📷 Colegota · CC BY-SA 2.5 es

Where in the world

China

Yarkhoto

Imperial China · China

Field notes

civilizations: Imperial ChinaSogdian
types: City
occupied: 200 BCE — 1,400 CE
country: China

The site

Yarkhoto, the Jiaohe ruins near Turpan in Xinjiang, China, is a city carved into a leaf-shaped plateau between two deep river valleys, a natural fortress atop steep cliffs. It served as capital of the Tocharian kingdom of Jushi and stood as an important stop along the Silk Road. Occupied for some sixteen centuries, its clay-cut streets and buildings remain among the best-preserved of any Silk Road city.

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