Yotegan site

Yotegan site

Yotegan site is located in ailaman village, bageqi Township, 10 km west of Hotan City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the people's Republic of China, with hailiqiya in the north and alaleba and yalangan villages in the East.

Brief introduction of the site

The site is an important settlement site in ancient Khotan. From the distribution of modern sites, there are no traces of ancient buildings and the outline of the city is unknown. The cultural relics unearthed in the past dynasties all come from the cultural layer 5 meters below the surface of the earth, which is about 3 meters thick. In the northeast corner of the site, there is a cultural layer exposed on the surface, and pottery pieces are densely distributed. The cultural relics unearthed in the past dynasties include pottery figurines, fragments of pottery, ancient coins, pieces of glass, beads, gold statues, paintings, jade pieces, bones and other cultural relics.

Most of the pottery figurines are figures and animals. Most of the pottery fragments are carved, embossed and decorated with additional patterns and reliefs. The themes are geometric patterns, plant patterns, people and animals, etc. the Persian and Greek styles are very strong. There are many kinds of ancient coins. There are a lot of gold vessels unearthed in the past dynasties, all of which were melted and destroyed by the local people. In 1959, a gold Duckling and the Tang Dynasty "Qianyuan treasure" money were unearthed. The gold duckling has exquisite craftsmanship, and its shape is similar to the duck in the Tang Dynasty Murals in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. Swinholding also unearthed Christian gold coins, crosses and a gold medal, which indicates that two missionaries came here to preach during the existence of the site, and further proves that the site is an important site.

Yotegan site is a key cultural relic protection unit at the autonomous region level. At present, it is a marsh depression with an area of about 0.3 square kilometers and 8 meters below the ground level.

The yotkan site has a great influence in the West. It is an ideal place to study the integration of eastern and Western cultures. As the site is well-known in the west, it is loved by tourists from all over the world. Now it is included in the regular tourist route, and tourists come in an endless stream every year.

Site legend

It is said that in the 1860s, the river changed its course, and the shining gold and exquisite pottery here It is clear to the world.

Here, it is said that every sacred building is covered with a lot of gold leaves This is the mysterious site of yotkan.

There are three kinds of explanations for its meaning

The first is the sound of yategan, which means "lie down", so there is a saint buried in the Mazha, so it is named.

Second, it means "quilt", because the thick soil covers the historic sites like a quilt.

The third is the sound of yoerte Khan. Yoerte is the hometown of the king.

It is said that in the 1860s, as the Kalakashi river changed its course, a long strip-shaped ditch broke out. As a result, glittering gold wares, exquisite pottery, pottery figurines and coins from the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty became apparent to the world.

From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, the Han Dynasty, the rich and the Uygur people, and the officials hired people to dig, which led to the loss or destruction of a large number of cultural relics.

Site history

In 1892, grenne, a member of the French dutleyi delegation, collected a number of pottery figurines, glass products, pottery and white jade from yotergan and brought them abroad. He advocated that this place was the capital of ancient Khotan.

In 1896, Sven heding, a Swede, came. He got 532 pieces of various cultural relics from yotkan, including Christian gold coins, crosses and a gold medal.

In 1900 and 1906, Stein, an Englishman, went to the site of yotergan twice and collected a large number of cultural relics.

The site used to be a brilliant Buddhist building complex in Khotan from the 3rd to 8th century, and it is said that each sacred building is covered with a large number of gold leaves.

Address: located in aeraman village, bageqi Town, 10km west of Hotan County

Longitude: 79.774696350098

Latitude: 37.100437164307