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89-697: The Greater Yuezhi initially migrated northwest into the Ili Valley (on the modern borders of China and Kazakhstan), where they reportedly displaced elements of the Sakas . They were driven from the Ili Valley by the Wusun and migrated southward to Sogdia and later settled in Bactria . The Greater Yuezhi have consequently often been identified with peoples mentioned in classical European sources as having overrun

178-560: A Han princess and sent gifts to the Chinese court in expectation that this would occur. After the Han court refused, a Kushan army 70,000 strong marched on Ban Chao in 86 AD. The army was apparently exhausted by the time it reached its objective and was defeated by the Chinese force. The Kushanas retreated and later paid tribute to the Chinese emperor Han He (89–106). In about 120 AD, Kushan troops installed Chenpan—a prince who had been sent as

267-562: A drinking cup out of his skull." ( Shiji 123.) The wife of the murdered king became the new monarch of Greater Yuezhi. Nevertheless, in about 173 BC, the Wusun were apparently defeated by the Yuezhi, who killed a Wusun king known as Nandoumi. After their defeat by the Xiongnu, the Yuezhi split into two groups. The Lesser or Little Yuezhi moved to the "southern mountains", believed to be

356-456: A gross domestic product of ¥8.178 billion. The value of the city's primary sector totaled ¥0.994 billion, its secondary sector totaled ¥1.872 billion, and its tertiary sector totaled ¥5.312 billion. As of 2020, Dunhuang has a gross domestic product of ¥7.778 billion. The value of the city's primary sector totaled ¥1.082 billion, its secondary sector totaled ¥1.752 billion, and its tertiary sector totaled ¥4.943 billion. Dunhuang

445-600: A 24-hour average temperature of −8.3 °C (17.1 °F) in January, while summers are hot, with a July average of 24.6 °C (76.3 °F); the annual mean is 9.48 °C (49.1 °F). The diurnal temperature variation averages 16.1 °C (29.0 °F) annually. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 69% in March to 82% in October, the city receives 3,258 hours of bright sunshine annually, making it one of

534-410: A crushing victory. Modu boasted in a letter (174 BC) to the Han emperor that due to "the excellence of his fighting men, and the strength of his horses, he has succeeded in wiping out the Yuezhi, slaughtering or forcing to submission every number of the tribe." The son of Modu, Laoshang Chanyu (ruled 174–166 BC), subsequently killed the king of the Yuezhi and, in accordance with nomadic traditions, "made

623-580: A fraction of a cent. Women are held in great respect, and the men make decisions on the advice of their women. Zhang Qian also described the remnants of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom on the other side of the Oxus River (Chinese Gui ) as a number of autonomous city-states under Yuezhi suzerainty: Daxia is located over 2,000 li southwest of Dayuan, south of the Gui river. Its people cultivate

712-752: A hostage to them and had become a favorite of the Kushan Emperor—on the throne of Kashgar , thus expanding their power and influence in the Tarim Basin . There they introduced the Brahmi script, the Indian Prakrit language for administration, and Greco-Buddhist art , which developed into Serindian art . Following this territorial expansion, the Kushanas introduced Buddhism to northern and northeastern Asia, by both direct missionary efforts and

801-524: A mountain in the Tian Shan , and that Qilian should be interpreted as a name for the Tian Shan. They have thus placed the original homeland of the Yuezhi 1,000 km further northwest in the grasslands to the north of the Tian Shan (in the northern part of modern Xinjiang ). Other authors suggest that the area identified by Sima Qian was merely the core area of an empire encompassing the western part of

890-627: A pantheon of many deities and became great promoters of Mahayana Buddhism , and their interactions with Greek civilization helped the Gandharan culture and Greco-Buddhism flourish. During the 1st and 2nd centuries, the Kushan Empire expanded militarily to the north and occupied parts of the Tarim Basin , putting them at the center of the lucrative Central Asian commerce with the Roman Empire . The Kushanas collaborated militarily with

979-654: A people that Sima Qian called the Wūzhī , led by a man named Luo. The Wūzhī traded these goods for Chinese silk , which they then sold on to other neighbours. This is probably the first reference to the Yuezhi as a lynchpin in trade on the Silk Road , which in the 3rd century BC began to link Chinese states to Central Asia and, eventually, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Europe. The earliest detailed account of

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1068-1045: A sealed-up cave. Many of these caves were covered with murals and contain many Buddhist statues. Discoveries continue to be found in the caves, including excerpts from a Christian Bible dating to the Yuan dynasty . Numerous smaller Buddhist cave sites are located in the region, including the Western Thousand Buddha Caves , the Eastern Thousands Buddha Caves, and the Five Temple site. The Yulin Caves are located further east in Guazhou County . in Hecang Fortress ( Chinese : 河仓城 ; pinyin : Hécāngchéng ), located about 11 km (6.8 mi) northeast of

1157-716: A year in Transoxiana and Bactria , wrote a detailed account in the Shiji , which gives considerable insight into the situation in Central Asia at the time. Zhang Qian also reported: the Great Yuezhi live 2,000 or 3,000 li [832–1,247 kilometers] west of Dayuan , north of the Gui [ Oxus ] river. They are bordered on the south by Daxia [ Bactria ], on the west by Anxi [ Parthia ], and on

1246-485: Is Qinghai Petroleum Authority Life Base  [ zh ] . Prior to 2015, Guojiabu  [ zh ] and Huangqu  [ zh ] were administered as townships. Prior to 2019, the city administered Guoying Dunhuang Farm  [ zh ] as a township-level division. In 2011, Yueyaquan  [ zh ] was formed from Yangjiaqiao Township ( Chinese : 杨家桥乡 ). 2019 city estimates put Dunhuang's population at about 191,800. According to

1335-467: Is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province , Western China . According to the 2010 Chinese census , the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road and is best known for the nearby Mogao Caves . Dunhuang is situated in an oasis containing Crescent Lake and Mingsha Shan ( 鳴沙山 , meaning "Singing-Sand Mountain"), named after

1424-965: Is a river in Northwest China and Southeastern Kazakhstan . It flows from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to the Almaty Region in Kazakhstan. It is 1,439 kilometres (894 mi) long (including its source river the Tekes), 815 kilometres (506 mi) of which is in Kazakhstan. The river originates from the Tekes and Künes rivers in Eastern Tian Shan . The Ili drains

1513-606: Is also another smaller dam at 43°23′41″N 82°29′20″E  /  43.39472°N 82.48889°E  / 43.39472; 82.48889 , on the border of Tokkuztara and Künes Counties. The Ili is the main watercourse of the Balkhash-Alakol Basin . The region of Kazakhstan partially drained by the Ili and its tributaries is known in Kazakh as Zhetysu ('Seven Rivers'). In Russian it is known as Semirechye (meaning

1602-404: Is also sold, consisting of a large, sweet confection made with nuts and dried fruit , sliced into the portion desired by the customer. Dunhuang has a cool arid climate ( Köppen BWk ), with an annual total precipitation of 67 mm (2.64 in), the majority of which occurs in summer; precipitation occurs only in trace amounts and quickly evaporates. Winters are long and freezing, with

1691-521: Is an important tourist attraction and the subject of an ongoing archaeological project. A large number of manuscripts and artifacts retrieved at Dunhuang have been digitized and made publicly available via the International Dunhuang Project . The spreading Kumtag Desert , the result of long-standing overgrazing of the surrounding land, has reached the edges of the city. In 2011 satellite images showing huge structures in

1780-525: Is called the city of Lanshi and has a market where all sorts of goods are bought and sold. The next mention of the Yuezhi in Chinese sources is found in chapter 96A of the Book of Han (completed in AD 111), relating to the early 1st century BC. At this time, the Yuezhi are described as occupying the whole of Bactria, organized into five major tribes or xīhóu . These tribes were known to the Chinese as: The Book of

1869-554: Is said to have founded the city state of Cumuḍa (now known as Kumul and Hami ) in the eastern Tarim. A fourth group of Lesser Yuezhi may have become part of the Jie people of Shanxi , who established the Later Zhao state of the 4th century AD (although this remains controversial). Many scholars believe that the Yuezhi were an Indo-European people. Although some scholars have associated them with artifacts of extinct cultures in

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1958-672: Is served by China National Highway 215 and Dunhuang Mogao International Airport . A railway branch known as the Dunhuang railway or the Liudun Railway ( 柳敦铁路 ), constructed in 2004–2006, connects Dunhuang with the Liugou Station on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway (in Guazhou County ). There is regular passenger service on the line, with overnight trains from Dunhuang to Lanzhou and Xi'an . Dunhuang Station

2047-920: Is the Asiatic wild ass . The Ili River treaty of 638 AD formalized the division of the Western Turkic Kaganate (552–638 AD) into the Nushibi and the Dulu . It also established the Ili River as the border between the two states. In the 21st century, increasing need for water in both China and Kazakhstan makes the management of the cross-border Ili River a topic of concern for environmentalists and politicians in Kazakhstan (who feel that their country may not get enough water flowing in from China any more). The amount of precipitation in summer reaches 150–250 cubic metres (5,300–8,800 cu ft). On

2136-868: The Records of the Three Kingdoms (chap. 3), it was recorded that in 229 AD, "The king of the Da Yuezhi [Kushanas], Bodiao 波調 ( Vasudeva I ), sent his envoy to present tribute, and His Majesty (Emperor Cao Rui ) granted him the title of King of the Da Yuezhi Intimate with the Wei (Ch: 親魏大月氏王, Qīn Wèi Dà Yuèzhī Wáng )." Ili River The Ili River ( Uyghur : ئىلى دەرياسى , Или Дәряси , Ili Dəryasi ; Kazakh : Ile ; Russian : Или ; Chinese : 伊犁河 , Yīlí Hé ; Dungan : Йили хә , اِلِ حْ ; Mongolian : Или мөрөн , Ili Mörön )

2225-401: The 2010 Chinese census , Dunhuang has a population of 186,027, down slightly from the 187,578 recorded in the 2000 Chinese census . In 1996, the city had an estimated population of 125,000 people. Dunhuang has an urbanization rate of 69.45% as of 2019. In 2019, the city had a birth rate of 9.87‰, and a death rate of 5.69‰, giving it a rate of natural increase of 3.15‰. 97.8% of

2314-624: The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom , like the Tókharoi and Asii . During the 1st century BC, one of the five major Greater Yuezhi tribes in Bactria, the Kushanas , began to subsume the other tribes and neighbouring peoples. The subsequent Kushan Empire , at its peak in the 3rd century AD, stretched from Turfan in the Tarim Basin in the north to Pataliputra on the Gangetic plain of India in

2403-680: The Hellenistic civilization of the Seleucids . The resulting Greco-Bactrian Kingdom lasted until the 2nd century BC. The area came under pressure from various nomadic peoples and the Greek city of Alexandria on the Oxus was apparently burnt to the ground in about 145 BC. The last Greco-Bactrian king, Heliocles I , retreated and moved his capital to the Kabul Valley. In about 140–130 BC,

2492-558: The Irtysh river and the Ural river in terms of water content. The Government of Kazakhstan plans to join the three sanctuaries Balkash, Karoy and Kukan (situated in the delta) into one National Park. Until 1948, the delta was a refuge of the extinct Caspian tiger . An introduction of the Siberian tiger to the delta has been proposed on account that it is a genetically close relative of

2581-1015: The Jaxartes [Syr Darya], opposite the Sacae and Sogdiani . Writing in the 1st century BC, the Roman historian Pompeius Trogus attributed the destruction of the Greco-Bactrian state to the Sacaraucae and the Asiani "kings of the Tochari". Both Pompeius and the Roman historian Justin (2nd century AD) record that the Parthian king Artabanus II was mortally wounded in a war against the Tochari in 124 BC. Several relationships between these tribes and those named in Chinese sources have been proposed, but remain contentious. After they settled in Bactria,

2670-715: The Mogao Caves or " Caves of a Thousand Buddhas. " A number of Christian, Jewish, and Manichaean artifacts have also been found in the caves (see for example Jingjiao Documents ), testimony to the wide variety of people who made their way along the Silk Road. During the time of the Sixteen Kingdoms , Li Gao established the Western Liang here in 400 AD. In 405 the capital of the Western Liang

2759-533: The Oxus , in the region of northern Bactria , or Transoxiana (modern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan ). The Yuezhi were visited in Transoxiana by a Chinese mission, led by Zhang Qian in 126 BC, which sought an offensive alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu. His request for an alliance was denied by the Yuezhi, who now had a peaceful life in Transoxiana and had no interest in revenge. Zhang Qian, who spent

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2848-775: The Qilian Mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau , to live with the Qiang . The so-called Greater or Great Yuezhi began migrating north-west in about 165 BC, first settling in the Ili valley , immediately north of the Tian Shan mountains, where they defeated the Sai (Sakas): "The Yuezhi attacked the king of the Sai who moved a considerable distance to the south and the Yuezhi then occupied his lands" ( Book of Han 61 4B). This

2937-424: The Qing administration in Xinjiang in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It was occupied by Russia from 1871 to 1881 (from the Yaqub Beg rebellion until the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881) ). Presently, the region forms part of Xinjiang's Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture . The main city of the region, Yining (Kulja), is located on the northern side of the river (about 100 kilometres (62 mi) upstream from

3026-409: The Tang Empire became weakened considerably after the An Lushan Rebellion ; and even though it was later returned to Tang rule, it was under quasi-autonomous rule by the local general Zhang Yichao , who expelled the Tibetans in 848. After the fall of Tang, Zhang's family formed the Kingdom of Golden Mountain in 910, but in 911 it came under the influence of the Uighurs . The Zhangs were succeeded by

3115-430: The Yuan dynasty . During the Ming dynasty, China became a major sea power, conducting several voyages of exploration with sea routes for trade and cultural exchanges. Dunhuang went into a steep decline after the Chinese trade with the outside world became dominated by southern sea-routes, and the Silk Road was officially abandoned during the Ming dynasty . It was occupied again by the Tibetans c. 1516, and also came under

3204-418: The 7th year of the Modu era (203 BC). In this war, a large area of the territory originally belonging to the Yuezhi was seized by the Xiongnu and the hegemony of the Yuezhi started to shake. The third war probably was in 176 BC (or shortly before), and the Yuezhi were badly defeated. Shortly before 176 BC, led by one of Modu's tribal chiefs, the Xiongnu invaded Yuezhi territory in the Gansu region and achieved

3293-435: The An Lushan Rebellion. The Sogdians were Sinified to some extent and were bilingual in Chinese and Sogdian , and wrote their documents in Chinese characters , but horizontally from left to right instead of right to left in vertical lines, as Chinese was normally written at the time. Dunhuang was conquered in 1227 by the Mongols , and became part of the Mongol Empire in the wake of Kublai Khan 's conquest of China under

3382-432: The Cao family, who formed alliances with the Uighurs and the Kingdom of Khotan . During the Song dynasty , Dunhuang fell outside the Chinese borders. In 1036 the Tanguts who founded the Western Xia dynasty captured Dunhuang. From the reconquest of 848 to about 1036 (i.e. era of the Guiyi Circuit ), Dunhuang was a multicultural entrepot that contained one of the largest ethnic Sogdian communities in China following

3471-441: The Caspian tiger. A large population of wild boar , the main prey base of the Caspian tiger, can be still found in the delta. There is also a small population of roe deer. In the drier steppes to the south of the delta live saiga antelopes and goitered gazelles . Reintroduction of the Bactrian deer , another prey of the Caspian tiger, is currently under consideration. Another potential prey species considered to be reintroduced

3560-422: The Chinese against their mutual enemies. This included a campaign with the Chinese general Ban Chao against the Sogdians in 84 CE, when the latter were trying to support a revolt by the king of Kashgar . In around AD 85, the Kushanas also assisted the Chinese in an attack on Turpan , east of the Tarim Basin. Following the military support provided to the Han, the Kushan emperor requested a marriage alliance with

3649-440: The Dayuezhi people, Wusun people, and Saizhong people (Chinese name for Scythians). As Dayuezhi became stronger, it absorbed the Qiang tribes. By the third century BC, the area became dominated by the Xiongnu , but came under Chinese rule during the Han dynasty after Emperor Wu defeated the Xiongnu in 121 BC . Dunhuang was one of the four frontier garrison towns (along with Jiuquan , Zhangye and Wuwei ) established by

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3738-442: The Emperor Wu after the defeat of the Xiongnu, and the Chinese built fortifications at Dunhuang and sent settlers there. The name Dunhuang, meaning "Blazing Beacon", refers to the beacons lit to warn of attacks by marauding nomadic tribes. Dunhuang Commandery was probably established shortly after 104 BC. Located in the western end of the Hexi Corridor near the historic junction of the Northern and Southern Silk Roads , Dunhuang

3827-399: The Greco-Bactrian state was conquered by the nomads and dissolved. The Greek geographer Strabo mentions this event in his account of the central Asian tribes he called " Scythians ": All, or the greatest part of them, are nomads. The best known tribes are those who deprived the Greeks of Bactriana : the Asii, Pasiani, Tochari, and Sacarauli, who came from the country on the other side of

3916-423: The Indian subcontinent, founding the Kushan Empire , which was to rule the region for several centuries. Despite their change of name, most Chinese authors continued to refer to the Kushanas as the Yuezhi. The Kushanas expanded to the east during the 1st century AD. The first Kushan emperor, Kujula Kadphises , ostensibly associated himself with King Hermaeus on his coins. The Kushanas integrated Buddhism into

4005-557: The Kash River ( 喀什河 ), in Nilka County , at 43°51′40″N 82°50′52″E  /  43.86111°N 82.84778°E  / 43.86111; 82.84778 and 43°51′14″N 82°48′08″E  /  43.85389°N 82.80222°E  / 43.85389; 82.80222 . At least two dams have been constructed on the Ili's left tributary, the Tekes River, and the Qiapuqihai Hydropower Station ( 恰甫其海水电站 ) in Tokkuztara County ( 43°18′14″N 82°29′05″E  /  43.30389°N 82.48472°E  / 43.30389; 82.48472 ). There

4094-407: The Later Han (5th century CE) also records the visit of Yuezhi envoys to the Chinese capital in 2 BC, who gave oral teachings on Buddhist sutras to a student, suggesting that some Yuezhi already followed the Buddhist faith during the 1st century BC (Baldev Kumar 1973). Chapter 88 of the Book of the Later Han relies on a report of Ban Yong , based on the campaigns of his father Ban Chao in

4183-449: The Mongolian plain, the upper reaches of the Yellow River , the Tarim Basin and possibly much of central Asia, including the Altai Mountains , the site of the Pazyryk burials of the Ukok Plateau . By the late 3rd century the Xiongnu monarch Touman even sent his eldest son Modu as a hostage to the Yuezhi. The Yuezhi often attacked their neighbour the Wusun to acquire slaves and pasture lands. Wusun originally lived together with

4272-411: The Silk Road. Dunhuang was the intersection city of all three main silk routes (north, central, south) during this time. From the West also came early Buddhist monks, who had arrived in China by the first century AD, and a sizable Buddhist community eventually developed in Dunhuang. The caves carved out by the monks, originally used for meditation, developed into a place of worship and pilgrimage called

4361-441: The Southern Region"], a now-lost 3rd-century text from the Wu kingdom ), describes the Kushans as living in the same general area north of India, in cities of Greco-Roman style, and with sophisticated handicraft. The quotes are dubious, as Wan Zhen probably never visited the Yuezhi kingdom through the Silk Road , though he might have gathered his information from the trading ports in the coastal south. Chinese sources continued to use

4450-435: The Tarim Basin, such as the Tarim mummies and texts recording the Tocharian languages , there is no evidence for any such link. Three pre-Han texts mention peoples who appear to be the Yuezhi, albeit under slightly different names. In the 1st century BC, Sima Qian – widely regarded as the founder of Chinese historiography – describes how the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) bought jade and highly valued military horses from

4539-630: The Western-Han-era Yumen Pass , were built during the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and significantly rebuilt during the Western Jin (280–316 AD). Dunhuang Night Market is a night market held on the main thoroughfare, Dong Dajie, in the city centre of Dunhuang, popular with tourists during the summer months. Many souvenir items are sold, including such typical items as jade , jewelry, scrolls, hangings, small sculptures, leather shows puppets, coins, Tibetan horns and Buddha statues. A sizable number of members of China's ethnic minorities engage in business at these markets. A Central Asian dessert or sweet

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4628-448: The Xiongnu. As their soldiers numbered more than a hundred thousand, they were strong and despised the Xiongnu. In the past, they lived in the region between Dunhuang and Qilian . The area between the Qilian Mountains and Dunhuang lies in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu , but no archaeological remains of the Yuezhi have yet been found in this area. Some scholars have argued that "Dunhuang" should be Dunhong ,

4717-427: The Yuezhi became Hellenized to some degree – as shown by their adoption of the Greek alphabet and by some remaining coins, minted in the style of the Greco-Bactrian kings, with the text in Greek. According to Sergey Yatsenko, the carpets with vivid embroidered scenes discovered in Noin-Ula were made by the Yuezhi in Bactria , and were obtained by the Xiongnu through commercial exchange or tributary payment, as

4806-422: The Yuezhi copied the coinage of Hermeaus on a vast scale, up to around 40 AD, when the design blends into the coinage of the Kushan king Kujula Kadphises . Such coins may provide the earliest known names of Yuezhi yabgu (a minor royal title, similar to prince), namely Sapadbizes and/or Agesiles , who both lived in or about 20 BC. After that point, they extended their control over the northwestern area of

4895-408: The Yuezhi in the region between Dunhuang and Qilian Mountain. The Yuezhi attacked the Wusuns, killed their monarch Nandoumi and took his territory. The son of Nandoumi, Kunmo fled to the Xiongnu and was brought up by the Xiongnu monarch. Gradually the Xiongnu grew stronger, and war broke out with the Yuezhi. There were at least four wars according to the Chinese accounts. The first war broke out during

4984-589: The Yuezhi is found in chapter 123 of the Records of the Great Historian by Sima Qian , describing a mission of Zhang Qian in the late 2nd century BC. Essentially the same text appears in chapter 61 of the Book of Han , though Sima Qian has added occasional words and phrases to clarify the meaning. Both texts use the name Yuèzhī , composed of characters meaning "moon" and "clan" respectively. Several different romanizations of this Chinese-language name have appeared in print. The Iranologist H. W. Bailey preferred Üe-ṭşi . Another modern Chinese pronunciation of

5073-414: The Yuezhi may have remained tributaries of the Xiongnu for a long time following their defeat. Embroidered carpets were among the highest-prized luxury items for the Xiongnu. The figures depicted in the carpets are believed to reflect the clothing and customs of the Yuezhi while they were in Bactria in the 1st century BCE-1st century CE. The graves of Tillya Tepe , complete with numerous artifacts, dated to

5162-416: The Yuezhi. The area of Bactria they settled came to be known as Tokharistan . Because some inhabitants of Bactria became known as Tukhāra (Sanskrit) or Tókharoi (Τοχάριοι; Greek), these names later became associated with the Yuezhi. The Kushana spoke Bactrian , an Eastern Iranian language . In the 3rd century BC, Bactria had been conquered by the Greeks under Alexander the Great and since settled by

5251-417: The area. According to Bopearachchi , no trace of Indo-Scythian occupation (nor coins of major Indo-Scythian rulers such as Maues or Azes I ) have been found in the Paropamisade and western Gandhara . The Hindu Kush may have been subsumed by the Yuezhi, who by then had been dominated by Greco-Bactria for almost two centuries. As they had done in Bactria with their copying of Greco-Bactrian coinage,

5340-444: The basin between the Tian Shan and the Borohoro Mountains . Flowing into Lake Balkhash , the Ili forms a large delta with vast wetland regions of lakes, marshes and vegetation. The river's name is usually taken to derive from Mongolian il ( ил , "open, clear, obvious") in reference to its wide central valley. It is also variously derived from Persian or Iranian terms meaning "big river" or "murky" in reference to

5429-416: The book, the author defines it in the following way: "Ili, the name of a river. Turkic tribes of Yaghma , Tokhsi and Chiglig live on its banks. Turkish countries regard the river as their Jayhoun ( Amu Darya )." The upper Ili Valley is separated from the Dzungarian Basin in the north by the Borohoro Mountains, and from the Tarim Basin in the south by the Tian Shan . This region was the stronghold of

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5518-431: The city's population is ethnically Han Chinese , with the remaining 2.2% being 27 ethnic minorities , including ethnic Hui , Mongol , Tibetan , Uyghur , Miao , Manchu , Monguor , Kazakh , Dongxiang , and Yugur populations. As of 2019, the annual per capita disposable income of urban residents was ¥36,215, and the annual per capita disposable income of rural residents was ¥18,852. As of 2019, Dunhuang has

5607-406: The county-level city of Dunhuang is part of the prefecture-level city of Jiuquan . Historically, the city and/or its surrounding region has also been known by the names Shazhou (prefecture of sand) or Guazhou (prefecture of melons). In the modern era, the two alternative names have been assigned respectively to Shazhou zhen (Shazhou town) which serves as Dunhuang's seat of government, and to

5696-436: The desert near Dunhuang surfaced online and caused a brief media stir. A number of Buddhist cave sites are located in the Dunhuang area, the most important of these is the Mogao Caves which is located 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Dunhuang. There are 735 caves in Mogao, and the caves in Mogao are particularly noted for their Buddhist art, as well as the hoard of manuscripts, the Dunhuang manuscripts , found hidden in

5785-407: The influence of the Chagatai Khanate in the early sixteenth century. Dunhuang was retaken by China two centuries later c. 1715 during the Qing dynasty , and the present-day city of Dunhuang was established east of the ruined old city in 1725. In 1988, Dunhuang was elevated from county to county-level city status. On March 31, 1995, Turpan and Dunhuang became sister cities. Today, the site

5874-404: The international border). Until the early 1900s, the city was commonly known under the same name as the river, 伊犁 ( Pinyin : Yīlí ; Wade-Giles : Ili ). Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County in located on the southern side, which is home to many of China's Xibe people (who resettled there in the 18th century as part of the Manchu Garrison). There are at least two dams on the Ili's tributary,

5963-448: The land and have cities and houses. Their customs are like those of Ta-Yuan. It has no great ruler but only a number of petty chiefs ruling the various cities. The people are poor in the use of arms and afraid of battle, but they are clever at commerce. After the Great Yuezhi moved west and attacked the lands, the entire country came under their sway. The population of the country is large, numbering some 1,000,000 or more persons. The capital

6052-418: The late 1st century AD. It reports that one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi, the Guishuang , had managed to take control of the tribal confederation: More than a hundred years later, the xihou of Guishuang, named Qiujiu Que attacked and exterminated the four other xihou . He set himself up as king of a kingdom called Guishuang (Kushan). He invaded Anxi ( Parthia ) and took the Gaofu region. He also defeated

6141-490: The name Yuezhi and seldom used the Kushan (or Guishuang ) as a generic term: The Great Yuezhi are located about seven thousand li [2,910 km] north of India. Their land is at a high altitude; the climate is dry; the region is remote. The king of the state calls himself "son of heaven". There are so many riding horses in that country that the number often reaches several hundred thousand. City layouts and palaces are quite similar to those of Daqin [the Roman Empire]. The skin of

6230-408: The name is Ròuzhī , based on the thesis that the character 月 in the name is a scribal error for 肉 ; however Thierry considers this thesis "thoroughly wrong". The account begins with the Yuezhi occupying the grasslands to the northwest of China at the beginning of the 2nd century BC: The Great Yuezhi was a nomadic horde. They moved about following their cattle, and had the same customs as those of

6319-413: The neighboring Guazhou County . A number of derivations of the name Dunhuang have been suggested by scholars: There is evidence of habitation in the area as early as 2,000 BC, possibly by people recorded as the Qiang in Chinese history. According to Zuo Zhuan and Book of the Later Han , the Dunhuang region was a part of the ancient Guazhou, which was known for its production of melons. Its name

6408-618: The north by Kangju [beyond the middle Jaxartes /Syr Darya]. They are a nation of nomads , moving from place to place with their herds, and their customs are like those of the Xiongnu. They have some 100,000 or 200,000 archer warriors. In a sweeping analysis of the physical types and cultures of Central Asia, Zhang Qian reports: Although the states from Dayuan west to Anxi (Parthia), speak rather different languages, their customs are generally similar and their languages mutually intelligible. The men have deep-set eyes and profuse beards and whiskers. They are skilful at commerce and will haggle over

6497-478: The people there is reddish white. People are skilful at horse archery. Local products, rarities, treasures, clothing, and upholstery are very good, and even India cannot compare with it. The Central Asian people who called themselves Kushana , were among the conquerors of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom during the 2nd century BC, and are widely believed to have originated as a dynastic clan or tribe of

6586-735: The period between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE, probably belonged to the Yuezhis/early Kushans after the fall of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and before the rise of the Kushan Empire . They correspond to a time when the Yuezhis had not yet encountered Buddhism. The area of the Hindu Kush ( Paropamisadae ) was ruled by the western Indo-Greek king until the reign of Hermaeus (reigned c.  90 BC –70 BC). After that date, no Indo-Greek kings are known in

6675-433: The reign of the Xiongnu monarch Touman (who died in 209 BC) who suddenly attacked the Yuezhi. The Yuezhi wanted to kill Modu, the son of the Xiongnu king Touman kept as a hostage to them, but Modu stole a good horse from them and managed to escape to his country. He subsequently killed his father and became ruler of the Xiongnu. It appears that the Xiongnu did not defeat the Yuezhi in this first war. The second war took place in

6764-483: The river, the most popular type of fishing is fishing of catfish, one of the largest aquatic predators, which may reach 5 meters (16 ft) in length and weigh up to 300 kilograms (660 lb). Smaller specimens are usually within 50–100 kilograms (110–220 lb). The main tributaries of the Ili are, from source to mouth: 45°24′N 74°08′E  /  45.400°N 74.133°E  / 45.400; 74.133 Dunhuang Dunhuang ( listen )

6853-657: The same). The Kapshagay Hydroelectric Power Plant was constructed between 1965 and 1970 near Kapchagay in the middle reaches of the Ili River. This currently comprises the Kapchagay Reservoir , an artificial 110 kilometres (70 mi) long lake north of Almaty . The Tamgaly-Tas, a protected site that comprises rock drawings , is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) downstream along the Ili River. The name Tamgaly in Kazakh means "painted" or "marked place", and Tas means "stone". The Ili River flows into

6942-480: The sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the singing sand phenomenon. Dunhuang commands a strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern Silk Route and the main road leading from India via Lhasa to Mongolia and southern Siberia , and also controls the entrance to the narrow Hexi Corridor , which leads straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an) and Luoyang . Administratively,

7031-611: The south. The Kushanas played an important role in the development of trade on the Silk Road and the introduction of Buddhism to China . The Lesser Yuezhi migrated southward to the edge of the Tibetan Plateau . Some are reported to have settled among the Qiang people in Qinghai , and to have been involved in the Liang Province Rebellion (184–221 AD) against the Eastern Han dynasty . Another group of Yuezhi

7120-934: The southeastern edge of Lake Balkhash , where it forms a large delta of about 8,000 square kilometres (3,100 sq mi). The delta is situated between the Saryesik-Atyrau Desert and the Taukum Desert. An area of 9,766 km (3,771 sq mi) within the delta has been designated as a Ramsar Site . This site has 427 species of plants and 345 species of animals, including important populations of rare species ( Dalmatian pelican , goitered gazelle , marbled polecat , white-headed duck , red-breasted goose , ship sturgeon , and others). The delta has also become popular amongst anglers for its wels catfish , which can grow up to over 300 lb (140 kg). The Ili river ranks third in Kazakhstan after

7209-747: The sunniest nationwide. The Gansu Dunhuang Solar Park was built in the southwest suburbs of the city to harvest the abundant solar energy. As of 2020, Dunhuang administers nine towns and one other township-level division . These township-level divisions then administer 56 village-level divisions . The city's nine towns are Qili  [ zh ] (七里镇), Shazhou  [ zh ] (沙州镇), Suzhou  [ zh ] (肃州镇), Mogao  [ zh ] (莫高镇), Zhuanqukou  [ zh ] (转渠口镇), Yangguan  [ zh ] (阳关镇), Yueyaquan  [ zh ] (月牙泉镇), Guojiabu  [ zh ] (郭家堡镇), and Huangqu  [ zh ] (黄渠镇). The city's sole other township-level division

7298-476: The translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. Major Kushan missionaries and translators included Lokaksema (born c.  147 CE ) and Dharmaraksa ( c.  233  – c.  311 ), both of whom were influential translators of the Mahayana sutras into Chinese. They went to China and established translation bureaus, thereby being at the center of the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism . In

7387-591: The water's condition at the confluence of the Kunges and Tekes. Some Uyghur scholars derive it from Uyghur il ("hook") after the supposed similarity in the river's shape. Tourist websites sometimes claim the name descends from a Mongolian word meaning "shimmering". Mentions of Ili river can be traced back to the Mahmud al-Kashgari 's dictionary of Turkic languages, the Dīwānu l-Luġat al-Turk (written in 1072–74). In

7476-506: The west gratefully looked upon the mirage-like sight of Dunhuang's walls, which signified safety and comfort. Dunhuang prospered on the heavy flow of traffic. The first Buddhist caves in the Dunhuang area were hewn in 353." During the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties, it was the main stop of communication between ancient China and the rest of the world and a major hub of commerce of

7565-791: The whole of the kingdoms of Puda and Jibin. Qiujiu Que (Kujula Kadphises) was more than eighty years old when he died. His son, Yan Gaozhen ( Vima Takto ), became king in his place. He returned and defeated Tianzhu (Northwestern India) and installed a General to supervise and lead it. The Yuezhi then became extremely rich. All the kingdoms call [their king] the Guishuang (Kushan) king, but the Han call them by their original name, Da Yuezhi. A later Chinese annotation in Zhang Shoujie's Shiji (quoting Wan Zhen 萬震 in Nánzhōuzhì 南州志 ["Strange Things from

7654-470: Was "the first historically recorded movement of peoples originating in the high plateaus of Asia." In 132 BC the Wusun , in alliance with the Xiongnu and out of revenge from an earlier conflict, again managed to dislodge the Yuezhi from the Ili Valley, forcing them to move south-west. The Yuezhi passed through the neighbouring urban civilization of Dayuan (in Ferghana ) and settled on the northern bank of

7743-415: Was a town of military importance. "The Great Wall was extended to Dunhuang, and a line of fortified beacon towers stretched westwards into the desert. By the second century AD Dunhuang had a population of more than 76,000 and was a key supply base for caravans that passed through the city: those setting out for the arduous trek across the desert loaded up with water and food supplies, and others arriving from

7832-718: Was also mentioned in relation to the homeland of the Yuezhi in the Records of the Grand Historian . Some have argued that this may refer to the unrelated toponym Dunhong – the archaeologist Lin Meicun has also suggested that Dunhuan may be a Chinese name for the Tukhara , a people widely believed to be a Central Asian offshoot of the Yuezhi. During the Warring States period, the inhabitants of Dunhuang included

7921-591: Was moved from Dunhuang to Jiuquan . In 421 the Western Liang was conquered by the Northern Liang . As a frontier town, Dunhuang was fought over and occupied at various times by non-Han people. After the fall of the Han dynasty it came under the rule of various nomadic tribes, such as the Xiongnu during Northern Liang and the Turkic Tuoba during Northern Wei . The Tibetans occupied Dunhuang when

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