Burial rituals come to life

A Tang Dynasty (618-907) high official's tomb has emerged from the sands of Turpan in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, with his vibrant afterlife still intact. Archaeologists announced the discovery at the Badam East cemetery site, which includes a rare painted wooden coffin base adorned with vividly colored winged beasts — a fantastical blend of Western imagery and China's Central Plains' burial traditions. The unearthing offers new proof of cultural communication and integration along the ancient Silk Road.

The spotlight recently turned to the site as archaeologists' efforts there made it one of the top six archaeological discoveries in China in 2025, as announced earlier this year by the Institute of Archaeology with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.

From 2022 to 2025, archaeologists at the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated 18 tombs from the Sixteen Kingdoms period (304-439) and nine from the Tang Dynasty, uncovering more than 600 various cultural relics. The relics offer a valuable glimpse into Xiyu, or the Western Regions, a historical term used to describe present-day Xinjiang and Central Asia, from the Jin (265-420) to the Tang dynasties.

According to Shang Yuping, the lead archaeologist at the site, the biggest discovery this time is a tomb they named M20 (No 20 tomb), which yields a rarely seen complete set of wooden facilities in the tomb, including a couch, a coffin, a folding screen, boxes, and a rack.