Lukqun Historical and Cultural Tourism Area

　　The famous ancient Liuzhong City on the Silk Road is located in Lukqun Town. It is a well-known ancient city with a history of more than two thousand years. Since ancient times, Liuzhong City has been renowned for its willow trees, earning the name "Green Willow City." Poems have praised its willows, such as "City and ramparts daily, willows yearly; under Flaming Mountain, the willows welcome spring."　

　　During the Han Dynasty, it was called Liucheng, and in the Tang Dynasty, it was known as Liuzhong County. In the 1st century BC, when the Western Han Dynasty established the Western Regions Protectorate in Luntai, farming settlements were once set up here. In 123 AD, the Eastern Han Dynasty's Western Regions Protectorate was established in this location, and the protector Ban Yong led five hundred soldiers to station in Liucheng for farming and border defense.

　　Liuzhong City held a very important strategic position in history. It was the eastern gateway of the Western Prefecture (Gaochang) during the Tang Dynasty and an essential town along the Silk Road. Today, many cultural relics and historic sites remain around the city walls. Directly west of the inner city lies the ruins of the residence of Emin Hoja, the Turpan prince during the Qing Dynasty, built around 1758 and locally referred to as the King’s Platform. The platform is fifty-seven meters long, forty meters wide, and twenty meters high, all constructed from compacted yellow clay.

　　Lukqun Town is the birthplace of the Turpan Muqam, which refers specifically to the Lukqun Muqam. Its historical origins can be traced back even earlier than Gaochang music. The Lukqun Muqam possesses rich and distinctive regional characteristics, differing in musical scales, melodies, and structural forms from the published "Twelve Muqam," "Hami Muqam," and "Dolan Muqam." Therefore, in 1996, after experts excavated and organized the Lukqun Muqam, a book titled "Turpan Muqam" with distinct regional features was published. The most notable feature of the Lukqun Muqam is that "there is no song without drums, no dance without drums; the drums change, the music changes, and the music changes, the dance changes."

　　The Lukqun Muqam is beloved by the public for its rich and beautiful melodies, profound and vivid lyrics, and the lively atmosphere of singing and dancing. In 2000, four Muqam masters renowned for performing the Lukqun Muqam, including Tursun Simayi, were invited to perform at the Royal Opera House in the UK. Their unique instruments, smooth music, and exquisite performances received high praise from Queen Elizabeth II.

　　Today, the first Muqam Art Heritage Center in Xinjiang has been established in Lukqun Town. The ancient town of Lukqun continues to inherit and perform her uniquely charming melodies, attracting countless domestic and international tourists.