New society formed for study of "Loulan" ( 2003-07-21 09:36) (China Daily)
A new society for the study of Loulan, the city known as "China's Pompeii in
the desert," has been formed in Korla of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region.
Pompeii is the Italian town that was buried under volcanic ash nearly 2,000
years ago. Loulan, with a history of about 2,000 years, is the site of the ruins
of the ancient Kingdom of Kroraina. It was discovered by a Swedish archeologist
in 1900.
Situated on the eastern tip of the Taklamakan Desert in southern Xinjiang,
Loulan was a booming city at the juncture of the southern and northern routes of
the ancient Silk Road some 2,000 years ago.
Studies of Loulan have grown in popularity because it holds an important
position in the cultural exchange between the East and the West and for the vast
number of cultural relics found there, said Mu Shuying, a research fellow with
the Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute of Xinjiang.
The new society, unveiled on July 8, is modelled on a similar research
association based in Bazhou, also in Xinjiang.
He Dexiu, secretary-general with the newly established Xinjiang Loulan
Research Society, said the new society would specialize in studies of some 20
aspects of Xinjiang's Lop Nur Lake area, ranging from politics, economics,
military affairs and language to agriculture, transportation and ecology.
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