Turpan

   

In summer it¡¯s pretty hot in this major tourist city of Xinjiang. The city of Turpan is situated in Turpan Basin, the lowest point on the mainland of China. 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. at the foot of the Flaming Mountain east of Turpan lies and Grape Gully (nickname: Green Pearl City), an oasis where the scorching sun is shut off by luxuriant tree foliages and grapevine trellises that cover 220 hectares and are crisscrossed by irrigation ditches. No place in China is hotter in summer than the Flaming Mountain in Turpan, a mountain made famous by the classical Chinese mythological novel, Journey to the West. Xinjiang's largest ancient pagoda, Dorbiljin (Emin) Pagoda, (also called Sugong Pagoda) stands 2 km east of downtown Turpan. To the east lies Gaochang, which until the early Ming was a thriving town on the Silk Road; today it has been reduced to a 2 million-square-meter stretch of broken walls and deserted fields. The inexorable pace of history is even more keenly felt at Jiaohe, another ancient city that was deserted during the early Ming, leaving a pile of ruins west of Turpan.

The introduction of each scenic spots

1. Ancient Garrison City of Gaochang

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Dating back to the 16th century, the city of Gaochang was an important gateway on the ancient Silk Road, which situated near the Flaming Hill 40 km southeast of Turpan. The ruins of Gaochang covers an area of 2 sq km. The roads and streets are well built and crossed. It has three layers, the outer city, the inner city and the court city, resembling the structure of Xi¡¯an in the Tang Dynasty. The whole city fell to ruins in the war at the end of the 13th century.)

2. The Flaming Mountains

The flaming mountains stretch 100km from east to west and is 10km wide, with the highest peak reaching 831metres. It is mainly composed of the arenaceous rock, conglomerate and mudstone of the Jurassic Period. When in summer the fiery sun beats down on the purple-colored mountains, an intense red glow is reflected from the mountainside, resembling a roaring flame.

 

3. Bozkrik Thousand-Buddha Cave

 

¡°Bezkilik¡± in Uygur means ¡°beautifully decorated house¡±. It is believed that caves were first built during the 6th century¡¯s Gaochang Kingdom. It reached its golden era in the Gaochang Huihe period and had server as the royal temple of the Huihe King. Many caves have been rebuilt or renovated. Nowdays there are 77 remaining caves, 40 of which have incomplete murals that cover an area of 1200 sq meters.

 

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