They heyday of Loulan city, capital of the kingdom also known as Kroraina, has been heralded by scholars as the "dawn of civilization in the Middle Ages".

Located at the eastern fringe of the vast, desolate Taklimakan Desert in southern Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region, in northwest China, it was one of the 36 Western Regions states in Chinese history, situated at the juncture of the southern and northern routes of the world-famous ancient Silk Road.

The first reference to the Loulan kingdom was found in "History", a masterpiece by Sima Qian, a distinguished historian in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD). According to ensuing historical records, the kingdom reached its climax during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220).

By that time, it had become a trading hub on the thriving Silk Road, dealing mainly trade in silk from interior areas, glass from Fergana, and perfume from Parthia, both of which were leading central Asian countries whose coins were accepted and in circulation in Loulan.

The kingdom, however, was buried by shifting sands during the fourth century and disappeared from historical records until it was rediscovered at early last century by Sven Herdin, a prestigious Swedish explorer, on the western bank of Lop Nur Lake.

Lop Nur Lake, now a lake of vast sand dunes instead of water and a renowned wildness, has become a legend. Light whispers first described by Sven Herdin seem to be heard in its hinterland, and is also a challenge, as some modern Chinese scholars and explorers, including Peng Jiamu and Yu Chunshun, lost their lives in its desert.

During the century following the ancient site's discovery, explorers, historians and archeologists, from both abroad and inside China, came to visit the site. A Loulan craze has even been ignited in the wake of growth in Xinjiang's tourism over the past few years.

Covering an area of about 100,000 square meters, the ancient Loulan city was surrounded by a vast area of splendor. Inside there are sites teemed with ruins of offices, residential houses, as well as Buddhist pagodas and temples.

In the suburbs, there are dried river tunnels and withered diversiform-leaved poplar woods. Moreover. large quantities of potsherds, coins, jewelry, and wooden and paper documents are included in the archaeologist finds of the city.

The find of a well-preserved female mummy with Caucasian features was nicknamed "Loulan Beauty" by scholars.

A wealth of enigmas remain to be solved about Loulan, said Mu Shunying, a noted woman archeologist in her 60s with the Xinjiang Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology.

Much research has been made on the origin, development and fall of ancient Loulan over the past century. Many specialists have probed into its origin and growth from the exploration of the Silk Road and eastward spread of Buddhism, while others have been working hard to search clues to its decline from environmental and climate changes, Mu says.

An archeological team left Thursday for a field inspection of tombs in a 50-km circumference around the ruined ancient city and to investigate tombs that were reported by local media earlier in the month as having been robbed and destroyed.

(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2003)