Turpan Region
( 2005-09-13 )

TheTurpanregion sits in a desert basin at the southern foot of the Tian Mountains, at the very center of Northwest China'sXinjiangUygur Autonomous Region. Under its administration are two counties and one city. The region contains 24 ethnic groups such as Uygur, Han, Hui, Kazak, Russian, Manchu, Zhuang, and Miao, with a total population of 559,000, of which the Uygurs account for 71 percent. Turpan City, seat of the administrative agency, is 182 kilometers away from Urumchi based on highway distance.

Turpan has a continental desert climate. The region has the forest area of 70,000 hectares and a pastureland area of 76.82 hectares. The volumes of its surface and underwater resources are 5.66 hundred million and 7.06 hundred million cubic meters respectively.

The rare animals are the snow cock,snow leopard,Mongolian gazelle, andwild camel, while the medicinal plants mainly are Angelica sinensis, Ephedra sinica, licorice, Saussurea involucrate, tattooing sugar, grape, and sacsaoul.

The main mineral resources are coal, oil, iron, natural gas, salt, gold, and mirabilite (crystal), whose compound reserves of kentite and sodium nitrate top all others in China.

Turpan -- Town of Grape at the foot of theFlaming Mountains

Turpan City, called Gaochang, Xizhou, and Huozhou (fiery land) in ancient times, is located in the middle of the Turpan basin in east Xinjiang, with an average altitude of 32.8 meters and a total area of 1.6 million square kilometers. The city is located 184 kilometers away from Urumchi, with a population of 244,500. The city is unique in landscape, numerous in ancient remains, and rich in mineral resources and native produces, and also tops all other cities in China in the hottest weather, lowest altitude, driest place, and sweetest fruit.

The area is the lowest and the hottest place in China. The mean temperature here all-year-round is from 12.1 degrees to 14.9 degrees centigrade, and in the sweltering summer days it rises up to 40 degrees Celsius, with a ground temperature as high as 80 degrees Celsius, hence the name of "Fiery Land."