Turpan lies on the north branch of the Silk Road on the method to Urumqi

22/11/2012 11:48

  Turpan is situated about 150 km southeast of Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital, inside a mountain basin, on the northern side of the Turpan Depression, at an elevation of 98 feet (30 meters) above sea level. Turpan's climate is harsh, from the arid continental kind, with extremely hot summers, very cold winters, and minimal precipitation, which amounts to only 20 mm (0.9 inch) per year. July is the hottest month, with typical highs of 39C (103F) and lows of 25C (77F), whilst January is the coldest, with highs of -4C (26F) and lows of -16C (4F).[1] The Highest temperature ever measured in Turpan Pendi (155 meters below sea level) is 55.3C (131.6F) and the lowest is -38C (-36.4F).


  Turpan, also referred to as Tulufan or Turfan, lies on the north branch of the Silk Road on the method to Urumqi, is an agricultural center producing cotton and cotton textiles, silk, wheat, grapes, dried fruit, and wine. Turpan is the chief town from the Turpan depression, that is situated 180 kilometers southeast of Urumqi within the east component of Xinjiang, is among the few locations in the globe which are beneath sea level. The depression is a long, narrow stretch of land, fifty thousand square kilometers in region, with Bogda Mountain on the north and Kurultag Mountain around the south. The depression was the center of a flourishing civilization in which Indian and Persian elements had been combined. This civilization was later absorbed by the Uygurs, who had their capital there. Turpan will be the hottest city in China, is really a model Silk Road oasis. It's a sleepy desert town shaded by poplar trees and grape arbores, peopled by Uygurs in traditional dress and irrigated by a vast system of hand-dug underground channels that funnel the melting snow from the Heavenly Mountains into Turpan. It has been blessed with well water and, via the ingenuity of its inhabitants in ancient times, has an intricate irrigation system that allows fruit cultivation, in particular juicy melons and plump grapes.
  Wind flows towards the northeast and northwest from the depression. The wind is powerful sufficient to overturn trucks and trains. A powerful wind storm with speeds much more than 36 m/s carried a sizable quantity of sands that buried the homes in the area about 50 years ago, and an additional storm destroyed the entire wheat crop in 1961. To prevent such disasters, shield belts happen to be constructed to cut back the wind speed more than the farm lands (NASA, 2009; Watts, 2008). The Dabancheng Wind Farm, the biggest Wind Farm in Asia having a total capacity of 500 MW from much more than 300 turbines, was built in between the provincial capital Urumqi and the Turpan Depression due to the good wind condition (Wu, 2010).