The Site Of Niya

Site of State of Jingjue from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) to the Jin Dynasty (265-420)

Location:Minfeng County,Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Period: 2nd century BC-5th century AD

Excavated from 1959 to the present

Significance: It has supplied precious materials to the study of the relationships between the empire located in the Central Plains and ancient kingdoms in the Western Regions, which covers the area of the present-day Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia. It is also of great importance to the study of the cultural exchanges between the East and the West, as well as theSilk Road.

The remains of the lost ancient city of Niyaare believed to the ancientJingjue Kingdom during the Han and Jin period. The ancient JingjueKingdom was at the south end of the Silk Road, sprawling over an area 25 km long from south to north and 5-7 km wide from east to west.

In the Site, the ruins of foundation of houses, courtyards, tombs, stupas, temples, fields, orchards, channels, kilns, and smelting workshops, etc., have been excavated, together with a large quantity of cultural relics, including wood ware, bronze, pottery, stone ware, woolen articles, coins, etc.