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The city shaped like an octagon.
Tekes City (Chinese: Đặc Khắc Tư) is a small city located in Yili, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The city's layout follows a Bagua (eight trigrams) system, with a slightly sloping ground surface from north to south to facilitate rapid floodwater runoff.
The city of Tekes as seen from above.
Legend has it that the city's Bagua (eight trigrams) layout was designed by a Song Dynasty priest named Qiu Chuji. This design was gradually refined by later generations, and by 1936, the unique city as it is today was formed. The entire city is based on the Bagua, with four large circles surrounded by eight main roads: Qian, Kun, Xun, Zhen, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui.
The first circle consists of 8 streets, the second circle consists of 16 streets, gradually expanding until the outer circle has a total of 64 streets. This design is not only aesthetically pleasing but its primary function is to prevent flooding.
Because the eight main routes in the Bagua (eight trigrams) diagram extend in all directions, floodwaters will recede quickly regardless of their origin. Importantly, the city's base slopes slightly from North to South. This facilitates faster water drainage. Even with sudden heavy rains and floods, the city is able to prevent inundation.
The city has no traffic lights.
Another unique feature of this city is that there are no traffic lights on the streets. Urban planners analyze that, thanks to its interconnected and continuous road network, the town experiences no traffic congestion. Cars and pedestrians can reach their destination from any direction. In 1996, authorities removed traffic lights from the roads, and since then, it has become known as a city without traffic lights.
A city without traffic lights.
While convenient for locals, this city poses difficulties for countless tourists. The reason lies in the fact that the streets here are so similar that unfamiliar people find it hard to navigate, leading to getting lost.
