The Old Damagou Ruins

　　   Guide        The ruins are located 25 kilometers northeast of Cele County in Hotan. Centered around Old Damagou, the area contains numerous other historical sites. Approximately four to five kilometers northwest lies the Wuluzhati Mausoleum, over three kilometers southwest is the Liji’ate Mausoleum, four to five kilometers northeast is the Sufuqi Mausoleum, and four to five kilometers southeast is the Qiaopan’ate Mausoleum. About six to seven kilometers due north is the Kanaxin City, and more than ten kilometers directly east are two stupa ruins situated three kilometers apart from north to south. Therefore, Old Damagou is actually part of a vast ancient ruins complex.    Introduction        Professor Huang Wenbi recorded in his "Archaeological Notes on the Tarim Basin": “Traveling northeast from Damago Village and entering the desert for about five or six kilometers, one begins to find scattered red pottery fragments, indicating proximity to an ancient residential area. Heading further east, one arrives at a site covered with rubble known as Tertelgalamu, stretching several li from southwest to northeast. Although the houses have been ruined, traces of streets and alleys can still be discerned, including a main road extending northeast, clearly the remnants of an ancient town…”

　　      Artifacts unearthed at the site include ancient coins ranging from the Han Dynasty's Wu Zhu coins to those from the Kara-Khanid Khanate era, various daily utensils and ornaments, pottery and terracotta figurines bearing Buddhist symbols, as well as ancient Khotanese manuscripts. Some scholars believe that the Old Damagou ruins complex was the site of Qianmi City during the Han Dynasty, Kan City during the Tang Dynasty, and Pei’in City during the Ming Dynasty.　

　　    Hotan, Xinjiang