Ruins of Lancheng

Ruins of Lancheng

Lancheng, also known as Land City, is located approximately 1 kilometer southeast of Group 3, Shaliangwan Village, Wushitara Hui Ethnic Township, Hechuang County, Bayingolin Prefecture, Xinjiang, and about 500 meters east of Zhige'denhuduge Village. Its geographical coordinates are E87°58′20″ N42°13′35″, at an altitude of 1,070 meters. It dates back to the Tang to Yuan dynasties. The city site is roughly square in shape. Most of the city walls still remain. They were built from rammed yellow earth. The southeastern wall has a remaining length of about 260 meters, while the northern and southern walls are each about 220 meters long. The total area is approximately 57,200 square meters. The interior of the city is scattered with earthen mounds and deep pits, and the surface is strewn with cultural relics such as pottery shards, stone millstones, stone pestles, and spinning whorls. The terrain is flat, surrounded by woods and farmland. Within the city, ash pits and dug pits are filled with pottery shards, broken bones, and fragments of stone millstones. The pottery shards are made of clay and come in gray and red. There is a moat around the city, about 20 meters wide. In 1984, artifacts collected from the surface included pottery with sculpted human-faced (with deep-set eyes and high noses), animal-headed, and goat-horn-shaped handles, as well as broken bones, large and small stone balls, stone carvings, pottery flowers, pottery paddles, and pottery jars inscribed with text and patterns.

In 1930 (the 19th year of the Republic of China), Zhong Guangsheng wrote in *Draft Chronicles of Xinjiang*: “The Tang Dynasty garrison post of Wushaketa’er was located here, and the ruined city is likely to be Zhang Sancheng.” This city is believed to have been Zhang Sancheng Garrison Post, a military outpost from the Tang Dynasty, and is now a national cultural heritage protection site. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a county-level cultural heritage protection stele at the city gate, but it has since disappeared. To date, no new national cultural heritage protection stele has been erected.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites