Dandan Oilik
Dandan Oilik (also Dandan Öiliq, Uiliq or Uilik is translated as "place of the houses of ivory ") is a sand in the Taklamakan desert (China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region ) sunken city. It is located northeast of Khotan ( Hotan ) in a circle Qira ( Chira / Cele ).
In historical times Dandan Oilik was an important trading post along the Silk Road, during excavations there were Buddhist murals dating from the 8th century, and a fragment of paper in Central Khotanesischer language and Indian Brahmi script from the 7th or 8th century. In the British Museum also Buddhism attributable painted plaques are issued from the 6th century. Before the spread of Islam to the East in the 8th century Dandan Oilik was an important center of Buddhism.
After the city was for centuries forgotten, it was rediscovered in 1896 by the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin on his first expedition. Sir Aurel Stein has conducted excavations in 1900. After last 1928 were awarded to local researchers, the city was again in obscurity and was considered undetectable. Only in 1998 the ruins were rediscovered again Dandan Oiliks from an expedition to the Swiss Christoph Baumer.
The site of Dandan Oilik (丹丹乌里克 遗址, Dandanwulike Yizhi ) is on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China ( 6-218 ) since 2006.