Uygur guardian Yasen has more to fear than tomb raiders at the historic site of Loulan, an ancient Chinese civilization that suddenly vanished along the Silk Road in northwest China about 2,000 years ago.

"Tomb raiders are nothing to fear," said the guardian, "the most horrible thing for us is lack of visitors."

"We all hope someone will pass by every day since we three guardians have nothing new to talk about," he said.

Someone did come since the Loulan Cultural Relics Protection Station moved from the historic site of Loulan City to its current place in May after a tomb was robbed in February.

"We have caught four tomb raiders since we moved here, two from Turpan and two from Henan Province," said Jiao Yingxin, one of the three guardians.

Two simple underground caves that they call "home," two vehicles serving as their barracks and one shabby jeep are the guardians' property at the station located about 300 kilometers to the northwest of Qarilik (Ruoqiang) County in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Their only entertainment is drinking liquor since they cannot watch any TV programs or listen to the radio because neither electricity nor radio signals penetrate the desolate desert.

"It would have been terrible had there been no alcohol here!" said Meng Hangao, formerly of the Qarilik County Bureau of Culture and Sports.

"I was not much of a drinker before I came here," said Meng, who traveled some 300 kilometers from the county town to join the other two guardians. "More drinks, less heartache."

"Food and fuel are transported here from the county town every two weeks," Meng said. "We didn't expect the vegetables to be still fresh."

Located on the eastern fringe of the vast, desolate Taklimakan Desert in southern Xinjiang, Loulan was one of the 36 Western Regions states in Chinese history, situated at the junction of the southern and northern routes of the world-famous ancient Silk Road.

The site of the ancient Loulan Kingdom, now legendary for its splendor, has enthralled the world since its discovery at the beginning of the 20th century.

The heyday of Loulan City, capital of the kingdom also known as Kroraina to some Westerners, has been heralded by scholars as the "dawn of civilization in the Middle Ages."

"The cemetery we are guarding is quite different from the historic site of Loulan City," Meng said. "Most of the mausoleums here have not been excavated."

Though the guardians carefully watch the tombs built about 2,000 years ago, they have no idea about what exactly is buried underground.

"We only know they are treasures," said Jiao, who has been guarding the tombs since 1998.

"In fact, we are doing our best to protect the national treasures and wait for somebody to come here," Meng said. "We feel too insignificant ourselves to face a desert of hundreds of square kilometers."

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