The city of Jiaohe, 10 km west of the city of Turpan, Xinjiang province, China, was an important site along the Silk Road trade route leading west. Now, an archaeological site, the city was built on a 1650 meter-long islet in the middle of a river surrounded by steep cliffs which formed natural defenses. The city had eastern and western residential areas and Buddhist temples and stupas to the north and graveyards and the ruins of a large government office in the southern part of the eastern district.
It was finally sacked by the Mongols led by Genghis Khan in the 13th century.
Penn Museum's Chief of Staff Jim Mathieu and Senior Registrar Xiuqin Zhou, traveled to Jiaohe in Xinjiang Province.
Find out more about the Secrets of the Silk Road exhibition opening at the Penn Museum February 5 - June 5, 2011 at [ Ссылка ]
