Ancient City of Barkol

Ancient City of Barkol

(Photography: China)

The Ancient City of Barkol is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a key cultural relics protection unit in China.

Nestled at the northern foot of the majestic Eastern Tianshan Mountains lies a magical and picturesque land rich in natural resources. Historically, it served as the gateway to Eastern Xinjiang, a vital hub along the Silk Road, and a pearl of the grasslands—this is the historically and culturally renowned city of Barkol in Xinjiang. In 2003, it was honored with the title of “National Advanced County in Cultural Relics Work” by the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage; from 2006 to 2007, it was respectively awarded the titles of “Autonomous Region Historical and Cultural City” and “Autonomous Region-Level Strong Tourism County.” The Dongheigou Stone Structure Ancient Site was named one of the “Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2007.” As an autonomous region historical and cultural city, Barkol boasts numerous historical sites, profound culture, and breathtaking scenery. Here, Central Plains and Western Regions cultures, as well as grassland culture, collide, blend, and converge, creating a dazzling cultural tapestry. In 2007, the Barkol Ancient City Scenic Area received a total of 220,000 domestic and international tourists, generating tourism revenue of 44 million yuan, with an annual growth rate of 20%. Tourism has become one of the most promising and advantageous industries in Barkol Ancient City.

The Barkol Ancient City Scenic Area is located 570 kilometers west of Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and 142 kilometers southeast of Hami City, the seat of the Hami Prefecture. Transportation within the urban area is convenient—passenger buses can reach Urumqi in a single day, while the trip to Hami City takes only two hours. Taxis and public buses are readily available throughout the scenic area.

Situated in the heart of the Eastern Tianshan Mountains, the Barkol Ancient City Scenic Area is surrounded by mountains, with the northern and southern ranges approximately fifty kilometers apart and the eastern and western ranges about a hundred kilometers apart. The eastern, western, and northern mountains are all branches of the Tianshan range, with original pine forests covering sixty percent of the area. At an altitude of 1,650 meters, the landscape features crystal-clear snow-capped mountains, lush green pine forests, and vast, boundless grasslands. In winter, the area is blanketed in ice and snow, with snow accumulation over a foot deep on the plains. In spring, summer, and autumn, the green grass provides ample shade, and colorful wildflowers bloom, attracting large numbers of tourists seeking respite from the heat.

The Barkol Ancient City Scenic Area consists of two sections: the Han City and the Manchu City. The Han City was built in the ninth year of the Yongzheng reign during the Qing Dynasty, and the Manchu City was constructed in the thirty-seventh year of the Qianlong reign, both over 200 years ago. The Han and Manchu cities are connected end to end, and when viewed from above, the vast grassland resembles an endless sea, with the two cities appearing like two swimming Yangtze alligators. This scenery inspired poets and earned the area the beautiful name “Swamp Sea Alligator City.” The scenic area spans 14 square kilometers and is home to a population of 20,000. Its tourism resources are uniquely distinctive, seamlessly blending ancient and weathered architecture, expansive grassland landscapes, and rich Kazakh culture. Among its many attractions, the Lanzhouwanzi Ancient Site Scenic Area, Pulei Grand View Garden, Barkol Grassland, Sunshine Park, Kazakh Culture Exhibition Hall, West City Wall, Dizang Temple, Xiangu Temple, Dahe Tangcheng, and Kazakh Culture Garden each offer unique features, providing visitors with diverse cultural experiences.

Located southwest of the scenic area, the Lanzhouwanzi Ancient Site Scenic Area is a natural village formed during the Qianlong reign. It features forests, grasslands, and farmland, with beautiful scenery and fresh air, resembling a idyllic rural landscape of bridges and streams. From June to July each year, wild roses in Lanzhouwanzi bloom in profusion, filling the air with fragrance and creating a fairy-tale-like atmosphere. Visitors can also explore the mysterious site culture—the Palace Ruins of the Da Yuezhi Kingdom, a Bronze Age cultural relic dating back 3,000 years, which was designated as a key cultural relics protection unit at the autonomous region level in 1990. This year, Barkol County has focused on developing this site, constructing infrastructure such as an altar reflecting ancient Da Yuezhi culture, a semi-subterranean restored site, parking lots, a visitor reception center, renovated farmhouse courtyards, replanted roses, and added signage.

Located northeast of the scenic area, the Pulei Grand View Garden is a newly built attraction with an investment of 7 million yuan. It borders the ancient city wall to the south and the vast grassland to the north. The garden showcases a fusion of Han culture and ancient nomadic culture, featuring steles and inscriptions from different periods, garden ornaments, miniature temples, eight major merchant stalls, four grand residences, a county yamen, and depictions of nomadic life by the Xiongnu, Wusun, and Da Yuezhi peoples. The garden is divided into three cultural zones: the first showcases Han culture, the second ancient nomadic culture, and the third modern Kazakh culture, collectively offering a rare and comprehensive display of Barkol’s diverse heritage.

The Dizang Temple and Xiangu Temple, located west of the scenic area, are the largest and most well-preserved temple complexes in Xinjiang. The history of temple construction in Barkol spans nearly 200 years, resulting in a rare and remarkable cluster of temples in the region. The existing Dizang Temple was built in the second year of the Jiaqing reign with donations from merchants from Minqin, Gansu, and is also known as the Minqin Guild Hall. Its annual festival is held on the sixteenth day of the fifth lunar month. Adjacent to the Dizang Temple to the west is the Xiangu Temple, also called the Zhangye Guild Hall, which was built in the fifth year of the Jiaqing reign with donations from merchants from Zhangye, Gansu, and serves as a Taoist temple. To the east of the Dizang Temple, the area was once shaded by ancient trees, with hanging bridges, flowing water, and blooming flowers.

The Dongheigou Site, located southeast of the scenic area, is 23 kilometers from the ancient city. Within an area of approximately 8.75 square kilometers—spanning 5 kilometers from north to south and 3.5 kilometers from east to west—the site features three large stone platforms, 140 stone-walled residential foundations, 1,666 tombs, and 2,485 rock surfaces engraved with petroglyphs. It is a representative and large-scale ancient nomadic settlement site with rich cultural content.

The Qing Dynasty Granary, located west of the scenic area, consists of eight storage buildings constructed in 1773 with dedicated funds from the Qing government in the southern street of the Han City of Barkol. It served as an important grain storage base during the Qianlong reign. The granaries are made of earth and wood, with ventilation towers on the roofs and wooden floors underneath. Each granary measures 6.5 zhang in length, 3.4 zhang in width, and 1.8 zhang in height, with a capacity of 6,000 Beijing dan, totaling 480,000 Beijing dan. Designed to be insulated against cold and moisture, the granaries have been in use for over 230 years. This year, an additional 800,000 yuan was invested to restore the Granary God Temple.

The Strange Rock Mountain, located northwest of Barkol Lake, received an investment of 500,000 yuan this year for the construction of a scenic entrance and landscaping. The mountain’s most peculiar feature is its abundance of small stone caves, varying in size and shape—round, square, resembling Buddhist shrines, beehives, or sheep stomachs. Upon closer inspection, the small caves are not deep and have smooth surfaces, as if mechanically carved, with diameters of about one meter. Larger caves, called “box seats,” can accommodate over ten people. Several mountains are riddled with holes from top to bottom, earning names like “Beehive Cliff,” “Thousand Buddha Cave,” “Ten Thousand Buddha Shrine,” and “Thousand Cave Cliff.” On the mountainside, a horizontal crack measuring 13 centimeters long and 4 centimeters wide in a granite boulder contains a small spring of cool, pure water. The water cannot be drunk directly but can be sucked through a reed. Remarkably, the spring never dries up, even in winter, and remains unfrozen, earning it the name “Sacred Spring Water” and regarded as auspicious, capable of warding off evil and disasters, and bringing good luck.

The Dahe Tangcheng, located 15.5 kilometers north of the scenic area at an altitude of 1,644 meters, is the largest and best-preserved Tang Dynasty ancient city site in the Hami region. It was designated as a key cultural relics protection unit in Xinjiang in 1957 and as a national-level cultural relics protection unit in July 2001. Many artifacts have been collected from the city, primarily pottery and bronze items, including bronze mirrors, protective bronze Buddha statues, coins, and bronze rods. Building materials include gray lotus-patterned floor tiles and lotus-patterned roof tiles, all typical Tang Dynasty relics. The city also contains large ceramic waste products and massive stone millstones, showcasing the prosperity of agricultural production at the time and indicating that it was once a significant grain storage base.

The Kazakh Culture Garden, located at the northernmost part of the scenic area, is situated in the midst of the vast grassland. It consists of fifteen Kazakh yurts, covering an area of 130 acres. The garden is fully equipped, offering dining, accommodation, and entertainment. Visitors can enjoy traditional Kazakh cuisine such as hand-grabbed meat, stewed meat, grilled meat, milk tea, horse milk, and bauersak, as well as appreciate traditional Kazakh dances like “Black Horse Dance,” “Bear Dance,” “Duck Dance,” and “Milking Dance.” Here, visitors can fully experience authentic herding life and the rich cultural traditions of the Kazakh people.

The Kazakh Culture Exhibition Hall, located west of the scenic area, is one of the largest, most comprehensive, and well-presented exhibition halls in Xinjiang. The hall is divided into four sections: the “Text and Image Exhibition Room,” the “Folk Customs Exhibition Room,” the “Barkol Resources and Products Exhibition Room,” and the “Historical Relics Exhibition Room.” It houses over 1,000 items, including text and images, publications, ethnic musical instruments, handicrafts, animal and plant specimens, industrial and agricultural products, minerals, stone statues, and petroglyphs, as well as daily necessities and production tools. These exhibits reflect the long and rich history, diverse culture, unique customs, and religious beliefs of the Kazakh people from ancient times to the present. The hall also introduces the lifestyles of the people who have lived here since ancient times, the relatively developed industry and agriculture of Barkol County, the vast and fertile grasslands, abundant mineral resources, and the diverse flora and fauna—from birds and beasts to wild grasses and forests. It comprehensively showcases the development of education, healthcare, and other industries. Using modern technology, the hall combines physical artifacts with models, featuring textual descriptions, image displays, and audio playback, allowing visitors to gain a comprehensive understanding of the Barkol Ancient City Scenic Area in a short time.

The Ancient Residential Houses, located in the scenic area, have a history of over 200 years. These houses were built during the peak period of the new northern route of the ancient Silk Road from the Kangxi to Qianlong reigns of the Qing Dynasty and gradually formed between the Jiaqing reign and the end of the Republic of China. They are cultural relics from the same period as Barkol, known as the “City of Temples in Xinjiang,” and are rare in the region. They represent the concentrated expression of Han architectural art in the Western Regions and serve as a base for patriotic and ethnic unity education, holding high historical and academic value.

The Sunshine Park, located north of the scenic area, covers a total area of 52,500 square meters. It is divided into four functional areas: dining, sports, performances, and leisure, with all designs incorporating wooden boardwalks to protect the grassland. The park features five Kazakh-style yurts, with the largest covering 118 square meters in diameter and accommodating 120 people for dining simultaneously. The park can host up to 300 visitors at a time. Additionally, there are three modern-style sunshine rooms, designed in the shape of Kazakh yurts and constructed with hollow glass for insulation in both winter and summer. Visitors can enjoy authentic Barkol cuisine and local snacks while taking in the grassland scenery without leaving the premises.

The Lakeside Ecological Park, located north of the scenic area, measures 260 meters from east to west and 203 meters from north to south, covering a total area of 100,000 square meters. It is divided into three zones: the plaza area, the garden area, and the artificial lake. The park is bordered by towering snow-capped mountains to the south and the Barkol Grassland to the north. It features six miniature landscapes—the Strange Rock Mountain, Populus euphratica forest, agate beach, petrified wood, Jian Mountain, and the Lanzhouwanzi stone structure site—as well as an artificial lake symbolizing Barkol Lake, showcasing the region’s profound grassland culture, ancient Silk Road culture, nomadic culture, and unique natural landscapes. The central plaza of the Lakeside Ecological Park covers an area of 18,000 square meters and serves as the venue for major cultural and sports events in Barkol County, including the annual “Summer on the Grassland,” “Golden Autumn Nights,” and “Grassland Songs” hundred-day cultural plaza activities, integrating sightseeing, leisure, and entertainment.

The ancient city scenic area offers one quasi-four-star hotel, two two-star hotels, various large and medium-sized guesthouses, inns, and family-run tourism accommodations, totaling 48 establishments with 2,161 beds. There are also over 150 dining outlets, capable of accommodating 7,000 tourists simultaneously.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units