Northwest China
Turpan sits in a depression 154 metres below sea level, where summer temperatures pass 45°C and a 2,000-year-old network of underground channels (karez) keeps the oasis alive. Ruined Silk Road cities, Buddhist cave murals and grape trellises, all within an hour.
The case for going
A Tang-era city of mud-brick walls on a river plateau, abandoned in the fourteenth century and never rebuilt over.
The oasis capital, and the painted Buddhist caves in the Flaming Mountains gorge above it.
A museum and a working channel section explaining how meltwater travels 5,000 kilometres underground.
The 1777 brick minaret in the Sufi mosque compound — the finest Islamic architecture in Xinjiang.
Trellised lanes, drying houses, and the raisins that end up in every Chinese supermarket.
Practical
Extreme continental desert. Brutally hot June to August; cold, clear winters.
Turpan North station is one hour from Urumqi by HSR; Turpan Jiaohe (TLQ) has limited flights.
Airport. Turpan Jiaohe Airport (TLQ)
Rail. Turpan North is on the Lanzhou–Xinjiang HSR, one hour from Urumqi.
In pictures
Questions travellers ask
Two days: the Jiaohe ruins at opening time, the Flaming Mountains and the karez wells, and the grape valley. It is the hottest place in China — start early.
The oasis town near the grape valley — the shade and the evening markets are the relief after the ruin sites. Everything is within 40 minutes by car.
Twenty minutes from Urumqi on the high-speed rail, or fly into Turpan Jiaohe (TLA). Most routes do Urumqi in, Turpan by rail, then west to Kashgar.
Yes — Jiaohe is one of the best-preserved ancient cities on the Silk Road, and the karez irrigation system is a UNESCO-listed engineering story told well on the ground.
Routes through here
North China
8days
Xinjiang is a province the size of Western Europe with a Silk Road history to match. This route takes the southern arc: the museum and the bazaar in Urumqi, the desert oasis cities of Turpan, then the old trading city of Kashgar and the mountains that start at its edge.
From US$2,750per person
Combine it with
Where to eat
Where to stay
Conrad · Luxury
The most comfortable base in Xinjiang’s capital, and the practical one: a club lounge that opens early enough for the Turpan train, and a concierge who knows which flights to Kashgar actually leave on time.
From US$220 per night
Valid to 2027-03-31
