Loulan

Loulan (樓蘭; pinyin: Lóulán) is an ancient town founded in the second century BC on the north-eastern edge of the Taklamakan desert. Loulan was an ancient kingdom along China's Silk Road in Xinjiang. The ruins of Loulan are on what were the western banks of Lop Nur, in the Ruoqiang county of the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, now completely submerged in the desert (approximate coordinates, {{coor dm|40|9|N|89|5|E}}).

Related Topics:
Pinyin - Second century BC - Taklamakan - Silk Road - Xinjiang - Lop Nur - Ruoqiang - Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A 3,800-year-old female mummy (circa 1600 BC) was discovered in Loulan in 1980 (see ), suggesting an even earlier inhabitation of the region.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 55 BC the area became a Chinese puppet state, called Shanshan. The Tarim River, which supported the settlement, subsequently changed course, and by the sixth century the city was abandoned.

Related Topics:
55 BC - Chinese - Shanshan - Tarim River - Sixth century

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~