Ak-Beshim (Suyab) settlement, located in Chui Valley, will be jointly protected by expert groups from Kyrgyzstan and China. The Telegram channel «Chinese Panorama» reports.
The two countries have created a joint laboratory for the preservation of cultural heritage housed by the Dunhuang Research Academy. The parties have already completed a set of preliminary works on the territory of Ak-Beshim and developed a conservation plan, which will form the basis for further preservation and use of the site, the statement says.
In the future, the laboratory will also deal with other cultural monuments on the Silk Road and the protection of the heritage of the states participating in One Belt — One Road initiative, which will turn it into an international platform for scientific research cooperation.
The Ak-Beshim settlement is part of «Silk Roads: The Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor», a candidate for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. According to legend, the great Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty Li Bo (701-762/763) was born there.
Ak-Beshim (Suyab) is an early medieval city in the Chui Valley, located on the Great Silk Road. The remains of the city are identified with the ruins near the modern village of Ak-Beshim, six kilometers southwest of Tokmak.
It emerged in the 5th-6th centuries as one of the easternmost settlements of Sogdian merchants on the Silk Road. With the emergence of the Western Turkic Khaganate, Suyab became its capital. In 648-719, it served as one of the westernmost fortresses of the Tang Empire.
Traces of the most ancient Christian monument on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic have been discovered in Suyab — a small Nestorian church from the 7th-8th centuries.
Suyab was finally abandoned due to the construction of Balasagun in the 11th century.
