The Ancient City of Jiaohe

The Ancient City of Jiaohe, situated in the Ya'ernaizi Valley, 10 kilometers east of Turpan, is a 30-meter-high plateau. Hence most of the buildings in the city were dug on the soil.  
Jiaohe is isolated by two rivers from outsider so that meaning in Chinese is two rivers joining together. The whole city of Jiaohe Ancient City stretches about 1650 meters from south to north, and 300 meters from east to west, looks like a willow leaf. Since 2200 year before, Cheshi or Jushi people had already lived here, then there were wars between Huns and Han Dysnaty for this town. Finally it was under the jurisdiction of Gaochang for about 2000 years. The city was abandoned during the Mongolians civil war in the 14th century, and is well-preserved due to the local dry climate. Today the tourists can walk in the city ruin to explore the impressive temples, pagodas and streets. 
The overall urban construction is well-designed based on the natural geographical features. The unique combination of the axis and main streets and imposing city gates reflects the mature architecture. The government offices is situated in the city center, and the dwelling units mainly is in the form of high- walled compound.