The Reshui Ancient Tombs

　　The Reshui Tombs are spread across an area approximately 7 kilometers long within the territories of four villages—Reshui, Zhamari, Shaertang, and Xiewai. The site includes 165 tombs of various types, most of which have been looted. From 1982 to 1986, the Qinghai Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted excavations and organized the site. The tombs in the area are mainly divided into trapezoidal and circular types. The burial mounds were built with rammed earth or piled with gravel and then covered with rammed earth, with layers of tamarisk branches placed between the rammed layers. Beneath the rammed earth lies a stone wall with an isosceles trapezoidal base, edged with adobe bricks or mud balls, and coated with red stone powder on the outer side. The tomb chambers are constructed with stone blocks and consist of a passage, central chamber, side chambers on the left and right, and a rear chamber. Each tomb has a burial mound, and in front of the mound lies a large sacrificial pit. Artifacts unearthed from these pits include wooden carts, wooden slips, silk fabrics, glassware, gold and silver objects, among others. Some of the unearthed items feature designs and patterns with strong Central Asian artistic influences.

　　The discovery of the Reshui Tombs is of great significance for the study of burial structures in western China during the Tang Dynasty, as well as for understanding cultural exchanges between the region and Central Asia. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)