Ancient City of Gaochang: General Introduction   The ancient city of Gaochang was the capital of Gaochang Kingdom. The ancient city of Gaochang was built in the 1stcentury BC and abandoned in the late of 13th century AD. Although it has suffered natural erosions heavily for the past 2,000 years, the ancient city still keeps its original outline. The ancient city of Gaochang is located 40km east ofTurpan City, at the foot of Flaming Mountain.     To the northwest of the ancient city of Gaochang, there is a large scale temple. It is said that when Xunzang, the eminent monk in Tang Dynasty, stopped at this…

Ancient City of Jiaohe: General Introduction The ancient, ruined city of Jiaohe stands isolated on a 30-meter-high plateau in the Ya’ernaizi Valley, 10 kilometers east of Turpan. The ancient city of Jiaohe is situated on an island between two rivers and the name for the area means “the confluence of two rivers”. The whole city stretches about 1,650 meters from south to north, and 300 meters from east to west. Jiaohe Ancient City was initially built about 2,000 years ago and was controlled by the residents of Gaochang for a long period of time. Today, the ancient city of Jiaohe is a…

Grape Valley: General Introduction Grape Valley is located close to the Flaming Mountains. The area around Turpan is known for its wealth of fruit orchards and vineyards and in the late summer, the grapes are ripe and this is a wonderful time to visit the valley. The Grape Valley itself consists of a trail of thick vines and trellises surrounded by stark desert. There is a winery here and some well ventilated brick buildings for hanging grapes. Two types of wine are produced in the area: a rich dark red port-like drink, and a lighter more fruity white…

Karez Irrigation System: General Introduction     Karez Irrigation System is one of the three important irrigation projects in ancient China. (The other two refers to LingCanal in Guilin and Dujiangyan Irrigation System in Sichuan.) Owning to the dry weather in Turpan, water has always been the rarest resource here. In order to relieve the aridity, the intelligent and talented ancestors in Xinjiang created the Karez Irrigation System. At present, there are over 400 Karez systems in Turpan. They are the life resource of this oasis.     The Karez Irrigation System is comprised of four…

Flaming mountains: General Introduction The Flaming Mountains are so named because in the evenings the red clay mountains reflect the heat and glow of the desert and seem to burn. Situated on the northern edge of Turpan Basin, and stretching over 100 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide, this is an intensely hot part of the desert without a single blade of grass to be seen for miles. In the severe heat of July, the mountains seem to be on fire in the burning sun and become a purplish-brown color. Hot stream rises upwards from…

Emin Minaret: General Introduction     Emin Minaret, also called Sugong Minaret, is the biggest ancient tower in Xinjiang and also the only minaret among the top 100 towers in China. Emin Minaret was built by Emin, the Prince of Turpan, to repay the kind treatment of Qing Dynasty and also to express his sincerity to Allah. The minaret was built in 1778, and so far it has a history of more than 200 years.     The main body of Emin Minaret is made of grey bricks and earth. From…

Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves Guide, Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves Travel Tips,

Aydingkol Lake, Aydingkol Lake Guide, Aydingkol Lake Travel Tips, Aydingkol Lake Travel Information.