Photos by CRI Reporter Liu Min

The Ancient City of Jiaohe is located in the Yarnaz Valley 13 kilometers west of Turpan. It was first the capital of the State of South Cheshi, one of the 36 states in the Western Region. As described in the dynastic history book The Notes on the Western Region, A History of the Han Dynasty, "The State of South Cheshi made the city of Jiaohe its capital, which was circled by rivers flowing by the city, hence the name of 'Jiaohe' (the city of joining rivers)."

Built on a loess plateau 30 meters high, the ancient city is 1,650 meters long and 300 meters wide. The city has no walls and is protected by the natural fortification of the precipitous cliffs.

During the Western Han Dynasty, the central government established "Jiaohebi" (an administrative division) and appointed and dispatched a commanding general officer to the Turpan area. During the period from the Northern Wei to the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Jiaohebi was Jiaohe Prefecture under the jurisdiction of the Gaochang Kingdom. The Anxi Military Viceroy's Office, the highest civil and military administrative organ set up by the Tang government in the Western Region, was first established in the city. Between the middle of the eighth century and the middle of the ninth century, the city was occupied by Tibetans. After that, it was called Jiaohe Prefecture and fell under the jurisdiction of the Huigu Gaochang Kingdom. At the end of the thirteenth century, it was destroyed in the Mongolian aristocratic rebellions.

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