1.
During my trip to Turpan that year, the most memorable thing for me was the Jiaohe Ancient City. The Jiaohe Ancient City under the sunset had an unspeakable tragic beauty. There is a poem in Li Qi's "Ancient Military March" that says "climb the mountain to watch the beacon fire during the day, and drink horses by the Jiaohe River at dusk." With this thought in mind, I came to the gate of the old city of Jiaohe. The ancient city is located on a 30-meter-high cliff platform called Yarnaiz Valley. When viewed from a high altitude, it looks like a willow leaf. The whole city is about 1650 meters long and about 300 meters at its widest point. Because there are two rivers flowing around the city, it is named Jiaohe City.
2.
The highest military and political organization of the Anxi Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty was located in Jiaohe City. The central part of the city was the official area. You can imagine the majesty of the generals and sergeants back then. It is located independently on a relatively high platform and is surrounded by courtyard walls. Different from the majestic palaces in ancient Chinese cities, its main buildings are all underground. This kind of underground accommodation can certainly withstand Turpan's overly hot climate.
3.
The dry and drier climate of Turpan has preserved the shape of the ancient city as if it were reproduced. A central avenue running through the north and south divides the old city into east and west parts. The broken walls on both sides show the courtyards of early and late residents and scattered handicraft workshops, and the streets and lanes connected vertically and horizontally can be vaguely discerned. The 10-meter-high cliffs on the three sides of the city and the 100-meter river below the city form a natural moat. Such a situation is naturally difficult to attack and easy to defend, and is impregnable. I walked to the edge of the cliff on the high platform and saw the lush green trees at the foot of the cliff, which was in complete contrast to the yellow dust blocking the sun on the high platform.
4.
The north of the city is a temple area. The temple is lined with monks' rooms, and each wing is dug from the ground to the center of the earth, like a basement. Here, too, the morning bells at dawn and the mist and drums at dusk made the earthly island, barren of grass, seem as magnificent as heaven. The ancient wells in the city are thirty meters deep and lead directly to the river bed, but now the river water is almost no more than a trickle.
5.
I walked slowly along the yellow brick path and looked around, and unknowingly arrived at the east gate. The east gate is the best-preserved gate in Jiaohe City and is also the main passage for residents to enter and exit the city. When we left the old city, it was almost eight o'clock. The dark and silent old city at dusk, behind me, quietly conveys the undercurrent of waves. The indescribable feeling spreads out one after another with the yellow color everywhere, and everything will eventually be silent behind me. The world is like dust, life is so limited, and a thousand years pass in the blink of an eye. All we can control is the time before we become dust.