Loulan, an ancient western country, was later Shanshan, and now it only exists. Around the end of the 4th century, Loulan City was finally abandoned. Loulan Kingdom starts near Guyangguan in the east, reaches the ancient city of Niya in the west, reaches Altun Mountain in the south and Hami in the north. Loulan Ancient City now belongs to Ruoqiang County, Bayinguoleng Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with a straight line distance of 220 kilometers.
Archaeologists have redefined the location of Loulan ancient city as 89 55' 22 "east longitude and 40 29' 55" north latitude. The four walls are about 330 meters long, with a total area of 10.82 million square meters, which is basically square. The tallest building in the city is a stupa, which is10.4m high and located in the east of the city. The tower is made of adobe and wood.
The tower foundation is square, and each side is about19.5m long. The most prominent architectural relic in the city is the "three rooms" in the middle, and the walls of these three rooms are the only ones made of adobe in the city. From the analysis of the location and structure of this group of buildings, this may be the official residence of Loulan ancient city.
There is a relic of an ancient river that runs through the city from east to west, which may be the water channel for the residents of Guloulan City. There is a beacon tower 5 kilometers northwest of the ancient city, which is 12 meters high and made of mud and wood. The southwest of the city is a residential area, which has collapsed. Most of the walls are two rows of red willows with mud, reinforced with reed ropes, and then plastered with mud outside. There are also some Buddhist temples, beacon towers and other sites, relics and ancient tombs around the city.
Loulan cultural value
Loulan, located in the throat of the Silk Road, is the main trunk line of the original Silk Road. When businessmen arrive in Loulan, they should consider choosing the westbound route as appropriate, whether to take the north road or turn south to the south road. It can be seen that the geographical location of Loulan at that time was more important and it was the hub at that time. Therefore, the cultures of different countries and nationalities gather here.
Various cultures learn from each other in the local area, thus forming a variety of Loulan culture. For example, the way that King Shanshan was crowned with a series of honorary titles originated from the imperial edict of the ancient Persian emperor, and Wang Mingxian imitated the title of Guishuang. People in China have the habit of writing on bamboo slips, but many foreign characters in unearthed wooden slips are also written on bamboo slips: Bolu wooden slips and Wentong wooden slips, which are the fusion of two cultures here.
At the same time, many traces of different cultural integration have been excavated. In terms of language, Loulan culture also shows positive absorption. According to the Biography of Faxian, "laity and shaman all over the world practice Tianzhu Dharma, but their skills are excellent. From then on (Shanshan) went west, and all the countries it passed through were like this. But the national dialects are different, but the monks all learn Tianzhu characters and Tianzhu. "