Overview & Map Weather Transportation Information

Jiaohe Ruins is the best preserved town ruin in China. It is located about 10 kilometers away from Turpan City. The strip-shaped town stretched about 1,650 meters from south to north and the widest point spanned about 300 meters. It is situated on an island between two rivers and the name for the area means "the confluence of two rivers." It was initially built about 2,000 years ago and for a long period of time, was controlled by the residents of Gaochang.

Jiaohe was completely destroyed by wars in the 14th century. Evidences indicate that the places became ruins as early as the Ming Dynasty. The ruins, very rare in the world, are extremely valuable for studying ancient cities.

The history of the Jiaohe Ruins

Hejiao's history can trace back to late Stone Age. Ancient residents built their homes in a lagoon island to protect against attack from wild animals and invasions from other tribes. They dug out dwelling caves out from the tough loess and chiseled passages to lead water from the rivers to the town.

Visitors can still find some remnants of the simple tools including scraping tools, stone slates and colored pottery ware pieces on the ground close to the town ruin.

These early residents belonged to the Gushi tribe, who was called Cheshi tribe in the subsequent dynasties. During the Warrior States Period, tribes on the south side of the Tianshan Mountains set up their own kingdoms successively. The area around Jiaohe was controlled by the Cheshi People who took advantage of the ideal geographical location of the region and made it their power seat. According to historical documents, Cheshi People live in tents and did farming. They raised cattle, camels, ship and other livestock.

What to explore

Most of the buildings were concentrated in an area of about 1000 square meters in the southeast part of the platform. The layout was quite complete; there were wide streets and city gates on the east, south and west. At present, one can find well-preserved ruins of official buildings, temples, streets and graveyards there. In the ruins, there are 1389 residential house ruins, 53 Buddhism temples, 316 ancient wells and 34 alleys. The town was uniquely arranged, containing an above part and an underground part.

Three gates

There were originally 3 gates to the town: the south, east and west gates. The South Gate was the mainly used for military purpose. The West Gate which was abandoned much earlier left very little evidence to piece together its original looks. But, historical documents display the dominant role it played. It was said that when the Han troops returned after defeated the Xiongnu, civilian and officials gathered at the gate celebrating victory over enemy.

Two sections

The main street of Jiaohe Town ran from south to north, about 350 meters long and 10 meters wide. The street cut the town into two sections.

• East section
  The populous east section with dense buildings was the official area and the west section, characterized by sporadic dilapidated buildings was residential and workshop area.
• West section
  The west section had 20,000 square meters with main and attached buildings and squares. The grandest building complex in this part was the palaces of former Cheshi State. Crisscrossed streets and underground passages and gardens are visible in the ruins.

Houses

Buildings at the residential area are well preserved. The houses were mainly in cave-style created by digging into the ground. Each house is attached with a garden, inside which lied a deep well.

Buddhism Temples

In the north side stood many Buddhism Temples. Jiaohe was once China's Buddhism center. Buddhism spread from Indian through the Western Region to inland provinces of China and it's was flourished at the Western Region on its way. Western Region thus renowned as the Second Hometown of Buddhism.

Three features

Jiaohe distinguishes itself from other ancient cities owing to three features. First, it had only three city gates, the south, east and west gates. The main South Gate vanished long ago, leaving a huge breach. The East Gate cut by the cliff was virtually non-existent. Second, the city faces cliffs on three sides, so there are no city walls commonly seen in other ancient cities. Third, all the buildings were dug from earth and wood was rarely used.

When to visit

• Opening Hours: 09:00a.m. - 18:00p.m.

Attractions around » Turpan, Xin Jiang

Natural Scene

• Flaming Mountain
• Grape Valley
• Tuyugou Valley

Historical Site

• Jiaohe Ruins
• Sugong Pagoda
• Gaochang Ancient City
• Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves
• Astana Tombs

Cultural Site

• Karez System
• Grape Valley

Jiaohe Ruins Highlights

Ancient City & Town in Great China

• Lijiang Old Town
• Ancient Town of Zhouzhuang
• Shuhe Naxi Village
• Jiaohe Ruins
• Ancient Town of Wuzhen
• Pingyao Ancient City
• Tunxi Ancient Street
• Xidi Village
• Hongcun Village
• Yangliuqing Town
• Old Town of Xitang
• Cuandixia Village
• Zhujiajiao Old Town
• Phoenix Town
• Loulan Ancient City
• Qiuci Capital Ruins
• Baidicheng
• Fengdu
• Shibaozhai Temple
• Mallikurwatur Ruins
• Tangyue Archway
• Dali Ancient City
• Qingyan Ancient Town
• Zhenyuan Ancient Town
• Stone Drum Town
• Gaochang Ancient City
• Furong Town
• Qibaozhen Ancient Town
• Tongli Town
• Daxu Ancient Town
• Jingzhou Ancient City
• Nanping Village
• Xingping Town
• Longli Ancient Town
• Ancient Sanlu Temple Street
• Shiban Street
• Ciqikou Old Town
• Tunbao Cultural Village
• Kashgar Old Town
• Subashi Ancient City
• Gyangtze Old Town
• Lhatse
• Jinli Street
• Langzhong Ancient City

Jiaohe Ruins FAQ & Travelers's Tips

  Weather

1. When is the best time to go?

  Customs

1. What are some interesting festivals?
2. Mind these customs and taboos

  Other Hints

1. A couple of notes for packing
2. A note on the time difference
3. Emergency Numbers
4. Useful Numbers

• When is the best time to go?

  The best time for visiting is between July and August when the fruit crops are ripe.

  Turpan is well-known for its high temperatures and is also called 'Huo Zhou' (a place as hot as fire). The city is located in Turpan Basin, the hottest as well as the lowest elevation in China; just 98 ft above sea level. The climate is dry, hot and windy with an average rainfall of only 0.9 inches per year. Because of its unique geographical position, the city enjoys very high temperature and very little precipitation. The summers here are long and usually begin in April and end in August. June, July and August are the hottest months with an average temperature above 38C (100.4F) and the recorded highest temperature is 49.6C (121.28F).

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• What are some interesting festivals?

  Grape Festival
  Turpan is renowned for the quality of the fruit grown here and the sweetness of the grapes. Just as the name implies, the grape is the subject of the festival which is held in August each year and lasts for a month. During the festival, you can feel the happiness of harvest in every corner of the city. The grapes of hundreds of varieties are ripe and hang on the vines, waiting for you to enjoy. Amongst them, the white grape without seeds is the favourite one and it is praised as the 'green pearl of China'. In addition to enjoying the sweet grapes you can take in traditional Uygur performances in the festival, such as the wedding ceremony of Uygur and the dancing performances in Tang Dynasty (618-907). Grape Valley is the best option for you to celebrate the festival.

  Eid al Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking)
  This fast is one of the five pillars of Islam and Eid al Fitr is the first day after 30 days' fast. The festival is celebrated on the 1st of October according to the Moslem calendar, and lasts for three days. It is an important festival among the Moslems. On the first morning of the festival, people gather together in the mosque to pray. And then, they wear national costumes to call on their relatives and friends. During the festival, people will butcher fat stocks and cook some traditional snacks to satisfy their stomach.

  Eid al Adha (the Feast of the Sacrifice)
  The festival is on 10th December according to the Moslem calendar and it is the last day for pilgrimage. In the early morning, all men go to mosque to pray. It is the most important divine service with a largest scale all year round. During the festival, each family should slaughter a sheep, a cow or a camel. And families and friends would gather together to sing and dance happily. Of course, they will also enjoy a sumptuous meal together. After the meal, they often visit the grave to honor the memory of ancestors

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• Mind these customs and taboos

  When traveling in Turpan, you should pay attention to Muslim customs and taboos in particular.
  
  
  • Do not poke the food in dishes or get close to the kitchen.
    
  • Never eat pork or talk about pigs when a Muslim is present.
    
  • Do not wear clothing that is short and too revealing.
    
  
  When receiving something, you should use both of your hands to show your thanks and respect to the host.
  
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• A couple of notes for packing

  1. Although the temperature is high in the day time, you should take a long sleeved shirt as temperatures here vary greatly between day and night.

  2. As the temperature is very high in the summer, it is necessary for you to take a hat, sunglasses and sun-bloc to avoid being burnt.

  3. If you are used to wearing contact lenses, please bring a pair of glasses with you due to the hot dry weather.

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• A note on the time difference

  Although the clock time in Xinjiang is the same as Beijing time, there is two hours difference because of the longitude. You should modify your rest and dinning times two hours later as compared with staying in the central part of China.

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• Emergency Numbers

  • Fire: 119
    
  • Police: 110
    
  • Ambulance: 120
    
  • Traffic: 122
    

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• Useful Numbers

  • Consumers Complaint Line of the Turpan Consumers' Association: 123154
    
  • Tour Complaints: 8523216
    
  • Time Inquiry: 117
    
  • Telephone Number Inquiry: 114
    
  • Weather Forecast: 121
    
  • Railway Inquiry: 8642233
    
  • Tourist Bureau of Turpan Region: 8523653 / 8523663
    
  • Tourist Bureau of Turpan City: 8520171.

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