 Turpan was called as Gushi in ancient
times. It was the place where the State of South Cheshi
and the South Cheshi Court were set up during the Han
Dynasty. During the earlier Liang Gaochang Prefecture
and Tiandi county were established, which are under
the jurisdiction of Shazhou Administrative Division.
Northern Wei Dynasty State of Gaochang was found by
ancient Rouran nationality, Xichang Prefecture was set
up here in Tang Dynasty, later renamed Xizhou Prefecture.
During Song Dynasty, it was called Gaochang Huihu, Uygur
with a regent as the governor .During Yuan Dynasty,
the Hezhou Administrative Department was established
under the jurisdiction of the Bieshibali Executive Chancery
; At the end of the Yuan Dynasty,the Department of the
Director General( Wanhu Daluhuachi) was established
to administer Liucheng, Huozhou and Turpan. Liucheng,
Huozhou were incorporated into Turpan during Ming Dynasty.
It was under the Bizan Executive Minister of Shanshan,
which was under the jurisdiction of the Gansu Administrative
Department. The 44th year of Qing Emperor Qianlong ,
it was under jurisdiction of the Leading Minister of
Turpan . The tenth year of the Qing Emperor Guangxu,
it was under jurisdiction of an assistant general of
the governor of Anxi Prefecture of Gansu Province. In
the 12th year of Emperor Guangxu , the Turpan Department
was established and directly under the governor of Dihua
Prefecture. In the second year of the Republic of China
(1913), Turpan County was established. After liberation,
it was first under the jurisdiction of Dihua Prefecture,
directly under the Autonomous Region; it now belongs
to the city of Urumqi and Turpan Prefecture.
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景区一览
旅游文化广场
 1997年中国旅游年新疆TurpanGrape Festival开幕的前两天〔1997年8月24日〕，Turpan市旅游文化广场正式投入使用。
Turpan市旅游文化广场是一个多功能的综合性广场，分为三个功能区:东部休闲区，中部政治集会区，西部商业活动区。
政治集会区为低于整修广场平面155厘米的下沉式中心集会广场，近似一个椭圆形的建筑体，建筑面积5349.78平方米，活动中心平地2800平方米，观众席可容纳3500人，主席台可坐200多位贵宾，半径51米的大型舞台内包容着一个小舞台，主席台两侧20×2.4米的巨型浮雕反映了丝绸之路重镇Turpan的今昔和民俗风情。小舞台两侧拾阶而上直达主席台，主席台向东的25米长的天桥延伸进入圆形音乐喷泉的中央，最东端，五星红旗迎风飘扬。主席台下方有通道直通到东部草坪处的休闲区。主席台基础空间有两间贵宾接待室，一间电控室，一间演员化妆室，两间男女卫生间和一间办公室。这里是广场的枢纽，控制着整修广场的高杆灯、62盏庭院灯、82盏草坪灯、52盏路灯的电路和圆形音乐喷泉、条形程控喷泉的程序。
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Magic Spring
 Magic Spring,located in Erbao Town of Turpan,it
is 28km to the east of Turpan City.It is 100 meters
above sea level
The magic spring locates in the southern slope
of Flaming Mountain,and is bubbling out with quantity
of half a cubic meter daily.The temperature of
water is about 15 degree .The water is pure and
clean, rich in mineral contains,the local people
believe that it is nati dandruff and good for
te=reating skin disease.If ladies drink this water
often,they can give birth to a boy .Thus a lot
of local people come to get water.
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Astana Ancient Tombs
 The grave lies in 40 kilometers southeast
of Turpan ,is 6 kilometer far away the ancient
city of Gaochang. Its name" The Underground
Museum", was paid attention to by China and
foreign archeology and history educational circles.
Astana means" capital" in Uygur language
; Karakhoja is the name of a legendary hero of
the ancient Uygur kingdom who removed the evils
from from the people by killing a vicious dragon.
They are now the names of two local villages.
Buried in these tombs are nobles, officials
and others from the period beginning in Western
Jin and ending in the middle of the Tang Dynasty,
hasn't found the grave of Gaochang king. The famous
general Zhang Xiong of Qushi Gaochang kingdom
and his wife and his son Zhang Huaiji were buried
here, there are over 500 tombs, all bodies are
hardly rotten, became into more precious dry body
than "mummy" in the pyramids in the
Egypt. The most of the dry bodies are intact,
some can be seen the eyeball. Because climate
is dry and hot, many picture, earth tomb figures
and earthed cultural relic's colors are floret
like original, are reserved very much. Unearthed
boiled dumpling's shape is the same as now in
Tang Dynasty,stuffing in the boiled dumpling is
also intact like original. In addition, wrote
"Ceng official", "Feng official"
words in a paper. Ceng official is famous poem
Cengseng in Tang Dynasty; Feng official is Feng
Changqing of ancient city of Beiting in Tang Dynasty.
Most of buried people are Hans in this tombs,
also have Cheshi, Hun, Xianbei, Gaoche and Zhaowujiuxing.
Now three tombs have been opened to let people
view and admire. Besides dried-up corpses, there
are person and flower and birds' murals. This
place was classified as important cultural relics
unit protected by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region in 1957.
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Bizaklik thousand-Buddha Caves
 Bizaklik thousand-Buddha Caves, 48 kilometers
northeast of the Turpan urban area, are located
in the Flaming Mountains' Mutou Valley in the
east of the Turpan, called "Ningrong Grottoes"
in the Tang Dynasty. Now numbered caves have 77,among
of them, remained murals have over 40,the total
area of murals is about 1,200 square meters, is
a caves group whose remained caves are most, and
architecture form are most, the content of murals
are most in Turpan region.
The earliest caves in the caves group was built
in Qushi Gaochang, from then on, from Tang Dynasty
to Yuan Dynasty, till the 13th century, the place
always is Buddhism holy land in Turpan region,
but most prosperous period is in Xizhou Huihu
period, at that time, this place is the temple
of Huihu king, most of the remained caves was
rebuilt or exitended at that time.
Now, people still can see remaining Buddhist
murals the features of the Huigu King and Queen
and ancient Uygur 's parts of living conditions
in remained Buddha murals here, ancient Huigu
characters, Chinese characters for research on
the written languages and history of Xinjiang's
various nationalities, and Uygur in particular.
Remained "disciple go into mourning mural"
and "Biqiu go into mourning picture"
in the back wall of thirty-three cave put up personal
heart feeling,visual and vivid,has character,is
a excellent art work.The image of ancient musical
instrument"little Hulei" in the "Jiyue
mural"in the 16th number cave and mural "Hell
change" in the 17th number cave are all infrequent
in our caves.The place has been ranked important
cultural relics protection enterprise in our country
in 1982.
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Turpan沙漠植物园
 Desert Botanical Garden Lies in 11 kilometers
south of Turpan, within administer sand station
popedom in Qiatkale Township, the area is about
300 mu, the arboretum planted xerophil, sand-grew
plants, salt-grew plants and few wet feet plants
various plants 103 kinds in all in aeolian land
and wilderness and dune recent years, added introduced
and untransplanted agrestic species and wild ruderal
128 kinds in all, belong to 27 famIlies 63 genuses.
Bean family, kurrajong, odd willow family and
poplar and willow family are more, can divided
into oil plants, officinal, coloring matter, fabric,
sand-fixation, charcoal, pasturage, intertexture
material, etc by economy usage; parts of plants
can be viewed and admired. For example holly,
rosebush, kendyr, mallow, Chinese odd willow,
etc.
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Wudaolin Wind Breaker
Turpan is a "wind store". within famous
"thirty miles' wind region", gale is
very strong in spring and autumn, usually without
method to measure and calculate, threatened big
pieces of oasis and fertile soil in the cantonal
seriously. "Five forest" lies in 12
kilometers northwestern suburb of city. It was
result that local government organized people
to prevent sand and forestation. Adopting to plant
trees in the ditch, forest and ditch combine,
wide row alternate with narrow row, many configurations,
etc measures formed unique style's method of forestation.
"Wudaolin Forest" is 3,800 meters long,
is 23 meters wide; dug five canals side by side
in the forest, plant blue poplar, poplar, wild
olive, mulbery, etc trees, there are five channel
and ten rows, "Five Forest" was named
for this reason. It resisted the sand calamity,
disaster caused by wind, effectively. Furthermore,
it attracted many tourists to go to view and admire,
except forest belt, there are wander and flowing
Karezes which were burst into in the hill.
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The Lukqin ancient Graveyard Lies in north
of Lukqin town in Shanshan county. Is in range
of 5 kilometers from east to west and 2 kilometers
from south to north, you can look at distributed
graves, there are high and big heaping earth at
the top of every grave's burial chamber, the biggest
is up to 2--3 meters, can look at the road of
grave behind the heaping earth dune. Every family's
cemetery enclosed into "甲" shape with
gravel and became a group of cemetery. In the
cemetery, according to ancestors' order to bury
in turn. They are ruins of grave from Gaochang
kingdom to Tang Dynasty, ever excavated in 1978,unearthed
many cultural relics and Han character epitaph,
showed that they are grave of inhabitants in Liuzhong
county in Gaochang kingdom and inhabitant s in
Tiandi county in Xizhou in Tang Dynasty. The style
of cultural relics are same as unearthed cultural
relics in Astana Tomb in Turpan. These are precious
material in studying history of Turpan area.
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Yarhotto,the ancient
city of Jiaohe
 The Ancient City of Jiaohe The Ancient City
of Jiaohe lies in 13 kilometers' Yarnaz Valley
west of the city of the Turpan .It was capital
of the State of South Cheshi which was one of
thirty-six states in the western region in earlier
period. As described in the dynasty history book
The Notes on the Western Region, A History of
the Han Dynasty :"the State of South Cheshi
made the city of Jiaohe its capital, which was
circled by river flowing by the city, hence the
name of 'Jiaohe'( the city of joining rivers)."
The Ancient City was built on a plateau which
is about 30 meters high, is 1,650 meters long,
the widest place is up to 300 meters. The city
has no walls and is protected by the natural fortification
of the precipitous cliffs.
In western Han Dynasty, central government established
"Jiaohebi" (an administrative division)
and appointed and dispatched a commanding general
officer to the Turpan area. During the period
for the Northern Wei Dynasty to the beginning
of the Tang Dynasty, Jiaohebi was Jiaohe Prefecture
under the jurisdiction of Gaochang kingdom. Anxi
MIlitary Viceroy's Office, the highest civil and
mIlitary administrative organ set up by the Tang
government in the Western Region, was first established
in the city. Between the middle of 9th century,
the city was occupied by Tibetans. After that,
it was called Jiaohe Prefecture and fell under
the jurisdiction of the Huigu Gaochang kingdom.
In the middle of the 13th century, was destroyed
in Mongolian aristocratic rebellions.
The size of the existing ruins indicates its
great prosperity during Tang Dynasty by and large.
There are two city gates, the southern gate is
main, but was destroyed. The eastern gate is relatively
well-preserved, with visible gateway and mortice
openings for mounting the gate lintels. There
are hideouts built in the gate for soldiers to
defend the city.
The ruins of architectures' are is about 220,000
square meters in city. They may be divided into
temple, inhabitants, office, etc parts by and
large. Entering southern gate, there is a main
road which is about 350 meters, is 10 meters wide,
and cross through the center of the city's biggest
temple of Buddha in whole city. The stupa still
exist before the gate of temple of Buddha, you
may look at the scenery of whole city standing
the stupa. There are many temples of Buddha, southeastern
area of the city are located administrative office
buildings and official residences which are the
only big buildings built of bricks and tiles in
whole city is in this region. According to research,
the two-story building is probably the seat of
Anxi's MIlitary Viceroy's Office during the Tang
Dynasty .
The architecture style is different from Gaochang's,
most dig the ground for yard, dig the hole for
rooms, ramming for walls, most of the houses are
two-storied without windows near the street, and
courtyard gates are hidden in deep lanes. These
are architecture style of Tang Dynasty .Now tourists
come here, they still can work along the streets
and go through the halls into the charming inner
rooms. In 1961,the ancient city of Jiaohe was
classified important cultural relics unit protected
by the state.
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Imin Minaret
 Its total name "The Tower for showing
Gratitude to Iminhoja ", another name "Sugong
Tower", local Uygur people also called it
"Turpan Tower", lies in 2 kilometers'
place which is in the east of Turpan . This tower
was built in 1778, is the remained biggest ancient
towers in Xinjiang, and has architecture style
all his own.
This tower is cylinder whose top is thick and
underpart is thin, is 37 meters high, the bottom
perimeter is 10 meters. The tower was built with
brick with rhombuses , ripples, varied four-petal
flowers, mountains, etc 15 patterns. Has 14 windows
opened in different height and different directions
in tower ,along the 71-stepped spiral flight of
stairs leading to the top.
There are a stone tablet which was put during
building time at the entrance of the tower, narrated
reason of building the tower with Uygur characters,
Chinese character respectively. The Minaret was
built by Turpan shire king to commemorate and
praise his father Eminhoja who achieved brilliant
mIlitary success in suppressing the armed rebellion
raised by the Junggar rebellion aristocrates.
There is the biggest mosque below the Emin Tower
in Turpan, harmonized with the ancient tower.
The mosque is rectangle, an arched gate with a
pointed top. During religious festivals, crowds
of people stream into the mosque and make the
mosque a hive of activity.
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Gaochang Ancient City
 Ancient City of Gaochang The Ancient City
of Gaochang is near the Flaming Mountains Township
which is about 46 kilometers far away southeast
of Turpan city. The rampart stand tall and erect,
streets are crisscross, the relics of protection
river still exist, the walls are intact by and
large, are divided into inner city, outer city,
palace city three parts. The square outer city
is 12 meters thick, is 11.5 meters high, the perimeter
is 5.4 kilometer. The wall is built of tamped
earth, with some section repaired with adobe.
There are two gates of city on each side of the
outer city and the two on the west side with defense
enclosures outside the gates are the best preserved.
The inner city is in the center of the outer
city; most of the city walls of west and south
are well preserved. The perimeter is about 3 kilometers.
The palace city is rectangle, Lies in northern
city, the northern palace wall, namely northern
wall of external city, southern palace wall, namely
northern wall of inner city. there are many 3-4
meters high's earth daises hereabout, are places
of Huigu Gaochang at that time.
There is a high terrace towards in north-central
part of the inner city, there is a over 15 meters
high's square pagoda built of adobe called "Khan's
castle" on it, means Imperial palace, there
is a two-story structure which was probably the
ruins of palace .
There is a big temple in southwestern external
city, the gate of temple is about 130 meters from
east to west, is about 85 meters wide from south
to north, occupied 10 thousand square meters,
was made up of arched gate, courtyard, lecture
hall and library of sutras , a main hall and the
monks' dormitory. In the main hall ,remains relics
of murals. The renowned Buddhist monk Xuan Zang
of the Tang Dynasty is said to have lectured in
the temple for more than one month in the year
628 on his way to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures.
Near the temple, still remain ruins of workshops
and market site. There is a small temple in southeast
of inner city, remained murals are better than
above-mentioned main hall.
The City of Gaochang was built in the 1st century
B.C., was called as "Gaochangbi" originally,
is a key point on the Silk Road. Later passed
by Gaochang Prefecture, Gaochang kingdom, Xizhou
Prefecture, Huigu Gaochang, Huozhou Prefecture,
etc over 1,300 years' changes, was burnt down
in wars in the 14th century A.D. The place was
classified important cultural relics unit protected
by the state in 1961.
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沙疗所
 Sand Therapy Center Lies in 16 kilometers
northwest of cantonal, from the middle ten days
of June to the early in August every year, there
are thickly dotted cloth tents, tents, sun umbrella,
all the colors of rainbow, dotted like star in
two big sand hill here, under these prevention
equipment, some people lie and some people stand,
make half body buried in scorching sand piles,
let hot sweet dripping wet. This is famous and
fancy "bury sand therapeutics" in "Huozhouj",
integrate heat treatment, magnetotherapy, knead
into "sand". It was measured to treat
arthrits, rheumatic by this means, effectiveness
ratio is up to over ninety percent.
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Karez Well
 The Kares System and the Great Wall, Grand
Canal are called as ancient three biggest projects
in China. Kares's total amount is up to a thousand
in Turpan, the total length is about 5,000 kilometers.
The structure of Kares are made up of soil, underground
canals, ground canals and "small reserviors"
four parts by and large, there are a plenty of
snow and rain flowing down the valley in Bogda
mountain north of the Turpan Basin and Kalautage
mountain west of the Turpan Basin in spring and
summer, diving into desert. people use the gradient
of hill, created Kares dexterously, used underground
undercurrent to irrigate the fields. Kares's moisture
can't evaporate largely because of torridity,gale,
so rate of flow is stable, ensured flowing automatically
irrigation.
Kares was recorded in Shi Ji, was called "well
canals". Remained Kares in Turpan, most was
built in succession ever sine Qing Dynasty. Nowadays,
still are irrigate the big piece oasis and field.
Kares can be visited and toured in suburb Turpan.
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Aydingkol Lake
 Aydingkol Lake is the bottom of the Turpan
Basin, south is about 40 kilometers far away the
city of Turpan . The lake basin is about 40 kilometers
from east to west, is about 8 kilometers wide
from south to north, area is about 1,152 square
kilometers. is 154.43 meters below the Yellow
sea level, is only inferior to Dead Sea in the
world, was called as the second inland depression.
Millions of years ago, Aydingkol Lake is a freshwater
lake one thousand times the size of the present
one. But today's Aydingkol Lake is covered only
by silvery white salt crystals and salt crusts
shimmering on the dried-up lake bottom. For this
reason, local Uygur called it "Moonlight
lake". People easily misled by the false
appearances of the mirages and the "dry"
surface of the lake and often get bogged down.
Here one can't find fish in the water nor birds
in the sky, and only swarms of flying insects
sweeping past and occasionally a hare or a field-mouse
scurring away. Attracted by its peculiar geographical
characteristics and wilderness, a continuous stream
of visitors from all over China and abroad come
to the lake to sightsee, take pictures and explore.
Aydingkol Lake contains a large number of salt,
it is said that salt which were hold in store
can be ate enough by 1.2 billion population for
a year. Furthermore, there are rich coal and petroleum.
Now by the Aiding Lake built a chemical plant
where main raw material are salt's crystal alum,
saltpetre in the lake, is the biggest chemical
plant in the Turpan district at present, the products
are sale both here and abroad.
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Grape valley
 T Looking at the Flaming Mountains in the
distance from the city of Turpan, red sands are
shining, the grass and trees don't grow. But grape
valley in the Flaming Hill valley is 15 kilometers
far away city,is a place of unique scene, the
scene is beautiful. Formed striking contrast with
outside the valley.
Step into the valley, dense and thick grape
fields covered whole mountain and valley. The
stream, ditch water, spring drop, added infinite
idyllic for valley, mulberry, peach, apricot,
apple, pomegranate, pear, fig, walnut and various
watermelon, muskmelon and elm, poplar, willow,
locust tree, etc various trees covered valley,
make grape valley become into "grape Valley".
In spring, lush flowers like a brocade; in midsummer,
countless rich fruits. Vines interlace each other,
branches of grape, can reach raise the hand.
The grape valley is about 8 kilometers from
south to north, is half kilometer wide, inhabited
Uigur, Hui, Han three nationalities over 6,000
population in all.Now there are lowlands over
400 hectare, the area of planting grape is up
to over 220 hectare. Produced seedless grape,
Niple grape, rose color, Bijiagan, Kaxhar, black
grape, etc variety. Furthermore, there are various
wines, grape cans, etc which were produced by
fruit wine mill.
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Flaming Mountain
2 Flaming Mountains Flaming Mountains, lying
in the middle of Turpan Depression and running
from east to west, are one of the branch ranges
of the Tianshan Mountains and were formed in the
orogenic movements of the Himalayas fifty millions
years ago. In millions of years, the natural weathering
and the numerous folded belts caused by the crustal
movements have formed the undulating lie and the
crisscross gullies and ravines of the Flaming
Mountains. Under the blazing sun, the red rock
glows and hot air curls up like smoke as though
it were on fir ,hence its name. The mountains
are 98 kilometers long and 9 kilometers wide.
The highest peak is 40 kilometers east of the
city of the Turpan , and 831.7 meters above sea
level. The Mountains are so hot and so dry that
"flying birds even a thousand li away dare
not to come." Yet, the mountains at the same
time act like a giant natural dam of underground
reservior in the basin.
Flaming Hill situated on the north route of
the Silk Road. Till now here still have many cultural
relics and ofen-told ancient tales. Unbelievable
topography, unique products, splendid cultural
ruins and the Monkey King (a leading figure in
the Chinese classical novel Journey to West who
extinguished the flame with a magic fan) have
enjoyed great popularity. In resent years, the
number of visitors to go on the Flaming Mountains
tour has arisen.
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