Niya site

Niya site is the former site of Jingjue kingdom in Han and Jin Dynasties. It is located in Minfeng County, Hotan, 150km north of the county.

The site, centered on the pagoda, is distributed along the ancient nya River in a north-south direction, with a length of about 30 km from north to South and a width of about 7 km from east to west. During this period, there are more than one hundred houses, pagodas, temples, city sites, smelting and casting sites, pottery kilns, tombs, orchards, canals, Waterloo dams and other relics.

Unfortunately, the site was first discovered by British explorer Stein, and then set foot by American henyanton, Japanese juruichao and others. They took a lot of cultural relics with them, which was another destruction of the culture of Niya site. The Chinese government did not excavate the site until after liberation. Among them, the most famous cultural relic is the brocade with characters of "five stars come out of the East and benefit China".

Transportation: take a shuttle bus from Hotan to Niya, and then rent an off-road jeep.

Niya site

Niya site

It is the site of Jingjue kingdom in Han and Jin Dynasties, located in Minfeng County, Xinjiang, Northwest China. From the 2nd century B.C. to the 5th century A.D. Niya site is a long and narrow area with the center of 82 degrees 43 minutes 14 seconds east longitude and 37 degrees 58 minutes 35 seconds north latitude.

Houses, yards, cemeteries, pagodas, temples, fields, orchards, animal pens, canals, pottery kilns, smelting sites and other relics were found in the Niya site. Unearthed are wooden, bronze, iron, pottery, stone, wool, coins, wooden slips and other relics. In 1962, it was designated as a key cultural relics protection unit in the autonomous region. On November 20, 1996, the State Council announced that it was a key cultural relics protection unit in the whole country. Now it is a historical and cultural tourist area.

Historical evolution

Niya site is a long and narrow area with the center of 82 degrees 43 minutes 14 seconds east longitude and 37 degrees 58 minutes 35 seconds north latitude. It is 7 km wide in east-west direction and 25 km long in north-south direction, scattered along the ancient bed of Niya River. The site area was pushed northward for several tens of kilometers. In the third century AD, 1700 years ago, the Niya River, which originated from the lushtag glacier in the Kunlun Mountains, extended northward. At that time, it was still a prosperous oasis. The Niya site is an east-west traffic fortress on the South Road of the Silk Road in the western regions during the Han and Jin Dynasties. It is located in the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, 100 km north of Minfeng County in Hotan region, Xinjiang, and the lower reaches of the Niya River.

There are more than 100 houses, pagodas, temples, city sites, smelting and casting sites, pottery kilns, tombs, orchards, canals, Waterloo dams and other relics scattered in the area. It is one of the largest and well preserved large-scale ancient cultural sites with great academic research value in Xinjiang.

The Niya site is located in the desert 20 kilometers north of kabaaska village, Minfeng County, on the southern edge of Taklimakan Desert.

Tourist attractions

The predecessor of Niya is the ancient and exquisite country, which is located in the desert 150 kilometers north of Minfeng County, surrounded by rolling sand mountains. Some of the excavated buildings are well preserved, including river courses and canals in addition to civil buildings. Wooden slips and sheepskin documents with ancient Khotan characters were also found in the site.

In 1995, the discovery of No.1 cemetery in Niya made the archaeological work of Niya fruitful. It was rated as "one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in China" by the State Administration of cultural relics, which caused a sensation in the academic circles and made the Niya site attract worldwide attention. Eight tombs belonging to the ruling group of the upper class were excavated within 100 square meters. The burial objects are rich, high-level and well preserved. According to their types, they can be divided into pottery, wood, iron, lacquerware, bows and arrows, textiles and beads. Among them, textiles are a large number, especially a number of thread fabrics and exquisite woolen fabrics with complex organization, gorgeous colors and complicated patterns have been unearthed. For example, the "King and Marquis should live together for thousands of years" Brocade quilt, which was designated as a national treasure by the appraisal committee of the State Administration of cultural relics, "five stars come out of the East and benefit China" There are also such gorgeous brocades as "prolong life and protect descendants", "the world is not the best, brocade should be passed on to descendants by two parents", "climbing high and looking forward to the world's wealth and longevity as the National Day", "jinchifeng" and so on. The color of brocade is mottled and the preservation of brocade is unprecedented.

archaeological excavation

From the first discovery of the Niya site by mark orir Stein, a Hungarian of British origin, in 1901 to the joint academic investigation of the Niya site between China and Japan, Niya archaeology has gone through nearly a hundred years, especially the joint academic investigation between China and Japan. Systematic investigation and scientific excavation of the site have been carried out, many important ancient cultural relics and precious relics have been found, and the Niya site has gradually been opened The veil of mystery.

In 1905, five years after Stein first arrived in Niya, American scholar Huntington entered Xinjiang with the support of American geographic society, and made an investigation in the southern margin of Tarim. According to his collection of kharoluwen wooden slips and other objects, it can be inferred that he has been to Niya. There is a clear understanding of the settlement of various relics and Niya sites, but the related comprehensive and systematic research needs to be deepened and expanded. Wheat, highland barley, millet, Manjing, mutton, sheep hoof, wild goose and melon were also found in the site.

In December 1911, Japanese monk juruichao also conducted archaeological excavation along the Niya River northbound, but he did not leave any textual materials to be investigated. At the end of 1950s, new Chinese archaeologists began to investigate the Niya site under the extremely difficult conditions at that time.

Collection of cultural relics

In February 1959, Mr. Shi Shuqing and his party went deep into Niya to clean up the remains and collect cultural relics.

In 1959, a carbon engraving "sihefu seal" was found here, which indicates that tuntian was also opened up in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In addition, there are also a large number of Chinese scholars, Lu Wen wooden slips and wooden calves, which are extremely precious historical materials. There are also a large number of cultural relics, most of which are all kinds of wood, copper and iron, pottery, stone tools, and woolen goods. The unearthed ancient coins include the Five Dwarf coins of the Eastern Han Dynasty. A large number of cultural relics have been unearthed in the site, most of them are various kinds of wooden ware, as well as copper and iron ware, pottery, stone tools, wool fabrics, and the unearthed ancient coins include the five baht coins of the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are also a large number of wooden slips, most of which are written in Khartoum, ancient Khotan and Chinese, and iron smelting sites and sinters are also found. An ancient tomb of the Eastern Han Dynasty was found in the tomb area. The male corpse was wrapped in a brocade robe and inscribed with the official script of "wanshiruyi".

In October 1959, Li Yuchun of Xinjiang Museum led 10 archaeologists to work in the site area for 9 days, providing relatively complete excavation materials. After the 1960s, due to the social, economic and political reasons at that time, the archaeological work of Niya failed to continue. It was not until the 1980s that the excavation began to revive.

Site investigation

In December 1980, the Xinjiang Museum cooperated with the cultural administration office of Hetian region to investigate and excavate the site of Niya, and found a number of valuable cultural relics. Since the end of 1980s, Mr. Yasuhiro Oshima, a Japanese monk of Pure Land Sect, cooperated with the Department of culture of Xinjiang Autonomous Region to carry out a five-year systematic survey of the Niya site, which is still continuing. In the meantime, Xinjiang Institute of archaeology is also working in this area. The scientific and systematic investigation of the Niya site since the late 1980s has made an important contribution to the improvement of human historical and cultural literacy. In addition, the comprehensive exploration of geology, hydrology and petroleum in Tarim Basin since 1980s has added new vitality to the archaeological work in southern Tarim Basin.

In 1995, the discovery of No. I cemetery in Niya made great achievements in the archaeology of Niya. It was rated as "one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in China" by the State Administration of cultural relics, which caused a sensation in the academic circles and made the Niya site attract worldwide attention. In October 1995, the Sino Japanese Niya joint inspection team discovered a brocade with auspicious animal patterns, which read "five stars come out of the East and benefit China". There is a tomb area 2 km north of the unearthed house, generally without a tomb chamber. Most of the coffins are made of single wood and buried under the sand, causing serious damage. There is also an iron smelting site of Han Dynasty near the site, which once found ore, sintered iron, slag, stone chisel, stone ball, stone and residual iron. Iron tools such as shovels and sickles were also found in the houses, similar in shape to those used in central Shaanxi today.

Inside culture

In addition to more than 90 houses found in the Niya site, there are many relics, such as pagodas, ancient bridges, cemeteries, fruit orchards, monasteries, handicraft workshops, livestock houses, fields, tree lined roads, as well as a large number of withered trees and river beds, which can be said to be extremely precious cultural heritage of all mankind. Through archaeological investigation and excavation, wooden slips, wood carvings and various textile fabrics were unearthed and collected. The pagoda has a square base below and a cylindrical body above. The shape of this pagoda is very similar to the SUBASHI pagodas in Loulan, Milan, andir, Kashgar and Kuqa.

It shows its obvious central identity, which should be a conscious arrangement, and also reflects the lofty status of Buddhism here. Up to now, people call it "Oriental Pompeii", "ancient dream city" and "the greatest archaeological discovery of this century". With the large-scale scientific investigation and archaeological excavation in recent years, the mystery of the rise and fall of the sealed Niya site will be gradually opened, which will enrich people's understanding of the western region civilization and the silk road.

Lu wenmu bamboo slips

The Niya site is located at the end of Niya River 150 kilometers north of Minfeng County, in the heart of Taklimakan Desert. The ancient city was first discovered by Stein in 1901,

Chinese PinYin : Ni Ya Yi Zhi