David Harris, an Australian scholar, first discovered these strange-looking "strangers". 1989, he accidentally discovered Li, a small place where prisoners were held in the Han Dynasty, which is today's Zhelaizhai. If he got the treasure, he came to Lanzhou to find a professor who studied this history at Lanzhou University and got help. After returning to China, he published a research paper on "Li", which was quickly reprinted by AFP, claiming to have uncovered the mystery of the disappearance of the First Legion in Rome. Zhelaizhai, a small place, became famous internationally in an instant. Many Chinese and foreign scholars and media have been to Yongchang, which has promoted the development of local tourism.
At first, archaeologists in China held a negative attitude towards this view and denied it in a series of published articles. It is believed that the villagers in Zhelaizhai look like Europeans, are ethnic minorities in the western regions, and at most are of Afghan origin. However, in 2003, the ancient tombs of the Western Han Dynasty were found near the site of Li Xuancheng, and about 100 European-like bones were found from the tombs, with a height of about 180cm, which confirmed the views of Professor David Harris and Professor Chen Zhengyi. But based on this evidence, it doesn't hold water, because the Romans are generally short, and the height of 180 is very small.
Another strong evidence to prove this theory is the appearance of local people. It is said that the most concentrated place of Roman descendants is Zhelaizhai Village, which is closest to Li Xuan. There are about 300 people, most of whom have a European face. Some children have Asian parents, but their eyes are blue. According to DNA analysis, 46% people are of European origin, especially Zhelaizhai village, which has the largest population and the most typical characteristics.
Their living habits are also somewhat different from those of the surrounding villages. When the dead were buried, all the surrounding villages faced north, but here they faced west. Some people speculate that this is an expression of nostalgia for my hometown in Europe. It is said that they will eat a kind of food similar to pizza in the first month, which reminds people of Italian food.
In short, the debate about Li Xuan's descent from Rome has continued to this day.