Silk Road Oasis

CHINA PICTORIAL MAGAZINES

Features

Silk Road Oasis

Text by Liu Haile

On the morning of July 9, 2010, a Boeing 737 descended through the clouds and landed at Turpan Jiaohe Airport. This was the first commercial flight ever to land at the new airport, which is notable for its lowest-altitude runways in China. Now, travelers have a more convenient way to reach Turpan, a famous tourist destination in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Turpan is best known for its Grape Valley thriving with fruits, mysterious ruins, underground canals that rival the magnificence of the Great Wall, the Flaming Mountain famous for scorching weather, and boundless deserts. Along with timeless Uygur cultural elements, the land has a high concentration of tourist attractions, making it a must-see destination in the autonomous region.

Turpan means “land of fertility” in Uygur language, and was an important town along the ancient Silk Road. As early as the Han (206 BC-AD 220) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, the local culture was already attracting the interest of passing camel caravans. The area’s ancient civilizations have gradually waned over the centuries, but plentiful cultural relics remain as a reminder of the ancient town’s past glory. Of the historic ruins, the most famous are Emin Minaret, Astana Tombs, and Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves which is considered a “treasure house of Buddhist culture and art.”

Home of the Grape

An old Xinjiang saying goes that “Turpan is famous for grapes, Hami for melons, and Korla pears are widely praised.”

The famous Grape Valley is hidden deep in the Flaming Mountain, 13 kilometers northeast of Turpan’s city proper. Snow from the nearby Tianshan Mountains melts into man-made canals to irrigate more than 400 hectares of vineyards in the valley. When summer ends, the grapevines paint the hillsides green, while cabins used to air-dry grapes make neat rows in the shade. Turpan’s climate is arid and sunny, which gives local grapes high sugar content. Along with the grapevines, the orchards are dotted with other fruit trees yielding peaches, apricots, pears, pomegranates, figs and mulberries. In July and August, when most areas of Turpan, especially the aptly-named Flaming Mountain, are sweltering in heat, Grape Valley remains pleasantly cool.

Grape Valley is classified as a National 5A Scenic Resort and attracts plentiful visitors every year, but Yu Qingming, director of the Administrative Committee of Grape Valley is not yet satisfied. “Our ultimate goal is to build a world-renowned grape expo,” he explains. Each August, Turpan holds a grape festival that features several grape-themed performances and wine tastings. Already, the festival lures considerable flocks of tourists and merchants from around the world each year.

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