Fold and Fly Travel: Turpan

Turpan China

Turpan (also spelled Turfan or Tulufan) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Xinjiang, People’s Republic of China. It covers about 70,049 square kilometers (27,046 sq mi) and had a population of around 632,000 in 2015. The city’s original name is unknown. The form “Turfan,” although older than “Turpan,” did not come into use until the mid–2nd millennium CE and became widespread only after the Mongol period. Many settlements in the Tarim Basin have had multiple names over time, and some of those names have been used for more than one place. Turpan/Turfan/Tulufan is one such example; others include Jushi/Gushi, Gaochang/Qocho/Karakhoja, and Jiaohe/Yarkhoto. Turpan has long been the center of a fertile oasis, supplied with water by the ancient karez underground canal system, and has been an important trading hub. Historically, it lay along the Silk Road, near other regional kingdoms such as Korla and Yanqi.

Recommended airport

Turpan (TLQ)

Points of interest

Bezeklik Caves

Turpan, China

Turpan China