Both the Tibetan and Chinese armies on the Silk Road built a series of defensive structures. Many of the Chinese walls and watchtowers dating from the first century BC onwards survive north of Dunhuang. Several Tibetan forts, including Miran, still exist but their system of hill-stations, recorded in Tibetan military documents, have disappeared. This Chinese document is a series of reports from the Fuel Depot Controller concerning the consumption of bundles of tamarisk at fire-signal stations and probably dates to 955.
Ink on paper
The British Library,
Or.8210/S.3728