Brief Introduction to Loulan

Loulan, one of West China's 36 ancient states, whose exact location is unknown, mysteriously disappeared after 500 years of continuous prosperity. The rapid disappearance of such a large, prosperous trading hub on the thriving Silk Road, which dealt mainly in the trade of silk, glass, and perfume, is one of history's biggest puzzles.

Returning from his Western journeys during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Tang Xuanzang had already seen the bleak scene of the Loulan city buildings, with very few people.

Some 1,500 years later, a Swedish adventurer named Sven Hedin and his guide discovered Loulan on March 28, 1900. The discovery actually caused a great sensation at the time, and was reputed as the "Oriental Pompeii." For more than 100 years since, Loulan has stirred the enthusiasm of adventurers, historians and travelers both from China and abroad. Loulan Beauty, Loulan Tomb, Loulan Coffin … one miracle after another has persistently aroused world attention.

Scholars from home and abroad believe the Loulan relics are the most important discovery along the once-prosperous Silk Road for researching and exploring the rich history of Xinjiang and central Asian countries, the history of the Silk Road, cultural communications and mélange of East and West.

This tree has been standing in Loulan for more than 3,000 years.

 The Site of Loulan State

The site was located on the west bank of Lop Nur Lake, which was once a rich water network, but has now entirely dried up. The expanse of vast sand dunes are dubbed the "forbidden zone to life" to the northeast of Ruoqiang County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in Northwest China. The weather there is very extreme: during the summer, the maximum temperature tops 50 degrees Celsius, and in the winter it can fall as low as 30 degrees below zero.

Records from the Loulan kingdom abound in major historical works in both China and the West of over 1,600 years ago. Loulan was a sprawling kingdom of 360,000 square kilometers, whose domain bordered Dunhuang in the East and Niya city in the West. It had a population of over 14,000, and, as a key traffic hub on the ancient Silk Road, it served as an important trading center between China and the West, welcoming streams of camels loaded with exotic goods from many parts of the world. Many visitors and caravans were from the Mediterranean region.

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