Pan Tuo City

Pan Tuo City

Pan Tuo City is a national AA-level tourist attraction.

Pan Tuo City is located south of Duolaitibage Road in the southeastern suburbs of Kashgar. It is the site of a castle where the famous Eastern Han Dynasty general Ban Chao was stationed for 17 years between 74 and 91 AD. Using Pan Tuo City as his base, Ban Chao resisted the Xiongnu, stabilized the Western Regions, restored central government control over the area, and reopened the Silk Road. Later, a reconstruction was built on the ruins of the ancient city, centered around a statue of Ban Chao, with 36 statues of his brave warriors symmetrically arranged along the sacred path. Behind them stands a large semi-circular relief screen wall 36 meters long and 9 meters high. Other structures such as a main gate, ancient pavilion, stone memorial archway, city walls, and beacon towers were also built. “Pan Tuo City” was recorded in Chinese historical texts as early as the 1st century AD. Initially, it was the residence of the king of the Shule Kingdom, Dou Ti. In 73 AD, when Ban Chao was sent on a mission to the Western Regions, it was in this city that he captured Dou Ti, the puppet king of the Shule Kingdom under the influence of the Xiongnu, defeated the Xiongnu forces, stabilized the Western Regions, and thus the city is also known as “Ban Chao City.” In the 24th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1759), the city was destroyed in war.

Pan Tuo City has a long history dating back to the Han Dynasty. At that time, a powerful regime coexisting with the Han was the nomadic Xiongnu people from the north. The Xiongnu’s invasions and plundering of the Central Plains made them a longstanding enemy of the Central Dynasties. As the location of the Shule Kingdom's temporary palace, Pan Tuo City was also under the rule of Dou Ti, the pro-Xiongnu king of Shule. In 73 AD, Ban Chao launched a surprise attack on Pan Tuo City, reopening the Silk Road, which led to the gradual rise of his prestige in the Western Regions. In 92 AD, Ban Chao was promoted to Protector General of the Western Regions, holding the post until he retired and returned to Chang’an at the age of 70 in 102 AD. Ban Chao managed the Western Regions from Pan Tuo City for a total of 18 years. The history of Pan Tuo City is closely tied to Ban Chao, and for this reason, it is referred to as “Ban Chao City” in many historical sources.

The current Pan Tuo City was reconstructed on the ruins of the ancient city. Known in the Qing Dynasty as “Little Earth Mound,” it covers an area of 14.5 mu. The site centers around a statue of Ban Chao, with 36 statues of brave warriors symmetrically arranged along the sacred path. Behind them stands a large semi-circular relief screen wall 36 meters long and 9 meters high. Other structures include a main gate, ancient pavilion, stone memorial archway, city walls, and beacon towers.

After 1949 and in the early years of this century, French archaeologist Paul Pelliot conducted excavations and surveys here. According to the map he drew, only the northern and western walls remained at the time, with the northern wall measuring 287 meters and the western wall 205 meters, covering an area of approximately 58,835 square meters. Some experts speculate that these remains represent only half of the original city walls. After 1949, most of the remaining walls were leveled due to road construction and factory building.

Pan Tuo City is located southeast of Kashgar in Xinjiang. In Uyghur, it is called “Eskeshar,” meaning “ruined city.” True to its name, it is a broken city that has long preserved the dust of history. It was once the temporary palace of the Shule Kingdom kings in the Western Regions, the place where Eastern Han’s Ban Chao achieved great deeds, and also a flourishing hub for the Han Dynasty’s governance of the Western Regions. The storms of history and the ravages of war have reduced Pan Tuo City, like other ancient cities, to ruins through human destruction or natural erosion, with its former glory fading into the pages of history. It was destroyed in war in 1759 during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, and the rebuilt walls of Pan Tuo City after Qianlong were also destroyed after the founding of New China. The present-day Pan Tuo City was constructed in 1994 on the original site to commemorate the historical figure Ban Chao, who worked to uphold ethnic unity. Within the Ban Chao Memorial Park built on the ruins of Pan Tuo City stands a 3.6-meter-tall statue of Ban Chao, flanked by the 36 brave warriors who followed him, all standing majestically. The park features towering city walls, vivid reliefs, lush green lawns and trees, and a beacon tower that seems to evoke the smoke signals of the past. The heroic deeds of those who built their legacy in this land are recounted within this rich historical atmosphere.