TWO thousand years ago, a kingdom named Loulan suddenly occurred in major Chinese and Western historical documents. Then, just as abruptly, in the middle of the fifth century, it disappeared. When Western adventurers undertook large scale excavations in China’s Western Regions about a century ago, Loulan was rediscovered. Many relics were dispersed to other countries. Since then, dense ancient ruins and scrolls written in different scripts have been discovered within the domain of Loulan. The true history of Loulan, however, is still buried in the desert. TWO thousand years ago, a kingdom named loulan suddenly occurred in major Chinese and Western historical documents. Then, just as abruptly, in the middle of the fifth century, it disappeared. When Western adventurers undertook large scale excavations in China’s Western Regions about a century Since then, dense ancient ruins and scrolls written in different scripts have been discovered within the domain of Loulan. The true history of Loulan, however, is still buried in the desert.