Kuqa Royal Palace

Located in Kuqa County, Kuqa Royal Palace, covering 40,000 square meters, blends Central Plains and Islamic architectural styles. Within the palace, visitors can explore the Qiuci Museum, Kuqa Royal Palace Cultural Relics Museum, Kuqa Folk Customs Exhibition Hall, the Official Residence of the Last Kuqa King, and the Qing Dynasty city walls.

Highlights of Kuqa Royal Palace

The Main Hall

The Main Hall of Kuqa Royal Palace is the palace's main structure. Its large doors and windows render the interior spacious and bright. In summer, with excellent air circulation, it stays very cool, yet it gets quite cold in winter. Since the palace's reconstruction, the Main Hall has become a space displaying portraits of the kings and introductions to their life stories.

Exhibition Area of Qiuci Museum

The museum comprises six exhibition halls built around a flower bed, namely Qiuci Chronicles, Buddhist Charm of Qiuci, Ethnic Customs Hall, Production and Life Exhibition Hall, Folk Traditional Craft Hall, and Qiuci Ancient Coin Hall. On display here are clay Buddha statues, painted fragments, painting copies, and unearthed cultural relics from various thousand-Buddha caves in Kuqa, as well as a female corpse unearthed beneath the stupa of Subashi Ancient City—all of which fully demonstrate the splendor of ancient Qiuci culture.

Kuche Royal Palace Museum

The museum displays portraits of successive Kuche kings, official uniforms, seals, and other artifacts, offering insights into the history and culture of the Kuche royal family.

Kuche Folk Customs Exhibition Hall

This hall showcases the folk customs of the Kuche region, including traditional costumes, handicrafts, and daily necessities, allowing visitors to experience Kuche's unique ethnic culture and lifestyle.

Palace Garden

The palace boasts a back garden, vineyards, an observation deck, and a long corridor. A variety of flowers bloom in vibrant colors, along with blooming gesang flowers, the grape-scented corridor, and exquisite grape trellis swings, making it a perfect spot for taking photos.

Educational Value

The royal palace integrates traditional Uyghur architectural features (such as earth-and-wood structures and courtyard layouts) with architectural styles of the Central Plains (such as the symmetrical design of the main hall), serving as a tangible example of the integration of multiple ethnic cultures. Its folk custom exhibition halls, traditional craft displays, and other exhibits systematically showcase the folk cultures of the Qiuci region—including costumes, cuisine, and handicrafts—providing a concrete reference for the public to understand the life wisdom and artistic aesthetics of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

Activities to do at Kuqa Royal Palace

Architectural Exploration: Visit the core structures of the royal palace and learn about the integration of Uyghur and Central Plains architectural styles (such as the combination of traditional earthen-wooden structures and symmetrical layouts).

Cultural Learning: Explore the exhibition areas of the Kuqa Museum, appreciate unearthed Kuqa cultural relics (including clay Buddha statues, ancient coins, and painted fragments), and gain an intuitive understanding of the cultural exchanges between the ancient Kuqa civilization and the Silk Road through the foreign-language descriptions alongside the exhibits.