Loulan Ancient City & Yadan Spectacle

 Ancient City of Loulan

The worldly known remains of the Ancient City of Loulan in Xinjiang is in the west of Lop Nur. The Ancient City of Loulan played a very important role on the Silk Road. Chinese silks, tea, and jewelries were firstly exported to other regions and countries through the Ancient City of Loulan. Every time trade caravans passed through this kingdom they would stop to rest. Loulan Kingdom was established before 176 BC. It was a relatively prosperous kingdom at that time. What puzzled many historians, was that this kingdom suddenly disappeared after hundreds of years of being prosperous and flourishing. The reason for its disappearance is still a mystery.

The remains of the Ancient City of Loulan cover an area of 12,000 square kilometers (about 4,633 square miles). An old waterway runs through the city dividing the city into two parts, the northeast part and the southwest part. The most notable remaining construction of this ancient city is three houses. The walls of these three houses are the only structures built with earth brick. They directly face the south city gate.

Admission Fee:	RMB 5
Opening Hours:	8:00 – 16:00
Best time to visit	Spring and Autumn

 Yadan Spectacle

There are big pieces of Yadan wind-erosion landforms in Lop Nur. Generally speaking they are found in the east, west and north of Lop Nur, with the northern one being the most famous. Because wind in this area is strong and frequent, landforms of wind-erosion are easily formed. These landforms present all kinds of shapes under a dusky sky. Sometimes they are an enormous army with invincible and mighty vigor. Sometimes they become many whales playing in the desert sea. Sometimes they are pavilions while at other times they are mysterious castles. If you go to the Yadan Spectacle your eyes will be filled with the magic of unique strange scenes that will definitely arouse your imagination to a supernatural world.

Korla History
Covering an area of 7,116.9 sq km (about 1,758,623 acres), Korla boasts a long history. In the Western Han Dynasty(206 BC-24 AD), the area belonged to Quli Kingdom, which is one of the 36 kingdoms to the south of Mt. Tianshan Range. In 176 BC, Hun people invaded the West Region (the vast area to the west of Great Wall, including today's Xinjiang and some other countries in Middle Asia) and controlled Quli Kingdom. Later, Emperor Wu defeated the Hun and Quli Kingdom became a part of Western Han Dynasty. This area came back to the control of nomad tribes after inner China experienced hundreds of years of wars, disunions and turmoil. It belonged to Tang Dynasty in 648 and soon Tubo (an early Tibetan kingdom) controlled here in 670. In 692, Empress Wu Zetian ordered her army to recapture Korla, but again it fell into Tubo's hand in 789. In 1122, the area belonged to Liao Dynasty (916-1125) and in 1218 Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). In 1677, Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) marched to the south Xinjiang and the area became an important military base for Qing. Korla County was established in 1938 and Korla City, the capital city of Bayin Guoleng Mongolia Autonomous Prefecture in 1979.