Giao Ha – a city once famous along the Silk Road, now stands as a relic with many mysteries still awaiting answers.
The Ancient City of Giao Ha is currently the largest, oldest city built of fired bricks that has been preserved in its entirety. It is also the only city in China that has remained completely intact for over 2000 years, serving as a “model” for the study of renowned ancient cities worldwide.
The Ancient City of Giao Ha was once one of the most prosperous cities on the famous Silk Road, alongside the renowned city of Loulan in the Western Regions, which has been dubbed “the Pompeii of the East.”
The Ancient City of Giao Ha.
This place was once the royal city of the Jushi Kingdom in the Western Regions. Perhaps due to the favorable climate provided by nature, the ancient cities in Xinjiang remain relatively intact. Of course, this is also significantly related to the architectural style of the people of that time, which is quite different from our impressions.
Every space within this city is a masterpiece of exquisite craftsmanship.
Unlike the palaces in the Central Plains, which were built from the ground up, stacking upon the original ruins, the constructions above ground in Giao Ha were established earlier than those below ground, proving that the people of Giao Ha built new structures by digging deep beneath the older ones.
The people of Giao Ha constructed rooms by progressively digging deeper below. Ultimately, they succeeded in carving out a fortress amidst the desert, truly astounding.
Once the most prosperous city on the famous Silk Road.
The architecture of this city is a synthesis of numerous military advantages: One side near the road has no windows or entrances, and upon entering, one cannot find the shadow of the city walls; the city is full of deep, winding alleys…
Perhaps the citizens of Giao Ha had to endure some military threats throughout their existence. However, even with such heavy military architecture, it seems that Giao Ha still vanished due to an overwhelmingly strong enemy.
In the northwest of Giao Ha, an archaeologist discovered a gate built with unusual architecture. Upon closer inspection, he found many rectangular openings of similar sizes.
Inside, he found a rib of a newborn, which horrified him. Each cavity contained the remains of a child. Even on the city’s rock walls, one could accidentally find small caves created for burying children.
Giao Ha also has a distinct burial area.
What astonished them was that Giao Ha also had a distinct burial area, yet why were a large number of infants buried here? Was it a sacrificial ceremony? Or a brutal massacre?
This sparked a discussion among archaeologists: What happened thousands of years ago that caused the deaths of so many infants here? Could the deaths of these children be related to the disappearance of this ancient city?
This burial area may represent a unique burial practice of the local people.
Subsequently, archaeologists took the shroud of the infant for testing, and the results confirmed that these fabrics date back to the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
Based on this research, archaeologists assert that this burial area likely represents a unique burial practice of the local people that emerged after the invasion of the Chagatai Khanate during the Yuan dynasty.
Records indicate that after the invasion, the people here continued to live on this land. If this burial practice was performed by the last inhabitants of Giao Ha, the reason for their disappearance remains a significant question for archaeologists.
