Kuqa — known in antiquity as Kucha — was one of the most powerful kingdoms on the Silk Road. At its height, Kucha controlled the northern branch of the trade route and was a centre of Tocharian civilisation, a people whose origins still puzzle historians. Buddhist pilgrims from China and India stopped here for decades at a time; the monk Xuanzang passed through on his famous journey west in 629 AD and described a prosperous city of gilded stupas and learned monks. All of that is gone now, replaced by a modest provincial town, but the traces of what came before are extraordinary.
The Kizil Caves, 65 kilometres west of Kuqa, are the main reason to come. These are the oldest Buddhist cave temples in China, predating the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang by at least a century, with some chambers painted as early as the 3rd century AD. More than 230 caves are cut into the cliffs above the Muzat River, and the frescoes inside — musicians, bodhisattvas, hunting scenes, the jataka tales — represent a distinct Central Asian Buddhist style found nowhere else. Many of the finest murals were removed by German and British expeditions in the early 20th century and now sit in Berlin and London. The caves that remain are still remarkable, and the gorge setting is beautiful.
Back in town, Kuqa's old quarter west of the central roundabout retains a Uyghur character — mud-brick lanes, a covered bazaar selling dried fruit and copper pots, the smell of cumin from samsa sellers near the Friday mosque. The Kuqa Grand Mosque is one of the largest traditional mosques in Xinjiang. The ruins of the ancient city of Subash, 20 kilometres to the northeast, are worth an afternoon if you have transport. The Kizilgaha Beacon Tower northwest of town is one of the best-preserved Han dynasty military structures in Xinjiang, and the Wei-Jin Tomb Museum provides context for the city's pre-Buddhist history.
Getting here is straightforward: trains on the main Xinjiang railway stop at Kuqa, and the journey from Ürümqi takes five to six hours on high-speed services. The caves require a taxi or tour from town. Checkpoints are thorough throughout this part of Xinjiang — keep your passport on you at all times and expect your phone to be inspected at some stops.