Get to know Kuqa
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- Administrative area
- County-level city · 县级市
- Part of
- Aksu Prefecture
- Chinese name
- 库车市
- Local areas
- County-level city guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 15,200.00 km²
- Population · 2020
- 530,328
- Administrative seat
- Yengisheher Subdistrict (Xincheng Subdistrict)
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The land falls from the Tian Shan in the north-west to the south-east in three bands: mountains, a gravel gobi of alluvial fans, and an alluvial plain. Its rivers include the Kuqa River (库车河) and the Weigan River (渭干河), and the Kuqa River runs through the city. Winters are dry and cold, summers very hot, and the annual rainfall is only about 65 mm. The Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon (天山神秘大峡谷) is a national AAAA scenic area of ochre-red sandstone slopes.
History
Under the Han dynasty, Qiuci was one of the large walled states of the Western Regions. In 658 the Tang moved the seat of the Anxi Protectorate (安西都护府) here, and Qiuci became the best-known Buddhist centre of the region. The Tang monk Xuanzang (玄奘) lectured at Subashi in the 7th century, and the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions (大唐西域记) praised its music as "管弦伎乐，特善诸国" (its string and wind music excels among all the states). The Han-Tang city and the Ming-Qing old town stand side by side. Kuqa became a county in 1913 and a county-level city in December 2019.
What to see
Of Kuqa's 180 recorded heritage sites, two are World Heritage. The Subashi Temple (苏巴什佛寺遗址), founded in the Wei-Jin period at the southern foot of the Chöl Tagh (却勒塔格山), has eastern and western temples facing each other across a river. The Kizilgaha Beacon Tower (克孜尔尕哈烽燧), a Han-dynasty rammed-earth tower more than 10 km north-west of the city, was part of the Han defences and was inscribed in 2014; its name means "red sentry post".
In the city, the Qiuci Wei-Jin Site Museum (龟兹魏晋遗址博物馆) lies 7 to 8 metres beneath Youyi Road around Han-style brick tombs decorated with the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise. The old town (库车老城) keeps late-Qing and early-Republican houses that mix Han-style verandas with Uyghur building styles; in the Rastan (热斯坦) historic quarter, performers dance the samawar, balancing copper trays and pots on their heads, in Qiuci Lane (龟兹小巷) and play muqam music in Huamao Lane (花帽巷).
Getting oriented
Kuqa is the southern end of the Duku Highway (独库公路); the Southern Xinjiang Railway crosses the city, and National Highways 217 and 314 meet here. By road the city is about 750 km from Urumqi. At night, more than 500 stalls of the Nanhu (南湖) night market line the lake.
Highlights
- Subashi Temple 苏巴什佛寺遗址: Wei-Jin Buddhist ruins with eastern and western temples across a river; World Heritage.
- Kizilgaha Beacon Tower 克孜尔尕哈烽燧: Han-dynasty beacon tower north-west of the city, World Heritage since 2014.
- Qiuci Wei-Jin Site Museum 龟兹魏晋遗址博物馆: Underground museum around painted Han-style brick tombs beneath Youyi Road.
- Kuqa old town 库车老城: Late-Qing and early-Republican houses mixing Han-style verandas and Uyghur building styles.
- Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon 天山神秘大峡谷: National AAAA scenic area of ochre-red sandstone slopes.
Sources for this guide
文旅新探·秋游新疆｜新疆库车：聆听千年丝路回响 · Xinhua News Agency, carried by China Radio International
中国之城丨新疆库车：雪山为屏，戈壁为界，绿洲为家 · Xinhua News Agency, carried by Beijing Daily
库车市 · Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Kuqa
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Kuqa
The eroded earthen Kizilgaha Beacon Tower near Kuqa, Aksu Prefecture · 阿克苏地区库车市克孜尔尕哈烽燧 Source-recorded photograph date: 2022-06-10.Kizilgaha Beacon Tower克孜尔尕哈烽燧
Rammed-earth beacon tower 13 km northwest of Kuqa, dated to the Han, a national protected site and part of the Silk Roads World Heritage listing.
Read the place guide →
Red sandstone cliffs of the Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon, Kuqa · 库车天山神秘大峡谷红砂岩峡谷 Source-recorded photograph date: 2016-09-26 14:22:54.Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon天山神秘大峡谷
Kuqa’s Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon cuts through red-brown sandstone and conglomerate on the southern side of the Tianshan. Narrow passages, high walls and changing light give the walk its character. The attraction is a…
Read the place guide →
Kuqa Old Town · 库车老城Kuqa Old Town库车老城
Kuqa Old Town (库车老城) is the old quarter of Kuqa City (库车市), Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, and its Restan tourism and leisure district (热斯坦旅游休闲街区) was named in March 2025 in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's fourth batch of national tourism and leisure districts.
Read the place guide →
Earthen ruins of Subashi Temple near Kuqa · 苏巴什佛寺遗址 Photograph date recorded by the source: 2014-10-14 18:54:37.Subashi Temple苏巴什佛寺遗址
Subashi is a ruined Buddhist monastic complex near Kuqa, with earthen structures spread across eastern and western areas. Its surviving towers and walls convey the scale of religious life in the ancient Kucha region. Objects…
Read the place guide →
Kuqa Royal Palace · 库车王府Kuqa Royal Palace库车王府
Kuqa Royal Palace presents the history of the local hereditary rulers in a reconstructed courtyard complex. The present buildings were rebuilt in the 2000s after the older palace was destroyed, so the visit is an interpretation…
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Kuqa is about 230 km in a straight line from central Aksu Prefecture. Search for 库车市 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Kizilgaha Beacon Tower and Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Aksu Prefecture →More in Aksu Prefecture
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 库车市 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Kizilgaha Beacon Tower · Este Momento · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
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Photo: Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon · Thinkdnt · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
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Photo: Kuqa Old Town · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Subashi Temple · Scott Newman · CC BY-SA 2.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Kuqa Royal Palace · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
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