Miran

Miran lies south of Lop Nur, near the old road between Dunhuang and Khotan. Its ruins include Buddhist shrines and stupas, some dating from the third century, with painted figures and sculptures that show the reach of artistic traditions across Central Asia. Irrigation channels once brought water to the settlement amid the desert. In the eighth and ninth centuries a Tibetan garrison occupied a rectangular fort here; documents left by its inhabitants survive among the remains.