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Chic . Explore . ThinkerTen

My Style ~ My Journey ~ My Inspiration

ChinaTravelXinjiang

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins in Xinjiang ! Lost Kingdom of Yar – Jiaohe / 交河故城

by kumamonjeng July 31, 2018
written by kumamonjeng July 31, 2018
Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins in Xinjiang ! Lost Kingdom of Yar – Jiaohe / 交河故城

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Unesco World Heritage Site

Jiaohe Ruins is one of the important archaeological site in Yarnaz Valley, 10 km west of Turpan in Xinjiang China. The ruins are located along the Silk Road and best preserved ancient city in the world, a Unesco World Heritage Site.  If you are in Xinjiang, this would be the number ONE must visit place!  You can do Karez Well and Jiaohe as both are located nearby at the west of Turpan.

Get an Intro at Museum

There is a little museum before entering to Jiaohe Ruins.  You can listen to the short video introduction of Jiaohe in Mandarin only and subtitles in English.

There is a model showing Jiaohe strategic location on top of the hill surrounded by a river.

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Touching Buddha Feet For Good Luck

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Preparation Before Stepping into Jiaohe Ruins

When you entering the Jiaohe ruins, you would feel the excruciating heat from this area.  Not sure how the ancient people survive back then? Bring along umbrella and water, wear a hat, sunglasses and apply sunscreen before you stepped food at these ruins.

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Meaning of Jiaohe /交河

Anyone who read Chinese will know Jiaohe mean where two rivers meet. It is the oldest and largest earthen cities which were built 2,300 years ago.   As you know the ancient city usually has a city wall. However, there are no city walls for this ancient city if you try to look around.

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Visit with Guide

It is better to come here with a knowledgeable guide so you can understand what these ruins were used for, eg Government office, residents or Buddhist temples. If you don’t have a guide, you may want to listen well to the intro at Jiaohe museum.  There is also small signboard telling what these ruins are for.

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Tatooine city in Star Wars

All the buildings here were constructed out of the earth, look like the Tatooine city in Star Wars.

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Well Preserved Ancient City of 7,000 People

Jiaohe ruins used to have a population of 7,000 and it is located at a very important crossroads of Silk Road for ancient merchants to do their business here.  I have seen few ruins in other parts of the world but none as a complete set as this one here.  Jiaohe Ruins is vast!

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

2 Hours to complete the Ruins

As I said, Jiaohe Ruins are really huge, you need at least a minimum of 2 hours to explore the whole area.

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Similar dresses at ever-pretty.com

Good Walking Path 

There is plenty of walking but good walking path was done for the tourists, so it is very easy to walk.  Don’t step out from the walking path as you may damage the ruins.

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

No Shelter 

NO shelter in this area, so brings along an umbrella or big scarf to protect you from the sun.

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

This was a sophisticated city which was divided into 4 parts :

  1. Stupa Grove – it marks Xinjiang’s earliest stupas.
  2. Great Monastery – there were several monasteries in Jiaohe and also the city largest.
  3. Government Offices – this is dug underground so we walked down with stairs to check out the layout of the courtyard.
  4. Residential Area – Most of the houses were carved out of the ground.

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

When you are done, enjoy the melons outside!

There are huge watermelons and hami melon selling at the resting area once you are done with Jiaohe Ruins. I didn’t get any of the melons as I was concerned with their hygiene.  I finished 2 bottles of drinks from the stall instead.  Yes, I was so thirsty after hours of pretending to be an archeologist.

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Final thoughts :

We were here in the summer, also the hottest season of the year. You could not believe how hot it was, just like inside an oven! Bring along water to explore Jiaohe Ruins, you definitely need it half way. The good thing about coming in the summer is less crowded, that way better photo opportunities with no photo bombs.

This is a remarkable site along ancient Silk Road and you cannot miss this world largest and most well-maintained ruins!

Silk Road China : World Largest Ruins - Xinjiang Lost Kingdom of Yar - Jiaohe / 交河故城

Similar dress at ever-pretty.com

You may like :

  • Karez Irrigation System
  • Turpan Flaming Mountain – Journey to the West 西游记火焰山
  • Turpan Emin Minarets
  • Turpan Grapes Valley
  • Turpan Uyghur House Visit and Raisin Tasting
  • Silk Road China : My Bullet Train Experience to Turpan Xinjiang
  • Where to stay – Maxirap le Grand Large Hotel at Turpan

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Ancient ruinsChan BrothersCultureHistoryJiaohenorthwest chinastar wars landscapeTatooine planet JiaoheTurpanTwo river meetUNESCO World Heritage site
previous post
Silk Road China Xinjiang : Karez Well at Turpan – 2000 Years Old Water System
next post
Xinjiang :Grape Valley in the middle of Hot Desert Turpan! 吐鲁番葡萄沟

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45 comments

Aine Mulloy July 31, 2018 - 11:58 am

Great tips! Bringing a scarf is a neat trick to avoid sun damage

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 7:02 am

Dear Aine,
If you dont like holding umbrella, another option is to use a big scarf to cover. And you can also hang it on your neck so it is not much of a trouble. Furthermore the weather in Jiaohe Ruins is very dry, not so much of humidity so scarf is very ideal to block the sun. That’s why you see the desert people in the middle east usually use big scarf to cover their face.

Reply
Namra July 31, 2018 - 1:15 pm

These ruins look nice and HOT, I can see why you would encourage other to bring along an umbrella, water, hat and so on. A tip I’ll be sure to follow if I visit Jiaohe.

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 6:58 am

Dear Namra,

If you ask me to describe the heat in Jiaohe Ruins, I would relate it to an oven and the visitors are the walking cookies. This is the desert land and the air we breath in is super dry. It was about 50 to 60’c during my visit in June summer. The one thing you should not forget is the water bottles. You may need more than 1 bottles of water if you wanted to explore the whole ruins which can take up more than 2 hours.

Reply
Preet July 31, 2018 - 2:20 pm

China is such a wonderful place. Love to visit there one day. Truly a bucket list material.

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 6:52 am

Dear Preet,

China is full of history and culture. This part of China is at the northern part called Xinjiang, even the ethnic people who lives here look different from normal Han Chinese. This part of China usually for advance traveller who have been to China several times.

Reply
Sarah Stockley (@kipperscurtains) July 31, 2018 - 2:22 pm

Wow! It is all so gorgeous and interesting, Such an amazing place to explore.

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 6:49 am

Dear Sarah,
Among all the ancient earth houses of the world, Jiaohe ruins is one of the best preserved. If you look at the landscape, it is pretty interesting to see the whole land is covered by earth buildings. Such a gorgeous landscape.

Reply
Heather July 31, 2018 - 2:45 pm

This is amazing! I’m a big history buff, so I would love to visit this place!

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 6:43 am

Dear Heather,
If you love history, this is the place for you to explore. Walk like an archaeologist for few hours and post as many pictures as possible like a supermodel 🙂 in this few thousand years old ruins – Jiaohe !

Reply
Geraline Batarra July 31, 2018 - 3:59 pm

Wow, that is such an amazing place to visit and I do love knowing the story behind of my visited places.

Reply
Kelli A July 31, 2018 - 7:21 pm

These sites look amazing! I bet their even more beautiful in person..

Reply
kumamonjeng August 2, 2018 - 8:49 am

Dear Kelli,
You need to see it yourself to experience the oven heat! Then close your eyes and imagine how ancient people live in such environment! I doubt I can survive one day! Lol.

Reply
Alexis July 31, 2018 - 8:33 pm

Wow, what a fun trip! I’d love to visit China when my kiddos are older.

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 6:34 am

Dear Alexis,

China is fun and full of history. Kids needed to be a bit older then only they can appreciate and understand the culture and history in China.

Reply
Cassie Tucker July 31, 2018 - 8:35 pm

As I was reading through I was formulating a comment in my head and I was going to comment about how it could almost be the set of Star Wars and then you put it! I would love to travel the area with the guide to tell me all the different things that I would probably miss if I went by myself.

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 6:24 am

Dear Cassie,
Hahaha, I totally agree this look like the star war scene. Pretty cool right? You got to see it with my own eyes there are such places existed. Great mind think alike Cassie 🙂

Reply
Nicole Anderson July 31, 2018 - 8:36 pm

Before reading this post, I had no idea these ruins existed – just never heard of them before. They look fascinating and no wonder they got UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Would love to see it for myself one day. Lovely photos.

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 6:21 am

Dear Nicole,

The ancient city of Jiaohe is the world’s architectural wonders. Very hot to explore the site especially during summer. There are many shelters for visitors to take a rest. Be prepared to sun bathe for few hours as the ruins site are so big.

Reply
Askew Nutrition July 31, 2018 - 10:27 pm

What is amazing place to visit! I just love exploring old cities and learning about their history.

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 6:19 am

Dear Askew,

Such well maintain ruins are really rare these day and also the world largest.

Reply
BluKatDesign Upcycled Jewelry July 31, 2018 - 11:58 pm

This is really cool! It is rare to see even photos of this part of China!

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 6:17 am

Dear Blue,
It is pretty strange to see such landscape. Just like the Tatooine city if you are a Star wars fan you know what I am talking about 🙂

Reply
krish August 1, 2018 - 12:50 am

Looks an amazing place…great presentation..
Thank you

Reply
Nancie August 1, 2018 - 1:02 am

I would enjoy exploring the Jiaohe Ruins. I also think it’s worthwhile hiring a guide. For me, it’s much more interesting when you can learn the history.

Reply
kumamonjeng August 1, 2018 - 6:16 am

Dear Nancie,
Thanks for your comment. There are only simple signboard in Jiaohe ruins so getting an expert guide is also a plus and make your trip more fun as you get to learn about the history.

Reply
Thea August 1, 2018 - 2:27 am

This looks like such a wonderful place! I would love to visit someday

Reply
Nicole August 1, 2018 - 3:30 pm

This place looks amazing! I would love to visit here one day, it seems to have so much history and story to offer. Thanks for sharing!

Reply
kumamonjeng August 2, 2018 - 8:34 am

Dear Nicole,
Jiaohe Ruins located not very far from Turpan City. This is one of the must see, a Unesco World Heritage site 2000 years old. The ruins are just incredibly huge, the whole town is literally a earthen ruins! Quite an amazing site to see!

Reply
Holly August 1, 2018 - 5:16 pm

What a fun trip. It looks like you had a great time. Such beautiful photos…I definitely want to visit!

Reply
kumamonjeng August 2, 2018 - 8:31 am

Dear Holly,

Haha, I have fun exploring like a pretending archaeologist, supervising the site for few hours and I was burned!! How come there is no shade?? I wonder why!!

Reply
trinaellen August 1, 2018 - 8:22 pm

WOW! Such an incredible place to visit, I would love to visit China one day.

Reply
Sara Welch August 1, 2018 - 8:59 pm

My husband would flip out if he got to go check this out. He loves this kind of stuff.

Reply
TheSuperMomLife August 2, 2018 - 3:19 am

I love places like this. It’s great to learn and see so much history!

Reply
kumamonjeng August 2, 2018 - 8:16 am

Dear Super mom,

I love history too, it provide us with an insight into our cultures of origin. I guess it also important because it tell us how much we have evolved.

Reply
kylie cre8tone August 2, 2018 - 4:22 am

This place is uniquely amazing… I wanna go to silk road too! Wish I could be there one day..

Reply
kumamonjeng August 2, 2018 - 8:13 am

Dear Kylie,

The Jiaohe Ruins is one of the world largest ruins and all the building are made from earth. Pretty unique! We don’t see such architecture these days! 🙂

Reply
Melanie Poulos Walsh August 2, 2018 - 5:10 am

When you consider how old the ruins are, it’s absolutely amazing that they are still available to visit. I would love to go back through time to see them.

Reply
kumamonjeng August 2, 2018 - 8:11 am

Dear Melanie,

You are totally right, imagine 2000 years ago and the ruins are still quite well maintained. At least some the house shape still can be seen. 🙂

Reply
Elizabeth O August 2, 2018 - 5:39 pm

It looks incredibly hot there. It was great advice about taking water. It seems like such an incredible place to explore though.

Reply
themommyfiles03 August 3, 2018 - 4:13 am

Wow – that looks like such a great place to visit. I love all the wall art.

Reply
kumamonjeng August 3, 2018 - 12:02 pm

Dear Mommy flies,
Yes, these place is like an art to me. All the houses and buildings back few thousand years ago look like some kind of masterpiece of ingenious ancient people.

Reply
TheMrsTee August 3, 2018 - 11:20 am

What an amazing place to explore! So much history and intrigue behind seemingly every place. I would love to add China to my Must See list . . .

Reply
eliza August 5, 2018 - 5:17 am

WoW! A truly spectacular, rich in their heritage and history. A definitely great place to visit for learning, exploration and fun!

Reply
NPC August 6, 2018 - 2:30 pm

Wow, it is incredibly beautiful there. I definitely want to visit when I can, I am bookmarking this for when I do make it there. BTW, you have such gorgeous pics!

Reply

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I am the travel writer for Thinkerten. I lived in Japan, Australia, Malaysia and now based in Singapore. Speak 4 languages, Japanese, English, Malay, and Chinese. There are the many types of travels one can experience and mine are mostly focus on self-driving/road trip to explore the places I wanted to see and learn about. Only if you get out of your country, you will see the real you and understand more about yourself, to realize of your own identity, your own culture, and your root.

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