GAOCHANG CITY II（高昌古城二）

The Uyghurs established the Kingdom of Gaochong in 850.  The inhabitants of Gaochang practised Buddhism, Manicheism and Nestorian Christianity.  The Buddhist Uyghur kings, who called themselves idiquts, retained their nomadic lifestyle, residing in Gaochang during the winter but moved to the cooler Bishbalik near Urumchi in the summer.

The Uyghurs of the Kingdom of Gaochang were allowed significant autonomy by the Mongols but was finally destroyed by them in the 14th century.

GAOCHANG CITY I（高昌古城一）

Gaochang is the site of an ancient oasis city built on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, China.  A busy trading center, it was a stopping point for merchant traders traveling on the Silk Road.  It was destroyed during the 14th century due to wars, and old palace ruins on the inside and outside of the cities can still be seen today.  The ruins are located 30 km southeast of modern Turpan.

A busy trading center, and near the city of Beshbalik, it was a stopping point for merchant traders traveling on the Silk Road.  The ruins of Gaochang are located at the foot of the Flaming Mountain, about 40 kilometers southeast of Turpan.  The only plant that grow so well in the desert is water melon.

FLAMING MOUNTAINS II（火焰山二）

The weather was extremely hot without any breeze, and everyone wears down to their barest minimum

Inscriptions and Buddha murals depicting teaching of Buddhism on the wall and in caves

Replicas of sandstone hills of the mountain areas

Flaming Mountain museum with a big thermometer, with a degree of 45C on that day of visit

Journey to the West, which depicts the story of Monk Tang and his disciples going west to seek for Sutra, is renowned as one of the four classical novels in China

The Monkey King (Sun Wukong) made three attempts to borrow the plantain fan from Princess Iron Fan, who was a female demon living in the Flaming Mountain

The Bull-Demon King had a fierce battle with Sun Wukong due to complaints from his wife, Princess Iron Fan

In the summer, the region gets so hot that you can "hard boil" an egg by burying it in the sand for just a few minutes.  With strong direct radiation from the sun, the highest temperatures can reach 47.8 degrees Celsius and the earth's surface temperature can top 70 degrees.

Cart ride by donkeys and goats

FLAMING MOUNTAINS I（火焰山）

The Flaming Mountains in Turpan is one of the hottest places in China. The ground surface temperature can reach 80 degrees Celsius or 175 degrees Fahrenheit.  The roads toward it are all deserts and sandstone hills.  It forms the northern boundary of the Turpan Depression that is the second or third lowest point on the planet

The Flaming Mountains are hot.  In the summer, the waves of desert heat and mirages dance on the red ridge that is furrowed by parallel gullies.  So it does look like a wall of flames in the red sky, especially in the afternoon.  Not a single blade of grass grows on the hills of Flaming Mountain and there are no traces of birds or animals there.