Turpan Attractions & Things to do in China’s Hottest Destination

Turpan (also called Turfan or Tulufan) is China’s hottest destination. Always have, always will be. Located in the Turpan depression in western China, Turpan is a stunning Silk Road city and is a great place to add to your Xinjiang travel itinerary. This blog shows you the top Turpan attractions and sightseeing opportunities.

Turpan has enough things to do and unique attractions to explore for at least two full days. We suggest you spend 2-3 days in Turpan to enjoy seeing the top attractions such as the Emin Minaret, Turpan Museum and Flaming Mountain and also have some time for unique experiences like visiting the Influencers Antique Shop and eating some of the best lamb in Xinjiang.

China’s Hottest Destination Now & Forever

Turpan is located about 150 km east of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province. It sits in the Tarim Basin, a depression 100 meters below sea level and the second-lowest point on earth. As a result, Turpan is SWELTERING HOT! Chinese also call Turpan Huo Zhou, which means A place as hot as fire.

It’s the hottest place in China, and when we visited in July, it was above 42 degrees Celcius. Thank goodness it’s a dry desert heat, unlike the humidity of eastern China.

Still, drink enough water and take a break at your hotel in the middle of the day to have an enjoyable visit to Turpan.

The heat and the ancient irrigation system called Karez ensure that Turpan produces the sweetest grapes, melons and other fruit imaginable – this is the fruit basket of China. The underground Karez irrigation system tunnels melting snow from the Tianshan Mountains to the Taklamakan desert in the Turpan depression.

These sweet, seedless grapes are dried in structures called chunches that you can see all around Turpan.

Turpan’s history dates back about 6,000 years to the Western Han Dynasty. It has been a strategic Silk Road city for centuries, and today, Turpan has some exceptional attractions and natural landscapes to explore.

So, let’s stop the small talk and get going to the top Turpan attractions!

Emin Minaret

The stunning Emin Minaret (also called the Sogong Tower) is the tallest minaret in China and stands next to a Uyghur mosque just outside of Turpan. A taxi from the city should take around 15 minutes and cost about RMB 10.

This ancient Islamic tower, 44 metres tall, was built in 1777 to honour the Turpan general Emin Hoja.

The elegant Emin Minaret is made of sun-dried bricks, and the intricate geometric patterns of floral designs and rhombuses are absolutely exquisite!

This unique combination of floral and geometric patterns can only be seen in Islamic architecture in China.

Make sure to see the interior of the actual mosque, too – it’s nice and cool inside. There is beauty in the simplicity of the simple mosque in contrast to the decorative minaret.

Admission: RMB 45

Turpan Museum

An excellent (and free) place to learn about the ancient history of Turpan is the Turpan Museum.

Come here in the middle of the day to escape from the furnace outside and spend a few hours admiring the incredible artefacts discovered from archaeological sites in the Turpan Basin.

Highlights of the Turpan Museum include a handsome collection of dinosaur fossils, artefacts from the Tang dynasty and a collection of Tarim Basin mummies. It really is a fascinating museum that young and old will enjoy.

The dinosaur exhibition features several giant fossils of an ancient rhino called the Tianshan big rhinoceros, which roamed the area about 20 million years ago. These prehistoric rhinos were over seven metres tall and weighed around 15,000 kg!

The highlight of your visit to the Turpan Museum is likely to be the Tarim Basin mummies. Most of these mummies were unearthed from the Astana Graves, about 40 km outside Turpan. This grim collection has been labelled the Turpan Ancient Corpse Exposition Room and is found on the third floor.

Thanks to the hot and arid climate of Turpan, these 3000-year-old mummies have been preserved very well. Of particular interest is the tattoos that these mummies are known for.

Admission: Free
You must deposit bags in lockers at the entrance.
Must show a passport.
Photography allowed.

Flaming Mountain & Tuyugou Great Canyon

A very apt name for a mountain that looks and feels like it’s on fire! Flaming Mountain between Tuyoq village and Turpan is the hottest place in China. The highest air temperature recorded here was 47.8ºC, while the highest surface temperature was above 70ºC!

The entrance fee to Flaming Mountian is RMB 40, where you can snap a picture next to a gigantic thermometer or ride a camel. Or ask your driver to make a quick photo stop at the side of the road – it gives you just as good a vantage point without the giant thermometer and entrance fee.

For an equally spectacular (and free) view of the Flaming Mountain, continue towards Tuyoq village and ask your driver to stop at the Tuyugou Great Canyon.

Tuyugou Great Canyon is an excellent photography spot, and the green snake of trees at the bottom of the canyon running through the arid red landscape is surreal.

Tuyoq Village

Fifty shades of brown. That’s the only thing I could say when we arrived at the traditional Ughyur village of Tuyoq (also called Tuyugou, Tuyuk village or Tuyoq valley).

This ancient oasis village in the desert, roughly 70 km outside Turpan, is drop-dead gorgeous. It’s also a famous pilgrimage site for Muslim Uyghurs visiting the tombs and a cave in Mazar village nearby. A miracle described in the Koran is believed to have happened here.

Due to the arid climate, all the houses are made of mud bricks. You’ll be swimming in a boiling pot of brown as you explore this picturesque village. About a hundred Uyghur families live in Tuyoq, so it’s not really a folk village set up for tourists. But it does have the potential to turn into one of these.

There are a few places to eat in Tuyoq (expect lamb skewers, nang bread and noodles) and a few stands selling juicy Hami melons (hami gua) and sweet grapes. Also, keep an eye out for the only yet fantastic, soft-serve ice cream machine near the mosque in the centre of the village. 

The Thousand Buddha Grottoes, a few kilometres outside Tuyoq village, can make a nice addition to visiting the village. The grottoes were closed for restoration works when we visited, though, and no one could say when they will reopen again.

Admission: RMB 30
Must show your passport

Jiaohe Ruins

The ancient city of Jiaohe, located in the Yarnaz Valley about 10 km outside Turpan, was the capital of the Jushi Kingdom from about 108 BC to 450 AD. It was a significant stop along the Silk Road, and it’s a vast site.
It’s believed to be the largest, oldest and best-preserved earthen city in the world.

Built on a large islet plateau in the middle of the river, Jiaohe had the perfect location for a fortress. This island, set on a plateau of up to 30 meters in height, provided the city of Jiaohe with natural protection from all sides. It didn’t need city walls for protection at all.

When they made the city, people would dig down into the loess soil to excavate rooms underground. These rooms were cool in summer and warm in winter.

The excavated soil was used to build tall walls, up to 6 metres high from rammed earth, that dissected the city into different parts. Today, the Jiaohe ruins consist primarily of these walls left standing.

The city was abandoned in the 13th century after the Mongols invaded and sacked the city.

There is absolutely no shade, so come here first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Admission: RMB 70 (includes shuttle bus from the ticket office to the entrance of Jiaohe ruins)
Must show your passport

网红古董店 Antique Shop

The most unique and memorable Turpan attraction for us was a visit to 网红古董店. It translates to – Internet Celebrity Antique Shop or Influencer Antique Shop. 

In a neighbourhood earmarked for redevelopment and modernization, these two grandpas have turned their home into a display of weird and wonderful collections of memorabilia stretching back six generations. They hope that the internet and influencers can help them save their house and heritage.

The two elderly hosts will show you around and ramble on in Uyghur and Chinese, pointing at pictures and objects. Strange enough, the two grandpas had no intention of selling us anything. When we said our goodbyes, one grandfather told Jin:

Now go. Stay healthy for a long time. 

We are neither influencers nor the internet, but we were so touched by their sincere welcome and upbeat personalities that we could help tell their story. 

Looking for a taxi outside, I couldn’t help but notice the shiny new apartments going up across the road. Things don’t look too good for our grandpas. We can hope.

We will remember these two cute grandpas and their home in Turpan long after we have forgotten how hot it was or how sweet the melons were or the intricate patterns on the Emin minaret.  

Admission: Free; do try and buy something (if they let you)
Location

大院原味架子肉 Restaurant

Lamb and bread, lamb and bread and more lamb and bread. By the time we reached Turpan, we’d had our fill of lamb and nang, so we got KFC and pizza delivered to our hotel.

But even if you think you can’t stomach another lamb skewer or flatbread, we still urge you to go and find 大院原味架子肉. The lamb we had here was the BEST we’ve had during our Xinjiang trip.

The dish you want to order here is called 架子肉. Several chunks of lamb are baked, hanging inside an oven, and YES, it’s as good as it sounds.

While you wait for your lamb to caramelize to perfection in the oven, order a cold Wusu beer and a bowl of bean noodles to forget about the heat and the hunger.

This place does only a few dishes, but they’re dynamite and, as a result, very popular.

Location

Where to Stay in Turpan

Only designated hotels in Turpan are allowed to accept foreign guests. We stayed at the fabulous Metropolo Jinjiang Hotel in the city’s centre for two nights, which is highly recommended.

It has excellent facilities, includes breakfast, and the location is perfect. The humidifier in the room is a nice touch to help you deal with the dry, desert climate. It also has self-help washing machines to get your personal laundry done.

Learn more about the Metropolo Jinjiang Hotel.

How to See the Turpan Attractions

We organized a customized tour with some of my colleagues using a Shanghai-based operator. We had a local guide and transportation included in Turpan, which took us around.

We visited the Turpan Museum, Emin Minaret, Antique shop and restaurant on our own using taxis as these were not included in our tour. Visiting the Jiaohe ruins should also be easy and straightforward with a taxi.

Independent travellers will want to arrange a car and drive for at least half a day to go to Flaming Mountain and Tuyoq village. Ask the hotel to recommend and call a driver for you.

How to Get to Turpan

We arrived to Turpan from Kashgar. A comfortable overnight train took 17 hours to cross the Taklamakan desert, and the desert scenery before arriving in Turpan was surreal.

The nearest railway station is Turpan North, but that is actually still 50 km away from Turpan city. Keep that in mind when booking your train tickets.

Turpan North station is also on the Lanzhou-Urumqi line, and both cities can be reached by train from Turpan.

• Where in Xinjiang will you go next?
• Things to do in Kashgar
  
• Kashgar Old City in Pictures
  
• Kashgar Bazaar & Sunday Market
  
• Chinese Karakoram Highway: Kashgar to Tashkurgan
  
• Heavenly Lake of Tianshan

Enjoy the Turpan Attractions

This concludes our guide to the best Turpan attractions and things to do. You will sweat like a pig, no doubt, but Turpan is a very enjoyable and interesting city to visit. If you have any questions, let us know and we’ll see if we can help. 🙂