The Ancient City of Tukezisalai

The Ancient City of Tukezisalai

The Ancient City of Tukezisalai is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Ancient City of Tukezisalai

The Ancient City of Tukezisalai is located in the 51st

Regiment, Tuokuzisalai Village, about 200–300 meters west of Tumushuke City. Time period: Han-Tang to Song dynasties. In January 1957, it was designated as an Autonomous Region-level cultural relics protection unit, and on June 25, 2001, it was announced as a fifth batch National Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The ancient city is situated at the southeastern end of Tukezisalai Mountain, built against the mountain with higher terrain in the west and lower in the east. In the 17th year of the Republic of China (1928), Chinese archaeologist Professor Huang Wenbi conducted investigations in Xinjiang and visited the Tohesalai Ancient City in Bachu. He noted: “Tohesalai Tag is a small north-south running hill, split into two parts—one on the south side of the road and one on the north. The current main road runs right through the middle, with ancient ruins scattered on both sides of the road. On the south side are the ruins of ancient temples, and halfway up the mountain there is a wooden sign erected by Duan Yan, the magistrate of Bachu County, marking the site of the abandoned city of Yutouzhou. It also bears inscriptions reading: ‘According to historical records, the site of the ancient Yutouzhou city is here. However, about five li to the north, and over a hundred li east along the Yuh River in the territory of Dongzhalahti, there are also ruins of abandoned cities. The crumbling walls and dilapidated houses are on a grand scale, and it is suspected that the site of Yutouzhou might be around here, or perhaps it was the location where the Yutou Kingdom was established during the Han Dynasty—this also remains uncertain.’ As for Dongzhalahti Ancient City, it was built during the Qing Dynasty and is not the original site. The ancient city to the north is suspected to be the ruins on the northern mountain of Tohesalai. On the north side of the road lies the ancient city at the southern foot of Beishan Mountain, consisting of three layers of city walls, which have now been destroyed, leaving only the city foundations. The inner city extends from halfway up the mountain down to ground level, spanning 756 meters. There are also ruins of ancient houses at the mountain foot. The outer city spans 1008 meters, connecting to the inner city and encircling the flat land up to the mountaintop, linking to the larger outer city. The large outer city extends from the outer city around the mountaintop to the southern base of the mountain, with a perimeter of 1668 meters. At the southern base of the mountain, there are also ruins of ancient houses and tombs. Currently, the area within the city has been turned into farmland and residences, with only the ruins of the ancient city remaining. Halfway up the mountain, remnants of newly-built earthen walls can still be seen, with gates to the north and south. Locally, this city is called Tohesalai, meaning 'Nine Guest Rooms.' The Han people refer to it as Tangwangcheng ('Tang King City'). The Xinjiang Zhi · Jianzhi (Records of Construction) states: ‘About 150 li northeast of the current city (Bachu), north of Jiutai Mountain in Tumushuke, there is an abandoned city where woodcutters once dug up Kaiyuan Tongbao coins from the soil, hence it is called Tangwangcheng.’ Based on the New Book of Tang · Geography and Jia Dan’s Road Distances Record, it is stated: ‘The city of Shide, within the territory of Kucha, also known as Yutouzhou, is located on the north bank of the Chishui River at Hushi Mountain.’ The Kashgar River is also called the Kezier River, translated as the Red River, which is also the meaning of Chishui. Although the Kezier River no longer flows, traces of the ancient river course can still be seen. This city is located on the mountains north of the old riverbed, perfectly matching the description of Yutouzhou in the Tang Geographic Records. Therefore, this place is also considered to be Yutouzhou of the Tang Dynasty, as well as the western border city of the ancient Kucha Kingdom—Shide City.

In 1959, the Southern Xinjiang Archaeological Team of the Xinjiang Museum conducted an investigation here and excavated and collected more than 4,000 artifacts in the area of the Tukezisalai Ancient City. They reported that important relics found in the ancient city included: over 30 wooden slips with writing, more than 200 fragments of paper documents in various sizes with Chinese, Uyghur, and Arabic scripts (dating from the 6th to the 11th century), four or five types of molds for Han Dynasty wuzhu coins, as well as ancient wheat spikes, cotton seeds, and melon and fruit pits.

In 1990 and 1992, the Kashgar Prefecture Cultural Relics Survey Team of Xinjiang conducted surveys in Bachu as part of a cultural relics census. Regarding the Tukezisalai Ancient City, their published materials stated: The ancient city is located at the southeastern end of Tukezisalai, built against the mountain on the west, with parts of the east, north, and south sides situated on the mountainside, showing a clear topography of higher in the west and lower in the east. In the 1950s, the city was still relatively intact, rectangular in shape, with three layers of city walls. Now, almost all have been destroyed. Currently, segments of the second and third layers of the northern wall and a section of the first layer of the eastern wall remain. The remaining second-layer northern wall stretches 360 meters, the third layer 120 meters, and the first-layer eastern wall 200 meters. The second and third layers of the northern wall are spaced about 60 meters apart, with wall heights ranging from 1 to 2 meters and thicknesses of around 10 meters. Some sections of the walls were built using rammed earth, others with adobe bricks, and in some parts, the two construction methods do not connect seamlessly, likely due to secondary modifications and repairs.