Ruins of the Ancient City of Xia’asa

Ruins of the Ancient City of Xia’asa

“Asa” is a Persian word meaning “fortress.” The Asa Ancient City sits at an elevation of -138 meters.The ruins of the ancient city of Xia’asa are located in the Gobi Desert about 8 kilometers southwest of Baishitamu Village, Dalangkan Township, Shanshan County. This is the site of a temple complex. The temple was built with adobe bricks, has a square floor plan, with each side measuring 100 meters, covering an area of 10,000 square meters. It consists of seven separate architectural complexes, three of which are relatively well-preserved. One is located in the northwest corner of the site, including a stupa and halls. The stupa is situated to the north, with a rammed earth base in a “cross” shape, while the main body of the stupa is square, with each side measuring 1.3 meters and a remaining height of 5.3 meters. Although the dome-roofed hall has collapsed, the images of Thousand Buddhas are still clearly visible. Another group is located in the middle section of the southern part of the site, also featuring a dome-roofed hall and a stupa, where several layers of lotus petal patterns can be seen on the cave ceiling. There is also a group that served as residential rooms.

The entire ancient city site is constructed from adobe bricks, consisting of perimeter walls, beacon towers, and several residential structures, forming an irregular rectangular layout, with most of the city walls having collapsed. The surviving east and west walls of the ancient city are each about 95 meters long, with a total circumference of approximately 304 meters and an area of 5,400 square meters. The walls are nearly 5 meters wide at the base, and judging from the fallen remnants, they were about 3 to 3.5 meters high. The site dates back to the Tang Dynasty during the Gaochang Uyghur period.

　　The area surrounding the Asa Ancient City ruins is dotted with wind-eroded sand gullies, and parts of the surface are mildly saline-alkali, with vegetation such as camel thorn and reeds growing there. About 1 kilometer north of the site, there is an east-west drainage ditch that is wide but shallow, often containing water, making it difficult for vehicles to pass through.

　　The Great Asa ruins are built with adobe, roughly rectangular in shape. The western and northern walls are relatively straight, the eastern wall is slightly curved, and the southern wall bulges slightly in the middle—all have collapsed. The eastern and western walls are about 58 meters long, while the southern and northern walls are about 95 meters long, covering an area of about 5,400 square meters. Right at the end of the southern wall is a solid beacon tower, which has been severely damaged.

　　To the north of the Great Asa lies a desert of about 30 square kilometers. To the east, slightly northeast and across the desert, about 2 kilometers away, is a Buddhist site commonly referred to as Xia’asa. The perimeter of the Great Asa fortress is about 304 meters, with walls built from adobe bricks that have all collapsed. Although the southern wall has collapsed, its remaining height is still 5.5 meters, and the wall base is very wide, about 8 meters.

　　During the period of the Qu Gaochang Kingdom, the Great Asa served as a strategic military pass guarding the Silk Road’s Dahai Route, similar to a customs checkpoint today. The soldiers stationed there were conscripted from the common people of the Gaochang Kingdom, operating under a rotation system known as “Shou Hai,” meaning “guarding the Dahai Route.”

　　Historical records describe the Dahai Route as a place “plagued by demons and ghosts,” a region ravaged by wind and sand. One can imagine how perilous life was for the soldiers guarding this route.

　　The Asa Ancient City was built around the mid-Tang Dynasty. The Great Asa served a military function, while the Xia’asa served as a living area, where many Tang Dynasty stupas have been discovered.

　    During the construction of both the Great and Small Asa, because the location was far from the oasis and lacked water, the necessary adobe bricks had to be transported from Gaochang. However, the journey was long and the road rugged and difficult. As a solution, someone came up with the idea of passing the bricks manually from person to person. The people transporting the bricks formed a line stretching all the way from Gaochang to the Great Asa. When the first brick arrived at the Great Asa, the supervisor had one person pass a message back down the line: “That’s enough.” When the message finally reached the last person, the transfer stopped immediately. Remarkably, when the fortress was completed, not a single brick was missing or extra.