Turpan
Tourism

... More >

Sea. Turpan is three hours by train or five hours by bus from the regional capital Ürümqi.

The average summer temperature is 32°C (90°F), but in July this sometimes reaches as high as 50°C (122°F). The winters are cold and dry. The number of frost-free days is between 220 and 270. Average annual rainfall is a mere 10 mm (0·4 in).

Over the years, in attempts to counteract the drought conditions, more than 1000 wells and an underground canal network more than 3000km/1900mi long have been dug, to conduct water from Tianshin into the Turpan Valley.

The main crops grown are grapes, melons and cotton, the ''three treasures of the Turpan Valley''. The very sweet and seedless Turpan grapes are dried to make Xinjiang raisins which are sold throughout China and abroad. The sweet Hami melons, which have been grown here for over 1000 years and can weigh as much as 15kg/33lb, are famous throughout the country.

The Turpan district on the Silk Road was known as a busy trading region as long as 2200 years ago.

Between the 2nd C BC and the 5th C AD the rulers of the Cheshi kingdom resided in Jiaohe, 10km/6mi west of present-day Turpan. Around the middle of the 7th C the Tang dynasty established a government in Turpan to ensure better control of the surrounding regions.