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BEIJING, Jan. 22-- Using remote sensing, Chinese archaeologists believe the have located a city of the Protectorate of the Western Regions, a major city on the Silk Road, in Koyuk Shahri of Luntai County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. "Thanks to remote sensing, we can start our excavation of the Protectorate of the Western Regions this year," said Li Wenying, deputy director of the Xinjiang Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute. The city was established in 60 B.C.to supervise domestic and foreign affairs around Tarim Basin, protecting the Silk Road from military assaults. However, due to the devastation of the landscape around the area, the precise location of the city was not confirmed. There were three candidates: Kona Shahri, Koyuk Shahri and Drow Kurt. Last year, archaeologists from the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) exploited remote sensing technology to find an "abnormal" ring around the Koyuk Shahri, which was later proved to be a moat. "Based on terrain analysis, the moat can be dated back to 2,200 years ago, which conforms to the written records of the Protectorate of the Western Regions," said Nie Yueping, a researcher from the RADI. They also found the ancient city site in Koyuk Shahri was constructed with the rectangular facade and the round interior. In terms of the architectural pattern, while the Western Han Dynasty cities were preeminently rectangular, cities in western regions and kingdoms were round. City site in Koyuk Shahri is a combination of the two, different from the other two candidates. | 
