Object description

The Astana Cemetery is an ancient cemetery 37 kilometers southeast of Turpan, in Xinjiang, China, 6 kilometres from the ancient city of Gaochang. It served mainly as the cemetery for the descendants of Chinese settlers in Gaochang from the 4th century to the first half of the 8th century. The complex covers 10 square kilometres and contains over 1,000 tombs. Due to the arid environment many important artifacts have been well preserved at the tombs, including natural mummies.