Ancient city of axpili

Ancient city of axpili

Akspili ancient city is located in the sand dunes to the north of Luopu County, 54 kilometers away from Hotan. The earliest age of the site is about the 2nd century BC. Akspili Uighur language means "white city wall". The perimeter of the city wall is about 7-8 kilometers, most of which have been buried by quicksand or eroded by wind. Now only 93.6 meters are left. The height of the city wall is 5 meters, the width of the bottom is 25 meters, the width of the top is 15 meters, and there are crenels at the top. Unearthed cultural relics include ancient coins, pottery, small gold Buddha statues, as well as some Sanskrit and Brahmi documents. In 1901 and 1906, Stein came here twice for Archaeology and excavation, and carried away a large number of cultural relics. In 1929, Professor Huang Wencong found a Khotan horse coin here, which is the only one left in China.

In 1957, the ancient city of akspili was designated as a key cultural relic protection unit in the autonomous region.

Address: in the sand dunes to the north of Luopu County, 54 km away from Hotan

Longitude: 80.165565490723

Latitude: 37.209915161133