the avenue divided the town in sections for haves and have-nots
Jiaohe means "where two rivers meet", a good description of this ancient city that was built on a large, leaf shaped peninsula
where the Yarnaz river splits into two branches. The high and steep cliffs provided natural protection against hostile attackers.
Buildings here were not constructed with bricks, but instead carved free from the compressed loess soil. So over time, the
city grew deeper and deeper, with the oldest parts on top.
A central avenue divided the city in two parts, east for
the commoners and troops and west for the ruling class.
Tocharians settled the region around 2000 BC. From 100 BC till 450
AD Jiaohe was the capital of the Jushi Kingdom. Han, and later the Tang, stationed troops in the city.
Once a flourishing trading
post on the Northern Silk Road, the town's importance and grandeur slowly declined until Jiaohe was utterly destroyed by Genghis
Khan,
early in the 13th century.
We visited the heavily eroded ruins of Jiaohe in October 2003.
in 2003 this was the relatively simple entrance to the ancient city ruins
only the walls are still standing from what was once a large mansion
at the end of the avenue stand the remains of several Buddhist temples
the top part is the oldest
the buildings are heavily eroded indeed
the central avenue starts here
standing on the edge
our guide explains the temple's history
we are going to visit the remains of one of the Buddhist temples
the Flaming Mountains dominate the view to the north
A Google Map's view of the Jiaohe peninsula. The entrance is to the southeast
at the entrance there is a huge tableau explaining the layout of Jiaohe in three languages
the cliffs drop 30 meters, high enough to keep attackers at bay
a westward view over the river canyon