Miran Site

Miran or Mirān is a former city that existed until the 1st millennium, on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, China. Located at an oasis, where the Lop Nur desert meets the Altun Shan mountains, Miran was once a major point on the Silk Road.

Under the name Yuni, Miran was for a time the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kröraina, also known as Loulan, Yuni/Miran was thus part of the broader Tocharian cultures. In the early 1st millennium, it was also a thriving center of Buddhism with many monasteries and stupas. The Tibetan Empire gained control of the area during the 8th and 9th centuries, when the Miran fort was built.