Ancient City of Gaochang
( 2005-09-13 )

Two temple remains -- one in the southwest and the other in the northwest parts of the outer city -- are worth a visit.

The first one, 130 meters long from east to west and 85 meters wide from north to south, covers 10,000 square meters. It consists of an arched gate, courtyard, a lecture hall, a library of sutras, a main hall, and the monks' dormitory. It is said thatXuanzang, the renowned Buddhist monk of theTang Dynasty(617-908), lectured here in 628 on his way to India.

The second one -- the northwest one -- is smaller but the mural remains are still impressive.

In the north central part of the inner city, there is a high terrace on which stands a square pagoda built of adobe called "Khan's Castle" which means "Imperial Palace." Somewhat to its west there is a half-underground, two-story structure that was probably the ruins of a palace.

The rectangular palace city is in the northern part of the city of Gaochang and it shares the north wall with the outer city and uses the north wall of the inner city as its south wall. There are still several 3- to 4-meter-high earthen platforms in the palace city where the court of the Huihu Gaochang Kingdom was seated.