Astana Tombs

Astana Tombs

The Astana Tombs are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Astana Tombs

Known as the “Underground Museum,” the Astana–Karahoja ancient tomb complex is located on the Gobi wasteland in the northern suburbs of Gaochang.

The tomb cluster stretches approximately 5 kilometers from east to west and 2 kilometers from north to south, covering an area of about 10 square kilometers. After the liberation, this area was developed in conjunction with farmland water conservancy projects and road construction, including the Turpan Toyuk Thousand Buddha Caves

During the excavation, over 500 ancient tombs were cleared. These tombs date from the Western Jin Dynasty to the mid-Tang Dynasty (from the second half of the 2nd century to the early 9th century). The tombs were divided by family and separated by gravel boundaries. Each tomb generally features a sloping passageway and an earthen cave chamber, with gravel mounds on the ground surface, forming a shape resembling the Chinese character “甲”. The chambers are typically over 2 meters high and around 4 meters square, with either flat or domed ceilings. The deceased were usually placed on earthen beds or simple wooden platforms at the rear of the chambers, with their heads resting on chicken-pillow supports, faces covered with cloth, eyes sealed with eye covers, hands holding wooden objects, and dressed in garments made of cotton, linen, silk, or brocade. Around the remains, miniature pavilions, carts, horse processions, musical instruments, chess sets, calligraphy tools, or food items such as grapes, melons, dumplings, and flatbreads were often placed to serve or entertain the deceased in the afterlife. Some tomb chamber back walls were adorned with murals depicting figures, birds, flowers, and landscapes, which were vividly rendered with smooth lines. Over ten thousand precious artifacts have been unearthed from these tombs, including documents, epitaphs, paintings, clay figurines, pottery, wood, gold, stone objects, as well as ancient coins and textiles made of silk, cotton, and wool.