Gaochang was once a thriving oasis city along the northern Silk Road. It was constructed in the 1st century BC by the Jushi people. The city grew and traded hands between the Jushi, various Chinese dynasties like the Han and the Tang, the Rouran Khaganate, and the Uyghurs. Gaochang was eventually destroyed in the 1300s, as the Mongols of the Chagatai Khanate ravaged the area with a succession of wars.
