Old town of marekwatt

Old town of marekwatt

Located on the West Bank of Yulongkashi River, 25 kilometers south of Hotan City, the old city of malikwat is a long and narrow lowland in the north and south, which is a key cultural relic protection unit in the autonomous region.

brief introduction

The old city of malikwatt is known locally as "shisbier". In 1962, it was designated as a key cultural relics protection unit in the autonomous region.

"Malik" means "Princess" in Chinese, and "watt" is about "Castle". It is said that a long time ago, it was still a deserted desert. A beautiful and intelligent princess came here. As a result, there were magnificent castles and dense forests, and the desert turned into a rich oasis in an instant

Environmental Science

On the west side of the old city of marekwat, there are sand mountains and rolling hills. On the south side, the Kunlun Mountains are picturesque and high into the clouds. On the east side, the Yulongkashi river is winding. The summer flood is surging and roaring. On the north side, there are a few villages and green trees. The altitude is even at 1540 meters. It is said that this old city is the capital of Khotan in the Han Dynasty. It rose and fell between 206 BC and 907 ad. it has a history of more than 1500 years. It is more than 1400 meters long from north to south. It is adjacent to the riverbed in the East and surrounded by sand mountains in the West. If you look around, you can see that in general.

Ruins

There are ancient buildings, ancient tombs and three mysterious caves behind the sand mountain on the west side. Most of the ancient city was eroded and buried by wind and sand. There are no remains of the city wall, only many mounds of different sizes. There are hundreds of round stone foundations made of sand or pebbles on and around the mounds. In the center of the site, there are four pottery kilns, around which there are many pieces of pottery, pottery, smelting slag, red clay, etc. The main color of the pottery is ochre, mostly plain with sand. It is shaped like a bowl, a bowl, a single jar and a handle cup. A large earthenware jar was found at the northern end of the site, and a wall was found 100 meters south of it. The unearthed cultural relics include bronze Buddha, jade, clay Buddha pieces, wall decorations with Huiwen pattern, murals, fragments, pottery, gold leaves and a large number of coins.

There are many tall mounds of earth, pillar bases for buildings and pottery pits on the site. There are many pieces of red and gray pottery scattered on the ground. About 2 li south of the city, there is a circle of mounds. There is a earthen platform nearby, square, about 3 meters high, about 100 steps around, which seems to be ancient architectural relics. There are a lot of red pottery nearby. More than 10 miles to the south, there is a stone tower, about 60 meters in circumference and about 6 meters in height. It is built of stone and has collapsed. There are many clay pieces scattered around. There is a house site nearby, which is covered by sand. A clay Buddha's head with gold leaves was found here. It is believed that it is the grand temple of Zhai Mo Di described in the biography of FA Xian. In the winter of 1978, a Han Dynasty coin cellar was found in a temple site, and a large number of five coins were unearthed.

Address: West Bank of Yulongkashi River, 25 km southeast of Hotan City

Longitude: 79.895729064941

Latitude: 36.939891815185