INTEGATED RS, GIS AND GPS APPROACHES TO ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTING IN THE HEXI CORRIDOR, NW CHINA - A CASE STUDY OF THE ROYAL ROAD TO ANCIENT DUNHUANG

Aug 20, 2026

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According to historic records, the wasteland northeast of modern Dunhuang oasis still contains remarkable, undiscovered monuments of medieval courier stations of the Silk Road. A statistical analysis of historical records census data, satellite image processing and interpretation, GIS analysis, and in-situ field surveys were combined to discover courier stations and reconstruct the medieval royal road system from Guazhou to Shazhou (Dunhuang). Historical data were digitized into GIS, ancient dried river channels and Great Wall traces were extracted, and GIS buffer/overlay analyses created prospective sub-areas. Two Han–Tang period courier stations were confirmed via GPS-based surveys and remote sensing evidence, and the road to ancient Dunhuang was reconstructed.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

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Abstract

Study data and methods

GIS modeling and prospective mapping

Remote sensing, photo interpretation, and GPS survey verification

Reconstruction of the royal road system

The 36th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, 11 – 15 May 2015, Berlin, Germany, ISRSE36-42 INTEGATED RS, GIS AND GPS APPROACHES TO ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTING IN THE HEXI CORRIDOR, NW CHINA: A CASE STUDY OF THE ROYAL ROAD TO ANCIENT DUNHUANG Lei Luo a, b, c, Xinyuan Wang a, c, *, Chuansheng Liu a, c, Huadong Guo a, c, Xiaocui Du a, c a Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100094 Beijing, China – [luolei@radi.ac.cn](luolei@radi.ac.cn), [wangxy@radi.ac.cn](wangxy@radi.ac.cn), [liucs@radi.ac.cn](liucs@radi.ac.cn), [hdguo@radi.ac.cn](hdguo@radi.ac.cn) b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, China c International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under UNESCO, 100094 Beijing, China THEME: Proposed paper for the Space for Heritage session chaired by Mr Mario Hernandez KEY WORDS: RS, GIS, GPS, Archaeological, Courier station, Royal road system ABSTRACT: According to historic records, the wasteland northeast of modern Dunhuang oasis still contains remarkable, undiscovered monuments of medieval courier stations of the Silk Road. This study makes use of a statistical analysis of historical records census data; satellite image processing and interpretation; Geographical Information Systems analysis; and in-situ field surveys. All this data was used in order to enable the discovery of courier stations and the reconstruction of the medieval royal road system from Guazhou to Shazhou (today called Dunhuang) . In order to obtain the potential places for courier stations, historical records and census data was analyzed, digitized and introduced into a GIS system. Ancient dried river channels and traces of the Great Wall were extracted from the satellite images. GIS buffer and overlay analyses were applied to the creation of prospective sub-areas. Prospective sub-areas were mapped from very high resolution WorldView-2 satellite images, and suspected courier stations sites were found through human photo interpretation. The sites were checked with the GPS-based archaeological survey, and were confirmed as two courier stations based on the remains of Han-Tang period observed at sites' surface. Finally using remote sensing and in-situ data, we were able toreconstruct the road to ancient Dunhuang, which is one of the most important sections of the royal road system in the Hexi Corridor. This research was awarded among the top ten best remote sensing research applications for the period 2012-2013 by the China Association of Remote Sensing Applications. * [Corresponding author: wangxy@radi.ac.cn](Corresponding author: wangxy@radi.ac.cn).

FAQs

What locations and archaeological targets does the study focus on?

The study targets the wasteland northeast of the modern Dunhuang oasis and focuses on undiscovered medieval courier stations of the Silk Road within the Hexi Corridor.

Which techniques are used to discover courier stations and reconstruct the road system?

The work combines statistical analysis of historical records, satellite image processing and interpretation, GIS analysis, and in-situ field surveys, including GPS-based archaeological survey.

How were the suspected courier station sites validated?

Suspected sites identified from very high resolution WorldView-2 imagery were checked through human photo interpretation and confirmed using GPS-based archaeological survey, based on Han–Tang period remains observed on the surface.

Aug 20, 2026

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