The Jiaohe Ruins — a Disappearing City of Earth
With a great history spanning over 2300 years, Jiaohe City (or Yar City) - the capital of the Jushi Kingdom, is a ruined ancient city about 10 km away from the city of Turpan to the west and was strategically located along the legendary Silk Road. The city was built atop a leaf-shaped plateau between two deep river valleys which made it a natural fortress preventing outside invasions. Undergone the centuries, there is not much left here other than the ruins of ancient earthen structures amidst the arid and desolate desert regions which had been parts of a prosperous city in the past. The ruins of Jiaohe City was considered the largest, oldest and best-preserved earthen city in the world and recognized as the World Heritage Site in 2014. An excursion visiting the Disappearing City of Earth will evoke you a feeling of travelling back in time with interesting historical experiences about the thriving age of the Silk Road in China.
