UNESCO World Heritage

Introducing UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Turpan
Urumqi & its surrounding areas have two cultural and natural places inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as of 2020. Xinjiang Tianshan was added to the list in 2013. The Site of Bashbaliq City which is located 170km away from Urumqi was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of "Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor" in 2014. If you happen to be in Urumqi or anywhere else in Xinjiang Uyhur Autonomous Region, be sure to drop by these amazing UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Urumqi. Each of Urumqi's UNESCO World Heritage Site has a tale to tell. Book GoGrandChina tour packages to learn the tales of Urumqi's UNESCO World Heritage Sites at the most affordable prices.

The Site of Qocho (Gaochang) City
Qocho (Gaochang) City was the largest central town in Turpan Basin in the southern foot of the Tian-shan Mountains, dating back from the 1st century BC to the 14th century AD. During the period from the 1st century BC to the 8th century AD, it witnessed historical evolution as Qocho Garrison, Qocho Commandery and the capital of the Kingdom of Qocho successively. During the Tang Dynasty, Xizhou Prefecture was set in Qocho City, making it an important political, economic, cultural, religious and military center and transportation hub in the southern foot of the Tian-shan Mountains. From the 9th through the 13th century AD, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Qocho Uyghur. Qocho City witnessed the important role of facilitating and safeguarding the pioneering and prosperity of the Silk Roads played by the dynastic empires in Central China such as the Han and the Tang, through establishing prefecture or countylevel administrative units. It is attests the civilizations of the Kingdom of Qocho and the Kingdom of Qocho Uyghur in the Western Regions in ancient times and the exchanges and spread of urban culture, architectural skills, various religions and multi-ethnic cultures in Turpan Basin. Get more about the Site of Gaochang City.

The Site of Yar (Jiaohe) City
Yar (Jiaohe in Chinese) city was an important central town on the Silk Roads from the 2nd century BC to the 14th century. It is located in the Turpan Basin on the south side of the Tianshan Mountains. In the 1st century it became the capital city of the Kingdom of Jushi; subsequently it was a prefecture or a county under the Kingdom of Qocho, the Tang and the Qocho Uyghur Kingdom. In 640, the Tang dynasty set up the Anxi Protectorate in Jiaohe, turning it into an important administrative, military, religious and transport center from which the empire controlled the region south of the Tianshan Mountains, and much of the Western Region. The city is built on a distinctive high natural terrace, has a unique urban layout, with ruins of many different styles of buildings, and graves from different periods. It is a testimony of the ancient cultures of the Jushi, the Kingdom of Qocho, and the Qocho Uyghur. It is also an example of the “protectorate system” of ruling and frontier management mode of the Tang empire, and how it safeguarded the traffic along the Silk Roads. The city is physical proof of how the many ethnicities along the Silk Road interacted and transmitted urban culture, building techniques and religion, etc. Get more about the Site of Jiaohe City.