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Turpan or Turfan is a city in Xinjiang, on the Silk Road.

[edit] Understand

The area around the city, the Turpan Depression is the lowest point in China and second lowest on Earth (after the Dead Sea) at 154 meters below sea level. It is very dry and sometimes very hot, well into the 40'sC. The local people have developed karez, an irrigation system composed of wells connected by underground channels, to counter the heat and drought of the place. No place in China is hotter than Flaming Mountain in Turpan, a mountain made famous by the classic Chinese mythological novel, Journey to the West.

Turpan is famous for their grapes, grown primarily for raisins but also wine. The locals in the area are called Uigurs.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By Train

Tulufan Zhan - located in the twon of Daheyan, 50 km NW of the town center

• Kashgar - takes about 25 hours
• Korla - takes about 8 hours
• Lanzhou - takes about 25 hours
• Liuyuan - takes about 14 hours
• Xian - takes about 40-45 hours

[edit] By Bus

Long Distance Bus Station Location: Laocheng Lu

• Hami - takes about 6-7 hours
• Kashgar - takes about 32 hours
• Korla - takes about 6-7 hours
• Kuqa - takes about 13-14 hours
• Urumqi - takes about 3 hours

[edit] Get around

[edit] See

• Grape Gully - nicknamed Green Pearl City, an oasis of greenery
• Dorbiljin (Emin) Pagoda - Emin Minaret was built in 1777 in honor of the heroic Turpan general, Emin Khoja

• Gaochang - ruins of a Silk Road town. Built in the 1st century B.C. and originally called Gaochangbi, it used to be a garrison town.

• Jiaohe - another ruin of an ancient Silk Road town, located about 13 miles west of Turpan. This city was established during the Western Han Dynasty and continued through from the period of Northern Wei.

• Bizaklik Thousand Buddha Caves - Bizalkik Thousand Buddha Caves stand high on the cliffs of west Mutou Valley under the Flaming Mountain, 45 km (28miles) east of Turpan. Of the 83 original caves, 57 caves currently remain. The murals cover an area over 1, 200 square meters (12,917 square feet) in more than 40 caves

Beginning in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the construction experienced Tang, the Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan. The Caves had been the Buddhist center of Gaochang. Near the end of the 13 century, the royal family of Gaochang moved to Yongchang, Gansu. Around this same time, Buddhism in Turpan began to decline in popularity with the introduction of Islam. Subsequently, the religious importance of The Bizalkik Thousand Buddha Caves became less apparent. Many of the caves were destroyed during the ensuing religious clashes. Vandals dug out the eyes of many of the portraits human figures contained in the murals. Later, at the beginning of the 20 century, foreign explorers robbed the caves of much of the treasures. Despite all the destruction, the surviving parts, such as the delicate Buddha seat and the bright color of the murals, give us some idea of its past glory.

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[edit] Sleep

[edit] budget

[edit] midrange

[edit] splurge

[edit] Get out