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China: Stupa MIII from the west. Miran archaeological site, Xinjiang, November, 2008

Miran is an ancient oasis town located on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in China, along the famous trade route known as the Silk Road where the Lop Nur desert meets the Altun Shan mountains.

Two thousand years ago a river flowed down from the mountain and Miran had a sophisticated irrigation system. Now the area is a sparsely inhabited dusty spot with poor roads and minimal transportation in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.

However, archaeological excavations since the early 20th century have uncovered an extensive Buddhist monastic site from the 2nd to 5th centuries CE, as well as Miran fort which was a Tibetan settlement during the 8th and 9th centuries CE.

The ruins at Miran consist of a large rectangular fort, a monastery ('the Vihara' in Stein's accounts), several stupas and many sun-dried brick constructions, located relatively close to the ancient caravan track to Dunhuang, running west to east.

The many artifacts found in Miran demonstrate the extensive and sophisticated trade connections these ancient towns had with places as far away as the Mediterranean Sea. Archaeological evidence from Miran shows the influence of Buddhism on artistic work as early as the first century BCE. Early Buddhist sculptures and murals excavated from the site show stylistic similarities to the traditions of Central Asia and North India.