China is a multi-ethnic country, in the past five thousand years of history, countless cultures have blended with it, leaving many cultural relics and monuments, but also left many mysteries for future generations. They may be too mysterious, perhaps because of the loss of war, or perhaps they have left no historical record at all, but they are real. For example, the earthen city in the desert that I want to talk about today, the mottled city passes, the swaying branches, the remaining ruins, the dried ancient corpses, the seemingly related elements, but can not be systematically understood, this is the city of Sitia, a mysterious place.
Filmed in Kashgar, Xinjiang in 2021.
"Sitia" means "cliff of immortality" in the local language. The ancient city of Sitia was located in the Sitia Ditch about a kilometer northwest of Luo Township in Yecheng County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang. Since there is no record of the city in the historical records, since the last century, archaeologists have repeatedly entered the investigation, but have not come to the final result, so the city is also known as the Mystery City of Sitia.
With the rapid development of the domestic tourism market in recent years, Xinjiang has gradually become one of the important tourist destinations for tourists. Among the many tourist attractions in Xinjiang, when it comes to sitia mystery city, there may not be many people who know it, even I have traveled all over the north and south of Xinjiang, and I have only come here for the first time.
It's a castle towering over the desert, and everything from outside the city to inside the city is made of yellow clay, and standing in the distance, you even have the illusion that this is a sand sculpture. Seeing this photo, some friends may ask, how can such a complete castle be without historical records?
In fact, the castle we see now is a restored tourist attraction on the original ruins of the ancient city. This place is the city gate and the entrance to the scenic spot, using the architectural style of the Western Regions. In the middle is the castle gate, on the forehead of which is a wooden plaque with three hieroglyphs written on it, although I can't understand it, but it should be written "Sitia".
There is a large square outside the main gate of the castle, in order to better welcome visitors from all over the world, the scenic spot will regularly launch a grand opening ceremony every day. Actors dressed in various ethnic costumes sang and danced, the golden crown trembled, the silver boots swayed, lined with ancient symbols, showing the unique charm of the western region.
At the end of the song and dance, the city gate is opened, the whole Sitia mystery city is displayed in front of everyone's eyes, in the middle is a main road, leading directly to the imperial city, the two sides of the avenue are houses built of various loesses, the shape is peculiar, people are bright, can't help but ask, this is the architectural style of the Western Regions?
Due to the chaos of the war and some events in history, there are not many remnants left in the entire Mystery City of Sitia. Since the last century, the state has carried out protective development of the city, excavating the area of one kilometer long and 2 kilometers wide, and the entire city covers an area of about 2,000 acres.
Extrapolating from the archaeological discoveries of pottery, porcelain pieces, clay pots, copper products, ancient ornaments, and some bone remains, as well as the geographical location of the ancient city, experts believe that this is one of the "Thirty-Six Kingdoms in the Western Regions", the Khan City of the Qarakhanid Dynasty, was an important transit point to West Asia, and the city was also quite prosperous at that time.
Judging from the excavation of some ancient coins, the city should have prospered during the Tang and Song dynasties. However, because Genghis Khan led the Mongol army to the west, there were no people and animals left everywhere, no grass was born, the Qarakhanid Dynasty was destroyed, the Khan City was destroyed, and everything returned to the loess. Of course, all this is also speculation, and the truth is still a mystery.
At the end of the ancient city is a special building, which looks like a cartoon castle in a children's paradise, which is the main brand of sitia maze "Dream Back to the West". After entering the gate, in front of the eyes is a dark passage, tourists seem to have walked into a time tunnel to the Western Regions, using the remaining objects, carved stone statues, various symbolic patterns, and background information introduction, to show people the history and unique culture of the Western Regions, but also let people have a deeper understanding of the Sitia Labyrinth.
As it has been in history, today's Sitia Labyrinth is not only a scenic spot, but also an important stopover, providing rest, supplies, accommodation, catering and other services for countless cyclists and self-driving groups.