The city has an irregular square shape， with the east city wall measuring 333 meters； the south wall， 329 meters； and the west and north walls 327 meters respectively. Archeologists believe there was once a water tunnel running through the city that divided it into two functional parts. The most eye-catching architecture is a wooden Buddhist pagoda located in the eastern city ruins. This octagonal-shaped pagoda is 10 meters high with a square base and a round top.
In the city center are rows of adobe houses surrounded by piles of wood， with some pieces of timber up to five or six meters in length. On the foundations of some of the houses we can still find traces of red paint. A large amount of historical documents have been discovered among these houses.
The most interesting site of the ruins of ancient state of Loulan may be Sanjian Fang， a three-room building said to be the yamen of the area’s governor. Another site worth mentioning is a pagoda with 10.4 m high， the tallest building in the city.
楼兰古城遗址：木制佛教宝塔与红漆的痕迹
迄今为止出土的楼兰遗址覆盖面积超过10万平方米，遗址里堆满了城墙、住宅建筑、宫殿、庙宇、作坊和塔楼，以及破碎梁柱的废墟。
楼兰古城呈不规则的方形，东城墙长达333米，南壁329米，而西墙和北墙分别长327米。考古学家认为曾经有一个水隧道穿城而过，将古城分成两个部分。古城中最醒目的建筑是位于东部废墟的木制佛教宝塔，这个八角形的塔高为10米，底座呈方形，顶部为圆形。
城中心成堆的木头周围环绕着一排排的土坯房，其中一些木料长达五六米。在一些房屋的地基上，我们仍然可以找到红漆的痕迹。在这些房屋中已经发现了大量的历史文献。
楼兰古城遗址中最有趣的可能就是三间房，它是一个三房建筑，据称曾是该地区的总督衙门。另一处值得一提的遗址是高10.4米的楼兰佛塔，这塔也是古城的最高建筑。
Miran：An ancient oasis town along the Silk Road
Miran is an ancient oasis town located on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in China， along the famous trade route known as the Silk Road where the Lop Nur desert meets the Altun Shan mountains. Two thousand years ago， a river flowed down from the mountain and Miran had a sophisticated irrigation system. Now the ruined city is a sparsely inhabited dusty spot with poor roads and minimal transportation in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China.
In ancient times， Miran was a busy trading center on the southern part of the Silk Road， after the route split into the northern route and the southern route， as caravans of merchants sought to escape travel across the harsh wasteland of the desert （called by the Chinese"The Death Sea"） and the Tarim Basin. They went by going around its north or south rim. It was also a thriving center of Buddhism with many monasteries and stupas.
米兰遗址：丝绸之路上的古老的绿洲城
米兰是位于中国塔克拉玛干沙漠南部边缘的一个古老的绿洲城，在著名的贸易路线丝绸之路上，那是罗布泊沙漠与阿尔金山交汇的地方。2000年前，山上一条小河流经此地，米兰便拥有了复杂的灌溉系统。如今，这座城市的废墟成为中华人民共和国新疆自治区的这里人烟稀少尘土飞扬路况很差，交通非常不便。
古时候，米兰是丝绸之路南部地区一个繁忙的贸易中心，在丝绸之路分为北线和南线之后，这里依然是商人的大篷车绕道恶劣的沙漠荒地（中国人称之为“死亡之海”）和塔里木盆地的必经之路。它还是繁荣的佛教中心，拥有众多的佛教寺院和佛塔。
Niya：A major commercial center on the Silk Road
The ruins of Niya， an ancient site ， is located about 115 km north of modern Minfeng Town （also called Niya） on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin in modern-day Xinjiang， China. Niya was once a major commercial center on an oasis on the southern branch of the Silk Road in the southern Taklamakan Desert. During ancient times， camel caravans would cut through， carrying goods from China to Central Asia.
In 1900， Aurel Stein set out on an expedition to western China and the Taklamakan Desert. In Niya he excavated several groups of dwellings， and found 100 wooden tablets written in 105 AD. These tablets bore clay seals， official orders and letters written in Kharoshthi， an early Indic ， dating them to the Kushan empire. Other finds include coins and documents dating from the Han dynasty， Roman coins， an ancient mouse trap， a walking stick， part of a guitar， a bow in working order， a carved stool， an elaborately-designed rug and other textile fragments， as well as many other household objects such as wooden furniture with elaborate carving， pottery， Chinese basketry and lacquer ware.
Official approval for joint Sino-Japanese archaeological excavations at the site was given in 1994. Researchers have now found remains of human habitation including approximately 100 dwellings， burial areas， sheds for animals， orchards， gardens， and agricultural fields. They have also found in the dwellings well-preserved tools such as iron axes and sickles， wooden clubs， pottery urns and jars of preserved crops. The human remains found there have led to speculation on the origins of these peoples.Some archeological findings from the ruins of Niya are housed in the Tokyo National Museum. Others are part of the Stein collection in the British Museum， the British Library， and the National Museum in New Delhi.
尼雅遗址：丝绸之路上的主要商业中心
尼雅遗址是一座古城，位于如今中国新疆塔里木盆地的南部边缘，大约在民丰镇（又称尼雅）以北115公里处。尼雅曾是塔克拉玛干沙漠中的丝绸之路南部绿洲上的一个主要商业中心，古代骆驼商队携带货物从中国到中亚的时候会穿过这里。
1900年，马克·奥莱尔·斯坦因出发远征路过中国西部的塔克拉玛干沙漠地区，他在尼雅出土了几组住所遗迹，并发现了在105年写成的100片木匾。这些木匾都是黏土密封，官方命令和信函都写成了卡罗须提文，那是一种早期印度文字，日期要追溯到贵霜帝国时期。其他的发现包括汉朝的硬币和文件、罗马硬币、一种古老的捕鼠器、一根手杖、吉他的一部分零件、一把排序规整的弓箭、一只雕花凳、一块精心设计的地毯和其他纺织品碎片，以及许多其他家居用品，如精心雕刻的木制家具、陶瓷、中国草编和漆器等。
1994年，中国官方批准对这片遗址进行挖掘的中日联合考古工程，研究人员迄今已经发现了将近100个住宅区、墓葬区、动物棚屋、果园、园林和农田等人类居住遗迹。他们还在民居住所里发现了保存完好的工具，如铁斧、木棍和保存农作物的陶器瓮罐。人类遗骸的发现导致了有关这里居民种族起源的争议。尼雅遗址的某些考古出土实物现陈列在东京国家博物馆，其他实物则被送往大英博物馆的斯坦因收藏室以及新德里的国家博物馆。
Loulan Beauty：Delicate in appearance and with goodskin
The greatest discovery in Loulan is without doubt the Loulan female mummy discovered in 1980. Perfectly preserved， delicate in appearance and with good skin， the relic earned the nickname "Loulan Beauty." Experts confirmed that the woman lived some 3，800 years ago. Later， more of such mummies were excavated also reflecting the region’s characteristically dry weather which is an important reason for the preserved bodies. In 1998， the well-preserved body of an infant who died about 4，000 years ago and the remains of an old man who died more than 1，500 years ago， were also unearthed in the area.
