Located 150 km to the southeast of Urumqi, Turpan is famous for the best grapes and melons in China. Historically, it served as an important trading post on the ancient Silk Road and was the intersection point of Han civilization and Uyghur civilization. The two tourist attractions you should not miss in this city are Karez and Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves.
For luxury travelers, there are no luxury hotels in this area; local 4-star hotels are the best options.
turpan tourist attractions
Flaming Mountains
The Flaming Mountains are barren, eroded, red sandstone hills in the Tian Shan of Xinjiang. The extremely high summer temperatures make this the hottest spot in China, frequently reaching 50 °C or higher.
Emin Minaret
The Emin Minaret is the tallest Muslim minaret in China, one of the major tourist attraction in Turpan. The whole building is made of yellow bricks. It is golden during the sun set, one of the places that can not be missed by photographers.
Karez
Karez is dedicated to demonstrating its karez water system, as well as exhibiting other historical artifacts. The system is a vertical tunnel system adapted by the Turpan people.
Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves
The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves is a complex of Buddhist cave grottos dating from the 5th to 14th century between the cities of Turpan and Shanshan at the north-east of the Taklamakan Desert near the ancient Gaochang Ruins.
Jiaohe Ruins
Jiaohe Ruins was an ancient city in the Yarnaz Valley, 10 km west of the city of Turpan. It is the world’s largest and oldest adobe building city.
Tuyoq Valley
Tuyoq Valley is an ancient Uyghur oasis-village in the Taklamakan desert, 70 km east of Turpan in Shanshan County in a lush valley cutting into the Flaming Mountains with more than 2,600 years.
Gaochang Ruins
Gaochang Ruins, also called Karakhoja is the site of a ruined, ancient oasis city on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in present-day Xinjiang.
Astana Cemetery
The Astana Cemetery is an ancient cemetery 37 kilometers southeast of Turpan. It served mainly as the cemetery for the descendants of Chinese settlers in Gaochang from the 4th century to the first half of the 8th century.