Turpan

Why go

The lowest place in China — Aiding Lake at 154 metres below sea level. Karez — an underground irrigation system of thousands of kilometres, dug by hand. Grapes in a furnace — a valley of vineyards drying raisins in ventilated brick towers. Two ruined cities — Jiaohe and Gaochang, both of rammed earth, both enormous.

The character

Turpan sits in a depression below sea level in Xinjiang, one of the hottest places in China — summer temperatures pass forty-five degrees and the Flaming Mountains north of the town are named for the way they look at midday. Almost no rain falls. Yet the valley is famous for grapes and melons, and the reason is the karez: a system of hand-dug underground channels bringing snowmelt from the Tian Shan through hundreds of kilometres of tunnel, so that the water arrives without evaporating.

The system is at least two thousand years old and thousands of kilometres of it were dug by hand, with vertical shafts every twenty metres for spoil and access. Around it grew a Uyghur agricultural culture of vineyards, drying towers and courtyard houses shaded by vines, and two great ruined cities — Jiaohe, carved down into a river island, and Gaochang, built up in rammed earth behind five kilometres of wall. Turpan is where the Silk Road's northern and southern routes met, and the layers here are Buddhist, Manichaean, Nestorian and Muslim in turn.

Places of character

Jiaohe — the city cut downward into a leaf-shaped plateau; almost no masonry in the whole site. Gaochang — five kilometres of rammed-earth wall and a Buddhist monastery, with donkey carts round the perimeter. Karez Museum — a section of the tunnels you can walk into, with the engineering explained. Emin Minaret — a 1777 mud-brick tower of extraordinary geometry beside a mosque. Grape Valley — vineyards and drying houses in a gorge, with vine-shaded terraces to eat under. Astana tombs and Bezeklik caves — the necropolis and the cave temples in the Flaming Mountains.

The way to do it

Move at either end of the day; the middle is genuinely dangerous in summer. Take a driver for the sites, which are spread across the valley. Eat under a vine trellis, which is the local solution to shade. And note that Xinjiang travel involves checkpoints and documentation.

One perfect day

Jiaohe at seven, walking the sunken avenues while the earth is still cool and the shadows sharp. Breakfast of naan and tea. Karez museum mid-morning, down into a tunnel where the water still runs. Retreat for the middle of the day under a vine trellis in Grape Valley, with melon and raisins and a bed to lie on. Out again at five to Gaochang, circling the walls by donkey cart as they turn the colour of the Flaming Mountains behind. Emin Minaret at sunset. Dinner of lamb and hand-pulled noodles as the heat finally goes.

Grand hotels

n/a — Turpan's hotels are functional; the interest is entirely in the valley.

When to go

Best expression: September and early October — the grape harvest, warm rather than lethal. Consider: May, before the heat, with the vines in leaf. Avoid if possible: June to August, when the valley regularly exceeds forty-five degrees.

The frame

Ideal stay 2 nights · Minimum 1 night · Best arrival high-speed rail from Ürümqi, an hour · Airport TLQ, 10 km · Walkability the town; sites need a driver · Best without a car no