Desert Clay Art Museum

　　Introduction: The Desert Clay Art Museum welcomes a continuous stream of domestic and international visitors with large-scale sculptures such as the “Ancient Castle on the Silk Road,” “Kalakho,” “Princess Iron Fan,” “Tang Seng Preaching Scriptures,” “Maitreya Buddha,” and “Guanyin Hall.” This scenic area consists of 20 sites, offering rich content that spans from ancient myths and legends to ethnic customs and local cultural elements. With historical figures, Uyghur folk tales, and anecdotes from Turpan as its narrative threads, the museum vividly and comprehensively presents the historical panorama of the important Silk Road city of Turpan through four types of clay art installations: religion, folklore, music and dance, and treasured artifacts.

　　Covering an area of 30,000 square meters, the Flaming Mountains Desert Clay Art Museum is nestled against mountains and near water, adjacent to National Highway 312, making it easily accessible and blessed with a beautiful natural environment. The park features grand Islamic-style architecture with an antique charm and unique appeal. Passing through an elaborately patterned archway over ten meters high, built from earthen bricks, you’ll be greeted by the Ten Thousand Buddhas Palace, composed of three domed buildings. At the center of the main hall sits a 10-meter-tall painted Buddha statue that is majestic and imposing. Enlarged from a red-robed Buddha sculpture—a fine piece unearthed in Yanqi—this is the largest seated Buddha statue in Xinjiang.

　　The murals in the left and right halls are based on the wall paintings of the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves in Baicheng and the Bezeklik Grottoes in Turpan respectively, carefully selected and restored. In particular, the depictions of the King and Queen of the Gaochang Uyghurs and their patrons are strikingly lifelike and breathtaking.

　　 Turpan, Xinjiang