The cemetery for Noble citizen of Gaocheng Kingdom. / The Astana-Karakhoja Ancient Tombs are situated about 6 km from the ancient city of Gaochang, also 40 km southeast of Turfan. Astana means ｡ﾈcapital｡ﾉ or "place for rest" in Uygur. The Astana-Karakhoja Ancient Tombs Known as "The Underground Museum", it provides some very valuable and fascinating artifacts such as tomb figures of wood, wall paint, ceramics, documents and silk which were as well-preserved and as colorful as new ones by the hot and dry atmosphere. Almost none of the corpses in the more than five hundred tombs have rotted; instead they have become complete and intact dried-up bodies. Most of those buried here were people of the Han nationality, but there are also some minority nationalities, as well as nobles, officials and others from the period beginning in the Western Jin and ending in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. According to the documentation buried with them, the era must have been between 273 and 778. The outsides of the tombs are shaped like small low hills, sloping down towards to the grave room! s. The tomb design appears from the sky to be like a "Jia" shape of Chinese character. Three tombs among them are open to visitors.