Xinjiang · China
Turpan travel guide
Turpan is a city in Xinjiang, China, home to about 694,000 people.
- Best months
- March, April and October
- Nearest airport
- TLQ11 km · Turpan Jiaohe Airport
- Currency
- CNYrenminbi
- Time zone
- Asia/Urumqi
- Language
- Chinese, Putonghua, Standard Chinese
About
About Turpan
Turpan (Uyghur: تۇرپان) or Turfan (Chinese: 吐鲁番) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of 69,759 km2 (26,934 sq mi) and a population of 693,988 (2020).
The area around the city, the Turpan Depression, is the lowest point in China and second lowest on Earth (after the Dead Sea) at 154 meters below sea level. It is very dry and sometimes very hot, well into the forties Celsius (over 104 F). The local people have developed karez, an irrigation system composed of wells connected by underground channels, to counter the heat and drought of the place. No place in China is hotter than Flaming Mountain in Turpan, a mountain made famous by the classic Chinese mythological novel, Journey to the West.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Turpan
See
- Grape Valley
- Emin Minaret
- Turpan Idikut Ancient City
- Tuyoq Valley
- Yarghol Ancient City
- Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves
- Ayding Lake
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Turpan
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Turpan are March, April and October. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 41 °C; August is the wettest, with about 4 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Turpan: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Turpan Jiaohe Airport (TLQ), about 11 km from the city centre in a straight line.
TLQ · Turpan Jiaohe Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Turpan
Eat
Turpan is most famous for its raisins made from locally-grown grapes, so make sure you try some while you are here. Plenty of delicious dishes can be found in the market, in front of the bus station, or in the pedestrian zone downtown. Cheap (but spicy) food is the norm, with plenty of meat options. 艾力热孜快餐店 (ai li re zi kuai can dian) on a parallel alley on the eastern side of the bazaar opposite the long-distance bus station serves excellent laghman (noodles), baked dumplings and barbecue skewers. Try the tandoori lamb or lamb dumplings in black-eyed pea soup for a different taste of Uighur food you won't find in other cities in Xinjiang.
Drink
Wusu beer - all around Xinjiang. Probably only 4% Chinese beer. John's Information Cafe in the back of the Turpan Hotel sells wine, beer and imported spirits. Grab a bottle to enjoy under the grapes on their patio. While Turpan has a long history of viticulture and has long been famous for its raisins, winemaking had historically not been a major industry. That said, this has changed as of the 2020s, and the Turpan-Hami Basin is now one of China's premier wine regions, with a number of good quality local wineries to choose from.
Stay safe
There are a lot of young locals who can speak some English and will ask to practise their skills with you before offering you "help" with getting around. This usually involves a lot of "friends" and "uncles" who can take you wherever you want to go, "all you need is money for gas." Of course, don't trust them!
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Turpan: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Turpan?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Turpan are March, April and October. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 41 °C; August is the wettest, with about 4 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Turpan?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Turpan Jiaohe Airport (TLQ), about 11 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Turpan?
renminbi (CNY).
Nearby
Destinations near Turpan
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.