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Turfan
Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Turfan (Uyghur: Turpan, Pinyin: Tulufan) is an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.
Its population was 254,900 at the end of 2003.

Turfan is a county-level city in Turfan Prefecture, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.

Turfan is located about 150 km southeast of Ürümqi, Xinjiang's capital, in a mountain basin, on the northern side of the Turfan Depression, at an elevation of 98 feet above sea level.

Turfan's climate is harsh, of the arid continental type, with very hot summers, very cold winters, and minimal precipitation, which amounts to only 0.9 inch (20mm) per year.
July is the hottest month, with averages highs of 103°F (39°C) and lows of 77°F (25°C), while January is the coldest, with highs of 26°F (-4°C) and lows of 4°F (-16°C).

However, the very heat and dryness of the summer, when combined with the area's ancient system of irrigation, allows the countryside around Turfan to produce great quantities of high-quality fruit.

Turfan has long been the centre of a fertile oasis (with water provided by karez) and an important trade centre.
It was historically located along the Silk Road's northern route, at which time it was adjacent to the kingdoms of Korla and Karashahr to the southwest and the town of Qarakhoja (Gaochang) to the southeast.
Turfan is the source of numerous fragments written in the Middle Iranian languages (Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Sakan and Bactrian) related to the Iranian religion of Manichaeism.

According to the 2000 census, the city of Turfan had a population of 251,652 (population density 15.99 inh./km²).

The breakdown by nationality was as follows:

Nationality Inhabitants Percentage
Uyghur 177,106 70.38%
Han 55,238 21.95%
Hui 18,482 7.34%
Tujia 182 0.07%
Manchu< 132 0.05%
Tu 98 0.04%
Mongol 77 0.03%
Tibetan 70 0.03%
Kazakh 56 0.02%
Miao 45 0.02%
Russian 33 0.01%
Zhuang 31 0.01%
Dongxiang 30 0.01%
Others 72 0.03%



For a more information about Turfan see Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This page was retrieved and condensed from (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turfan) see Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, November 2007.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details).
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers

This information was correct in November 2007. E. & O.E.




Hui Chin and I joined a conducted bus tour from Urumchi to visit Turpan.

It was a very interesting trip and full of drama, as there was many interesting places to visit and there was also a number of arguments on the bus about the tickets and sights to be visited, the sitting arrangements on the bus and also about the food and the quality and hygene standard of the restaurants we have visited.

To cap it all of, my camera's battery ran flat, half way through, our spare battery and another camera sitting safely back at the hotel in Urumchi (laughing at our misfortune), but a few weeks later I had even worst news, when, after returning home, I found out that two of my new 2Gigabyte SD memory cards, although seemed to work perfectly at the time, have invisible pictures on them.
The pictures seem to exist alright, with all around the 200 plus kilobyte properties and showing as jpeg pictures, but can't be viewed.
I have lost some very interesting, unusual and irreplacable pictures of Turpan, Urumchi, Bishkek in Kyrgizstan and pictures of the countrysides of Kyrgizstan and Kazakstan.

____________o______O_______o____________

Now altough we were there and had our visual and phisical experiences, I have to take advantage of using Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia's resources with our greatful thanks.
Author.

____________o______O_______o____________

I would like to mention a few things, that was mentioned to us during our visit to Turpan, but I do not find any mention on the pages and articles I read before putting this page together.
Turpan is sited in a basin (Turfan Depression), at the second deepest hole after the Dead Sea - under sea level. (328ft. below sea level).
Turpan is one of the hottest place on earth, due to its desert location and relative altitude.
Turpan also one of the driest place on earth again due to it's location and altitude. (This last two points make it ideal place to grow grapes and other fruit with the Karez (water) System's help.
Some of Turpan's listed attractions may be 40+ kilometres away, normally they still will be listed as Turpan's attraction.
On the way to Turpan from Urumchi our bus stopped at a fortress, as I lost the many photos I have taken of this place - as I have explained above, now I can't find any reference or mention of the place - can somebody help me, please?
Author.



Turpan's main attractions are (Some of these could be about 40 or so km away, they are usually listed as local attractions and tour buses from Urumchi etc will visit them as part of the local sights).




Amin Mosque



Astana Graves or Karakhoje Ancient Tombs



Bezeklik - Thousand Buddha Caves or
Bezeklik Temple Grottoes or
Dunhuang or Mogao Caves



Cresent Moon Lake



Dunhuang or Bezeklik or Mogao Caves or Grottoes



Echoing-Sand Mountain



Ediqut or Jiaohe - Ancient City Ruins



Emin Minaret



Flaming Mountains



Gaochang - Kharakhoja or Qarakhoja
Ancient City Ruins



Green Mosque



Jesus Sutras or the Lost Sutras of Jesus



Jiaohe or Ediqut - Ancient City Ruins



Karez or Qanat water System



Maza Village



Jiaohe or Ediqut - Ancient City Ruins



Mogao or Bezeklik 1000 Buddha or
Dunhuang Caves or Temple or Grottoes

 



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