Mor Temple Ruins

Mor Temple Ruins

The Mor Temple Ruins are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Mor Temple Ruins are located in Beshikarkam Township, Shufu County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and date back 1,800 years.

The site includes temple and stupa remains and is one of the westernmost Buddhist sites in China. It is a landmark building of the Hanuo Yi Ancient City and an early Buddhist relic that has survived to this day along the Silk Road. It also stands as strong evidence of the prevalence of Buddhist culture in the Kashgar area and holds significant importance for studying the initial spread of Buddhism into Xinjiang and the popularity of Buddhism in the Kashgar region during the Tang Dynasty.

In June 2001, it was designated as part of the fifth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

“Mor” means “chimney” in Uyghur, and the site gets its name from the tall stupa that resembles a “chimney.” This is the best-preserved and westernmost stupa in China. In addition, remains of the temple and monks’ quarters have also been preserved.

Originally built in the 3rd century, the temple remained in use until the end of the Tang Dynasty. Due to the gradual decrease of local water sources, people began to migrate elsewhere. At the same time, there were significant changes in the religious beliefs of the residents in the Kashgar area, with Islam gradually replacing Buddhism as the main religion, leading to the eventual abandonment of the temple.

The stupa was constructed using square and trapezoidal adobe bricks mixed with straw. The western side of the stupa body was once damaged by human activity, but the base and main body are still preserved, with a remaining height of 10.8 meters. The base is divided into three levels, each progressively smaller. The bottom level is nearly square, eroded by wind and rain into a sloped shape with indistinct boundaries, standing 0.8 meters high. The second and third levels are also nearly square: the second level is 2 meters high, 12.8 meters wide from east to west, and 13.2 meters long from north to south; the third level is 1.5 meters high, 10.55 meters wide from east to west, and about 11 meters long from north to south. The stupa body is divided into two sections—the lower part is a circular base with a circumference of 24 meters and a height of 1.5 meters. The upper stupa body is an ovoid, dome-shaped structure about 5 meters high. This form is now rare in Xinjiang and is relatively well-preserved, showing traces of ancient Indian stupa architectural style.

Sixteen meters north of the stupa are the remains of monks’ quarters. The monks’ residence ruins are rectangular, measuring 13 meters from east to west and 9.3 meters from north to south, with a remaining height of 1.5 meters. At the southeastern corner of the ruins, there are five or six layers of adobe bricks, some areas only slightly above ground level, scattered with gravel and sporadic pottery shards. The pottery shards are made of red clay.

The temple ruins are a square, trapezoidal structure wider at the base and narrower at the top—approximately 8 meters high, with a base 25 meters long from east to west and 24 meters wide from north to south. The top of the temple is relatively flat and irregularly square, measuring 14.2 meters from east to west and 13 meters from north to south. There is a fairly distinct niche mark on the base and western side of the temple building. On the southern wall, there is a vertical groove about 1 meter deep, with intact adobe bricks visible in parts of the eastern and western sections. Ten layers of adobe bricks were also found at the bottom of the western wall.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units