Kashgar Stone City

Kashgar Stone City was famous for its location. It was a ancient significant castle at the junction of the middle route and southern route of the ancient Silk Road. The Stone City is also the place where roads from Kashgar, Shache, Yingjisha and Yecheng to the Pamirs meet.

For strategic importance, the Stone City was the capital of the Puli Kingdom, one of the 36 kingdoms in the Western Region under the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty. The Tang rulers set administration office here to rein the region after it unified the area. The Yuan government had enlarged and reconstructed the Stone City for military purpose. It was in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that the Government built a new city to the south and the Stone City was abandoned.

The Stone City was built on a precipitous hillock. Outside the castle were broken city walls which were built with huge rocks. These walls stretch around 1300 meters along the city. On the four corners of the wall there were originally watching towers but they all collapsed.

With mound of 20 meters high (about 67 feet high), all that remains of the the old fortress today is unique with bizarre-shaped stones littering everywhere. At the southeast of the city is a temple ruin where once pottery, Tang coins, stuff weaved with silk were excavated. However you can still enjoy the view of the ruined city, the surrounding snow-crowned mountains, grasslands, rivers and even the flavor of national traits of the Tajik people.

Meaning Stone City in Turki, Tashkurgan was so named after an ancient city, more than 2,000 years old. The Stone City is located in the north of Tashkurgan County, Xinjiang Province.

Tips:

Apply for border permit;
Recommended time for a visit: 30 minutes;
Please respect the local's tradition and pratices while there;
Prepare some small gifts for children who are always eagerly waiting for a small gift from travelers.