Dead cities' new lives

The Easter Bunny shows how the reincarnation of Turpan's ghost towns as international attractions evoke multiculturalism's merits, which propelled their prominence - and the perils of intolerance, which forced their falls. Erik Nilsson meets the magic rabbit in a murdered settlement.

The Easter Bunny came to town - specifically an ancient ghost town in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

When the day celebrating Jesus' resurrection coincided with the Chinese Tomb Sweeping Day this April, our 3-year-old scoured Yar's ruins for candy-packed plastic eggs stashed by a pagan hare.