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Home > Travel China > China Destinations > Ancient City of Gaochang
Ancient City of Gaochang
China, an East Asian country is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. It has a vast cultural history of more than five thousand years and an outstanding natural beauty. On the other hand, this country has remained a comparatively isolated and secluded one, and being a land of mystery, this country is not known to the western half of the world. However, China is rapidly developing and has grown in the phase of modernization, with an immense speed and is also welcoming the outer world to interact and do business with them.
The PRC, People's Republic of China comprises most of the cultural, historic and geographic area known as China. Since its founding in 1949, it has been led by the CPC, Communist Party of China. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1,300,000,000, most of who are classified as the Han Chinese ethnicity. It is the largest country in area in East Asia and the fourth largest in the world, after Russia, Canada and the United States. The PRC borders 14 countries comprising Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrayzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Vietnam.
The Ancient City of Gaochang is located at about 47 kilometers to the southeast of the Turpan city. Originally built as a garrison in the 2nd century BC, it soon became the capital of the Kingdom of Gaochang. By the 9th century AD, Anno Domini, Gaochang had become the center of the Uighur Empire. Buddhism was also a major religion, and numerous monasteries and temples were built.
The famous Buddhist monk Xuan Zang taught in the city for several months during his epic 18 year journey to India. Though the ruins have not been as well preserved as the ones in the Ancient City of Jiaohe, it still provides interesting insight into this unique civilization. The city is split into 3 parts, the inner city, outer city and palace grounds all surrounded by a city wall and in total, cover an expansive area of over 2 million square meters. Within one can see the remnants of Khan's Castle, a 15 meter structure, temples, manuscripts and Buddhist paintings.
The Ancient City of Gaochang is one of Turpan’s most popular destinations, and is well known amongst the cultural related attractions and monuments that the city has embraced.
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