Location: Turpan
Top Things to do in Turpan
Top Restaurants in Turpan
Top 10 Sights & Landmarks in Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur
Coordinates: 42°57′00″N 89°11′00″E / 42.95°N 89.1833333°E / 42.95; 89.1833333
Restaurants in Turpan
1. Ancient City of Jiaohe (Yarkhoto)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 226 reviews
Reviewed By TanSuoTravel - London, United Kingdom
A visit to these ancient ruins is simply a must for anyone fascinated by the history of the Silk Road! The 2,300-year-old Jiaohe Ruins represent the ancient remains of a Silk Road oasis town named Jiaohe, which was established as far back as the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). This is a real Silk Road oasis town; untampered with and physically resonating with history. Not to mention, it’s not really a very popular tourist site, so we almost had the place to ourselves. The buildings are still relatively intact, which is incredible when you consider how old they are. In particular, the Jiaohe Temple has been so well-preserved that there are still a few visible statues of the Buddha carved into the sides of its walls! The scenic area has been well-mapped out, with signage that tells you what part of the town you are in at any given moment. While the buildings all look relatively similar, it is these signs that really give you an idea of how large and prosperous this oasis town once was. The residential area is particularly fascinating, as you could spend hours imagining what it might have been like to have lived in this deserted place. We'd recommend arranging a taxi from Turpan to the Jiaohe Ruins, as it is in quite a remote location. You'll need your passport in order to buy your entry tickets. At the main entrance area, you can watch a short movie about the history of Jiaohe, although it is all in Chinese. After that, you board a shuttle bus that takes about 15-minutes to arrive at the oasis town itself. At the entrance to the town, there is a small seating area where you can buy refridgerated drinks and fresh fruit. We'd strongly recommended buying or bringing some water, as there is no cover from the sun and it can get blisteringly hot, so it's important to stay hydrated!
2. Ancient City of Gaochang (Kharakhoja)
3. Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves
4. Uygur Ancient Village
5. Turpan Kariz underground water system
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 82 reviews
Reviewed By AZCasualTraveler - Mesa, United States
Visiting the Turpan Kariz underground water system had been both educational and interesting to learn how water was brought into this desert area from the mountains. There is a visitor center/museum at the entrance to the Kariz water system that contains a lot of history and information about this water system. From within the visitor center, there is spiral walkway down to the underground water channel - nice! In this underground water channel part of the Museum, you can actually see the water flowing from one of the old channels - water from the snow-covered mountains to the desert plain area. Quite interesting to see how this system actually works for bringing in the precious water to the surrounding desert area. The Turpan-Kariz Underground Water System is definitely a worthwhile place to visit and it does not take a lot of time to see the Museum and Underground System.
6. Emin Minaret (Su Gong Ta)
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 116 reviews
Reviewed By irazhar - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A beautiful old mosque but now longer being used as a mosque. What a pity for those soul that had put money and effort to build the mosque. In Islam, even if you are dead you still get 'bonus' from the good deeds you made like building this beautiful mosque.
7. Karez System
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 147 reviews
Reviewed By JeanWN - Singapore, Singapore
KAREZ: one of the three major projects of Ancient China; an ingenious system of boreholes in the desert at frequent intervals tapping into the underground cool glacial waters coming from the surrounding Tianshan snow capped mountains. The irrigation system supports the vineyards, loads of fresh vegetables, ‘hami melons” and the familiar watermelons too. The lush Gobi! One is able to go underground to view the tunnels where the water never seems to stop gushing along. Cool! Above grow grapes which are turned into green raisins (wind dried) and black (sun dried) the former being the better choice. The people here come from Eastern Europe, there are numerous ethnic groups settled here from the Uighurs, Kazaks, Han Chinese etc. Turpan's total of over 1,100 kanzai, run about 5,000 kms and is one of three of Ancient China's major projects
8. Tu Lu Fan Qing Nian Lu Bu Xing Jie
9. Astana-Karakhoja Tombs
10. Qiquan Lake Sayi Bongsudae
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