The unsolved mystery of the world: why did the ancient kingdom of Loulan disappear? What's so mysterious about its location?

"Gold wears golden armor in a hundred battles, and Loulan will never be returned if it is not broken",

"The Ming Dynasty star galloped to seal the sword, and resigned from the king to take Loulan overnight",

"Both drop the whip and go hunting to Loulan".

Loulan Ruins

There are many poems describing Loulan throughout the ages, and under the brushstrokes of these poets, a magnificent and splendid ancient country is even more vivid on the paper, but Loulan has been submerged in the long river of history long before these poems appeared. The reason for the disappearance is even more diverse, and its geographical location is Lop Nur, known as "China's Bermuda". There must be nothing but a desert and the bones of many beasts. So why is Loulan in history? Disappeared, and what is so special about this prestigious ancient country? And what magical unsolved mysteries will it have?

The city of death is the hometown of beautiful women

Loulan, located in Lop Nur, has been known as the hometown of beautiful women since ancient times. This legend was confirmed by the excavation of a female corpse. In the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum, there is a female corpse unearthed in a cemetery in the Tiebanhe delta in the northern part of the ancient city of Loulan. This beauty, with deep eye sockets, a high nose bridge and a pointed chin, is very beautiful. She has a history of more than 3,800 years. She is the famous "Loulan Beauty" on the Silk Road. The appearance of Loulan beauty has given archaeologists and historians new insights into the development and disappearance of the ancient city of Loulan.

Loulan Ruins

Through the anatomy of the Loulan beauty, experts found that there was sand and dust in her lungs. From this, it is inferred that the environment where the Loulan beauty lived was already dry and sandy more than 3,800 years ago. The external characteristics of the Loulan beauties when they were unearthed also coincided with the experts' inferences about the climate. The Loulan beauty wears a linen windproof cloak and a hood, and there is a string across the front of her chin. From these signs, it can be inferred that the weather in Loulan area was hot and the wind and sand were relatively large. According to legend, Loulan beauty is famous all over the world. At that time, the princes and nobles of various countries in the Western Regions wanted to marry Loulan beauty as their wives. In 326 AD, Zhang Jun, who was separated from Dunhuang, took advantage of the chaos in the world and sent troops to attack Loulan. At that time, the Loulan Kingdom was renamed Shanshan Kingdom. The king was forced to give up the beauty of Loulan, which quelled a war.

Loulan, which gave birth to countless beauties, was one of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty, and a prosperous and important center of trade between China and the West. Sima Qian, a famous historian in ancient China, recorded in the "Historical Records", "Loulan, Gu Shi, there is a city in the city, and there is Yanze." Yanze is talking about Lop Nor. Back then, Lop Nur was still an oasis, and Loulan City was built on this oasis. By the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Loulan had 1,570 households and a population of 14,100. The streets and lanes in the city are vertical and horizontal, and there are many shops. Thousands of businessmen come here every year. Among them were envoys sent by Kuishan, Anxi, Dawan and other countries, as well as groups of merchants and monks who traveled west to study Buddhist scriptures.

Loulan wind-dried female corpse

At that time, the city of Loulan was very lively. Merchants from the east brought smooth and beautiful Chinese silk; merchants from the west brought brightly colored woolen fabrics, colorful Dawan glaze and all kinds of exotic spices for rest. Wait, all kinds of rare treasures are gathered and exchanged here, dazzling the buyers. During the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, Loulan changed its name to Shanshan. The king requested the Han Dynasty government to station troops in Yixun, which is now Milan Town, Ruoqiang County, Xinjiang. The ancient city of Loulan was the most prosperous city at that time.

The mystery of the demise of the prosperous city

What is puzzling is that the once prosperous ancient city of Loulan has mysteriously disappeared after centuries of glory, and is finally regarded as the "place of death". In AD 400, Faxian, an eminent monk in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, traveled westward to collect Buddhist scriptures and passed through Loulan City. He saw that "there are no birds above, no beasts below, all over the eyes, only the dead bones are used as markers." After more than a thousand years of wind and sand looting, Loulan City finally completely disappeared from people's sight.

Sven Hedin

Until the beginning of the 20th century, Swedish explorer Sven Hedin led an expedition to the Lop Nur area in Xinjiang, and they accidentally discovered the long-lost ancient city of Loulan in the desert. As soon as the news came out, delegations from various countries were moved when they heard the news. They searched the ruins of the ancient city of Loulan and plundered a large number of important cultural relics. The ruins of the ancient city of Loulan are now scattered in the Yadan landform group on the west bank of Lop Nur. Ruins.

The entire ancient city of Loulan covers an area of ​​120,000 square meters, which is close to a square. The city is full of wooden houses, the pillars of Populus euphratica, and the courtyard walls of most residential areas are all made of reeds tied into bundles, or wicker weaving, and then smeared with clay. Among the piles in the city, archaeologists discovered a batch of wooden slips in Chinese, including the four years of the Western Jin Dynasty and the beginning of Taishi in Moshu, that is, the wooden slips from AD 295, which provided an accurate chronology for the study of the history of Loulan City.

Loulan Aristocratic Tomb Site

In addition, some wooden and stone statues of women, Han Dynasty lacquer ware, and beautiful silk fabrics have also been unearthed in the ancient city of Loulan. Such as Longevity Mingguang Brocade, on the blue ground, the cloud and thunder patterns are woven with yellow, brown and green warp threads, and the middle is filled with auspicious animals such as tigers, dragons, and evil spirits. One can imagine the prosperity and beauty of the ancient city of Loulan in those days. The local people lived a prosperous and stable life. If the ancient city of Loulan still exists, it must be as lively as the current Urumqi.

The truth of the mystery of Loulan's destruction

Lop Nur was once the largest lake in the arid region of Northwest China, with a lake area of ​​12,000 square kilometers, and it still reached 500 square kilometers in the early 20th century. The Loulan City, built by the Loulan people on the banks of the Lop Nur Lake, has been proliferating for hundreds of years. How did the oasis with lush water and grass turn into a vast desert? According to historical records, after the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to the diversion of the Zhubin River in the middle reaches of the Tarim River, Loulan was seriously short of water. When the water shortage was at its most critical, the Loulan people had to ask for foreign aid everywhere. After several setbacks, the water was introduced into Loulan City, which temporarily alleviated the water shortage in Loulan City. However, even so, it can only temporarily alleviate the water shortage, and Loulan City was eventually abandoned due to the lack of water.

Looking through historical books, you will also find that the decline and fall of Loulan is closely related to the development of the whole society. Not only related to drought, there are countless other mysteries and legends supporting the answer to Loulan's demise.

Some people say that the prosperity of Loulan attracted the attention of aliens at that time, and the aliens and Loulan people reached some kind of agreement, allowing the Loulan people to travel to a different dimension of time and space, because the demise of Loulan did not seem to be caused by war, the entire ancient city. Apart from the ruins of bricks and tiles, there are no other items left, and there are no traces of mass slaughter left by the war.

However, some unearthed stone statues actually have patterns similar to modern airplanes and shapes close to UFO flying saucers. Therefore, it is rumored that the Loulan civilization is related to alien civilizations. Did the experiment kidnap back to outer space or transfer all the Loulan people to a parallel time and space of a different dimension, so as to prevent all the Loulan people from dying when the environment deteriorates.

Of course, in addition to the legend of aliens, there are also rumors that the plague caused the destruction of Loulan. It is rumored that due to lack of water in Loulan, a large number of vegetation died, and many natural barriers disappeared. Later, a poisonous insect in the Lop Nur area multiplied in Loulan. This poisonous insect is like The scarab beetles rumored in the Egyptian pyramids are equally frightening. All Loulan people who were bitten were infected with the plague in a short period of time, and the fever persisted, and finally their skin festered and died.

The most important thing is that this kind of poisonous insect is said to be contagious. When the festered skin of the patient touches normal people, healthy people are not immune. In the end, the entire civilization of Loulan disappeared in Lop Nur under the double blow of plague and water shortage. Or the few surviving people were forced to leave their homes and settle elsewhere. Since then, the glorious ancient city of Loulan has been buried in the sand.

The disappearance of Peng Jiamu adds mystery to the city of the dead

On June 23, 1980, Xinhua News Agency sent a message to the whole country: "Peng Jiamu, a famous scientist and vice president of the Xinjiang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, disappeared during an inspection in Lop Nur, where the ancient city of Loulan is located, and there has been no news for the seventh day." The brief news was like A loud thunder quickly caused shocks at home and abroad, and the Party Central Committee, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission organized aircraft rescue. The local garrison carried out a "comb-style" search in the desert for hundreds of miles. Associated Press, Reuters, United Press reporters flocked. The sudden disappearance of Peng Jiamu has been a mystery for many years. Some people say that he fell into the swamp of Lop Nur. At that time, it was rumored that he was kidnapped by the enemy, and some people speculated that he was buried by wind and sand or injured by wild animals. So, how did Peng Jiamu disappear?

Peng Jiamu

On June 11, the expedition team that completed the task of traversing Lop Nur rested on the farm in Milan, and then prepared to follow the southern route of the ancient Silk Road, traverse the Lop Nur area again, and then take Dunhuang to Urumqi, thus ending the two-month field trip. Inspection work. After traveling day and night and sleeping in the wind, at about 2 pm on June 16, the expedition team came to the west of Kumu Kuduk (km). At this time, the gasoline and water in the car were almost exhausted. According to the inspection plan, There are 400 kilometers left.

How can you run out of water and oil while walking in the desert? After discussion, they decided to find water on the spot. Couldn't find it that afternoon. In the evening, they held a meeting and decided to send electricity to the local garrison for help, and prepared to continue looking for water the next day. Peng Jiamu personally drafted the telegram: "We are short of water and oil, and we request emergency support of 500 kilograms of oil and water each." It is really more expensive to transport water by helicopter than oil, and Peng Jiamu hopes to solve the water problem on the spot. According to the place name and his judgment, this place should have water.

On the morning of the 17th, the troops called back to agree to the aid and asked for the coordinates of the camp. The hearts of the players finally fell to the ground. Some of them went back to the tent to rest, while others were reading. Peng Jiamu was still wandering outside. He took into account that it would cost 10,000 yuan to transport supplies by helicopter, and 20 to 30 yuan for one kilogram of water, and the quantity was limited. The price paid by the country was too high. It is best to solve it by yourself. Provide convenience. Thinking of this, he was ready to act alone.

Pengjiamu's missing route

At 1:00 p.m., when driver Wang Wanxuan went to the car to pick up his clothes, he found a note in an atlas. After reading it, he couldn't help but be surprised: "I'll go east to find the well - Peng. 10:30 on June 17th " Peng Jiamu braved the high temperature of more than 50 degrees to find water alone, which is extremely dangerous in the desert. The team members hurriedly split up to find them. But it was dark, and they hadn't found Peng Jiamu yet, so they lit a bonfire on the sand dune, wanting Peng Lao to identify the direction and come back after seeing the fire, 3 cars climbed the hill, turned on the lights in different directions, 6 lights The column kept showing him the way back; every hour, a flare flew into the night sky in a red arc. It is telling the direction of the Pengjamu campsite.

All night, the expedition team members did not sleep, but Peng Jiamu still did not come back. At noon on the 18th, the surface temperature reached 64 degrees Celsius. A helicopter flying from the direction of Urumqi landed at the team camp. Troops sent emergency water and other supplies. Chen Baiquan and Wang Wanxuan boarded the plane, and flew at a very low altitude in the Kuduk area to repeatedly search for Peng Jiamu, but they were still missing. After Peng Jiamu disappeared, the central government and the party, government and military departments of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region took a series of urgent search measures. Around the center of Kumu Kuduk, we searched repeatedly in an area 140 kilometers long from east to west and 60 kilometers wide from north to south, but in the end still found nothing.

On June 20, a joint military-civilian search team consisting of 28 people rushed to the "720" base by car, and then went to the direction of Kumkuduk from west to east. At the same time, the ground troops dispatched by Dunhuang were also searching along the ancient route of the ancient Shule River from east to west towards Kumkuduke. At the end of June, the search reached a climax. The black crowd on the ground cooperated closely with the densely packed planes in the sky, and they searched for hundreds of miles around the accident site. In order to cooperate with this joint search, the relevant departments also borrowed a military dog ​​with a very sensitive sense of smell from Shanghai, Nanjing and Jinan... But despite paying a huge price, Peng Jiamu has not been found.

People start to feel powerless from worry, anxiety. Later, the Xinjiang Branch sent a small team to set up a permanent sign made of cement in advance, 1 meter high and 0.7 meters wide, in the original expedition camp, where Peng Jiamu was killed. It reads: June 17, 1980 Comrade Ripengjiamu was unfortunately killed during a scientific investigation here.

According to Peng Jiamu's teammates and many insiders, in the process of looking for water, he fainted due to a recurrence of an old illness, and was finally buried in the quicksand swept up by the strong wind. Because after entering Xinjiang, he suffered from a malignant tumor of the mediastinal barrier. The tumor grows between the heart, trachea and esophagus and is the size of two fists. According to medical literature, people with the disease can live up to two years. Later, when Peng Jiamu was treated at Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai, doctors found "abnormal reticulocytes" in his bone marrow, which confirmed that he had another malignant tumor, reticulocyte lymphoma.

With special exceptions, they generally live only 3 months. There are various indications that his malignant tumor had initially recurred before he set off to find water. The mystery of Pengjiamu's mysterious disappearance was finally given by the official definition: Lop Nur depression has complex terrain, harsh climate, desert and no one. According to the situation of repeated searches, Peng Jiamu may have lost his way and fainted due to lack of physical strength during the process of searching for water, and was submerged by the quicksand blown by the strong wind.

Yellow sand wears golden armor in a hundred battles, and Loulan will never be returned without breaking... The expectations of the ancients for Loulan are blown away in the wind like yellow sand. Lop Nur and the pearl of Loulan in Lop Nur have changed from a beautiful and prosperous western fairyland to a fairyland in the Western Regions. The current land of death can not help but make people sigh, and the mysteries to be solved can only be our last goodbye to this land.