About 8km west of Turpan, on a small plateau surrounded by high cliffs, sit the ruins of the ancient city of Jiaohe. Originally constructed in 200 BC, the slowly crumbling remains have endured more than 2,000 baking summers since then. Certainly, when we were there today we could easily have baked a duck on the searing cobblestone path that snakes through the ruins and has been installed in more recent times to keep visitors off the precious UNESCO-listed ancient structures. The city's buildings and streets that occupy an area of about 40 hectares were largely carved from the earth and supplemented with adobe. The remains of many of the streets, houses, administrative buildings, temples and monasteries are still clearly visible and distinguishable.
From 100 BC to 450 AD, Jiaohe was the capital city of the region, and from 640 AD to the beginning of the ninth century AD it was the Jiaohe County of the Tang Dynasty. This is a fabulous place and we were eager to see as much of it as possible despite the searing heat. By the time we returned to the taxi we had been reduced to two reddened sweat balls and we asked Mahmud who was sheltering in a melon and drinks shop to take us straight back to our hotel, and not to spare the donkeys. We'd had a great day but it was time for some air conditioning that thankfully was the Turpan Hotel's strong suit.
