Astana Tombs

Astana Tombs

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

The Astana Tombs are located about 40 kilometers from Turpan City. They served as a public burial ground for officials and commoners of both urban and rural areas in the ancient Kingdom of Gaochang, stretching 5 kilometers from east to west and 2 kilometers from north to south. The tombs were divided by family clans and social castes, with boundaries marked by natural gravel, creating clearly delineated zones.

The Astana tombs are built with a sloping passageway leading to a cave chamber. The overall layout resembles the Chinese character “甲” (jiǎ). In front of the burial chamber lies a sloping passageway over 10 meters long, which leads to the chamber itself — the resting place of the deceased. The chambers are generally over 2 meters high and measure around 4 meters square, with either flat or domed ceilings. The dead were typically laid to rest on earthen platforms or simple wooden beds at the rear of the chamber. They rested their heads on “cock’s crow pillows,” had their faces covered with cloth, eyes sealed with “eye covers,” and hands holding wooden objects. They were dressed in garments made of cotton, linen, silk, or brocade. Surrounding the deceased, miniature models of pavilions, towers, carriages, horse processions, musical instruments, chess sets, writing utensils, as well as food items such as grapes, melons, dumplings, and flatbreads were often placed. These items were intended for the deceased’s use or enjoyment in the afterlife. Some tomb chamber back walls were adorned with vivid murals depicting figures, birds, flowers, and landscapes, rendered with lifelike imagery and smooth lines. Over ten thousand precious artifacts have been unearthed from the tombs, including documents, epitaphs, paintings, clay figurines, pottery, wood, gold, stone objects, ancient coins, as well as textiles made of silk, cotton, and wool. Among the most remarkable finds are the mummified corpses — China’s version of mummies — which rival those of Egypt in preservation and are renowned worldwide.

The Astana Tombs primarily inter Han Chinese, along with people of various ethnic minorities such as the Cheshi, Turks, Xiongnu, Gaoche, and the Nine Sogdian Clans, indicating that the Han Chinese were the dominant ethnic group in the ancient Kingdom of Gaochang and that there was equality among different ethnicities at the time.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units