Atlas of China
Khara-Khoto (Heicheng) 黑城遗址Hēichéng Yízhǐ
4A scenic area · National heritage site · Alxa, Inner Mongolia
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Days to budget
- Half a day
- City
- Alxa
- Region
- Inner Mongolia
- Type
- Heritage
- Listed as
- 4A scenic area, National heritage site
About Khara-Khoto (Heicheng)
Khara-Khoto, or Heicheng ('Black City'), is a ruined walled city in the Gobi beside the Ejin River, founded under the Western Xia and expanded under the Yuan, when it was the seat of Yijinai Circuit; it was abandoned after the Ming army took it in 1372. Its rammed-earth walls, about 450 by 380 metres and up to 9 metres high, still stand around the foundations of Buddhist, Taoist and Islamic buildings, though drifting sand has buried parts of the interior. Russian and British expeditions in the early 20th century carried off large numbers of Tangut-language manuscripts and Buddhist paintings.
How to get to Khara-Khoto (Heicheng)
About 24 km south-south-east of Dalaihubu, the Ejin Banner seat.
Nearby
- Ejin Poplar Forest 额济纳胡杨林 20 km
Golden Euphrates poplars along a Gobi river, at their best for three weeks in October
On the map
Open Khara-Khoto (Heicheng) on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it and what else is close, and to add it to a trip.
Open Khara-Khoto (Heicheng) on the map