Yingpan Ancient City and Its Cemetery Cluster

Yingpan Ancient City and Its Cemetery Cluster

Yingpan Ancient City and Its Cemetery Cluster is a cultural tourism attraction.

An ancient city and tomb complex dating back to the Han and Jin dynasties. It is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. Located in the southeast of Yuli County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the ancient city backs onto the Kuluk Mountains and faces the Taklamakan Desert. To its east lies the Longcheng Yardang wonders, and to its west connects to the Tarim Green Corridor. It served as a major stronghold of Shanguo (also known as Moshan Guo), one of the Thirty-Six States of the Western Regions during the Han Dynasty. The city has a roughly circular layout, with a diameter of about 180 meters and an area of approximately 95,000 square meters. It features three city gates on the east, west, and north sides. The city walls were built using the "rammed earth" method. The city flourished mainly from the middle to late Western Han Dynasty through the Former Liang period. After the Jin Dynasty, the Kongque River dried up, and Yingpan gradually declined. The cemetery is located on the southern edge of a terrace about 900 meters north of the city ruins, stretching 1,500 meters from east to west and 250 meters from north to south, with a total of over 200 tombs. The site has suffered severe damage due to looting. Rescue excavations conducted in the 1990s unearthed a large number of artifacts from the Han and Jin periods. These relics feature both local characteristics and elements of Central Plains Han culture as well as foreign influences, making it the largest and most culturally rich cemetery excavated in the Lop Nur region.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units