Astana Tombs

　　　　The Astana–Karahoja Tomb Complex, known as an “underground museum,” is situated on the barren Gobi land in the northern suburbs of Gaochang.
　　The tomb complex stretches approximately 5 kilometers from east to west and 2 kilometers from north to south, covering an area of about 10 square kilometers. After the liberation, over 500 ancient tombs were excavated here in coordination with farmland water conservancy projects and road construction. The tombs date from the Western Jin Dynasty to the mid-Tang Dynasty (from the second half of the 2nd century to the early 9th century). The burials were organized by family units and separated by gravel boundaries. Each tomb generally features a sloping passageway and an earthen cave chamber, with a pile of gravel on the ground surface, forming a shape resembling the Chinese character “甲.” The chambers are typically over 2 meters high and around 4 meters square, with either flat or domed ceilings. The deceased were usually laid on earthen platforms or simple wooden beds at the rear of the chambers. They rested their heads on “cock-crow pillows,” had their faces covered with cloth, eyes sealed with eye covers, hands holding wooden figurines, and wore garments made of cotton, linen, silk, or brocade. Around the remains, miniature pavilions, carts, horse processions, musical instruments, chess sets, calligraphy tools, as well as food items such as grapes, melons, dumplings, and flatbreads were often placed, intended for the deceased’s use or enjoyment in the afterlife. Some rear walls of the chambers were adorned with vivid murals depicting figures, birds, flowers, and landscapes, rendered in smooth, lifelike lines. Over ten thousand valuable artifacts have been unearthed from the tombs, including documents, epitaphs, paintings, clay figurines, pottery, wood, gold, stone objects, ancient coins, as well as textiles made of silk, cotton, and wool.

　　The Astana Tombs are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.