Turpan Karez Folklore Park

The Karez is the third greatest ancient engineering project besides the Great Wall of China and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The Karez is also a unique water conservancy project in desert areas. It is called the "underground canal" by experts in the field of geography. It is mainly composed of four parts: vertical shafts, underground channels, open channels and waterlogging dams. It is widely found in the Turpan area. There are more than 1,100 Karez in total, with a total length of about 5,000 kilometers. Due to the high temperature and dryness in the Turpan area, and frequent strong winds, the evaporation of water is very large. Because all the Karez are dug underground, the shortest is 100 to 200 meters, and the longest is 25 kilometers. When water flows in the underground channel, it is not easy to evaporate, which greatly preserves water resources.

Before coming to Turpan, I had never heard of Karez, and I didn't understand why this attraction was included in the one-day tour itinerary. When I came to Karez, I was shocked by the wisdom of the nation. I understood why there were grape vines and Hami melons in this place with deserts and hills, and why the mutton here was so sweet. Because through the Karez project, the melted snow water from the Tianshan Mountains was drained to nourish the Turpan Basin. This is not just a tourist attraction but the crystallization of national wisdom and dedication.

Turpan Karez Folklore Park is located in Xincheng Ximen Village, Yaer Township, Turpan City. Xinjiang Uygurs have been engaged in agricultural production in the Gobi Oasis for generations. The well-known Karez is a major feature of the water conservancy irrigation system and a feat of people to protect the water flow. Due to the dryness and little rain in the Turpan Basin, the temperature is extremely high, the soil is extremely sticky, very hard and not easy to collapse, which is the main reason why the Karez can be preserved. The Karez is composed of vertical wells, underground channels, open channels and waterlogging dams. There are more than 1,000 Karez in Turpan, with a length of 5,000 kilometers. Turpan Karez is one of the three great projects with the same reputation as the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. The project began to be excavated in 1200 and has a long history.

Located in the arid Turpan Basin, the Karez is as famous as the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. The Karez, which are spread all over the Turpan Basin and crisscrossed, are like an underground Great Wall. Like a canal, they continuously transport snow water from the Tianshan Mountains to the oasis area of Turpan, nourishing orchards and farmland, and are the symbol of Turpan.

China, Iran, and Afghanistan all have karez, but it is still unclear which country invented the karez first. There are more than 2,000 karez in China and more than 20,000 in Iran. The water source of Iran's karez is the snowmelt from the Kunlun Mountains, while the water source of China's karez is the snowmelt from the Tianshan Mountains.

The Karez has a history of 2,000 years. It is comparable to the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. It is known as one of the three major ancient Chinese water conservancy projects, along with the Dujiangyan Irrigation System in Sichuan and the Lingqu Canal in Guangxi. It is said that there are several places to visit the Karez in Turpan, and the Karez Park is one of them. This one is recommended by the master. The ticket is 40 yuan for adults, half price for children, and 100 yuan for a family of three. There are many tourists in the tour group.

The scenic area is not large, and there is a Karez Museum inside. The museum is divided into above-ground and underground parts. In the underground part, you can walk into the Karez passage, observe the working principle of the Karez, and personally feel the difficulty of building the "underground Great Wall".

The tour guide greeted the tourists to get on the bus. The first stop was the Karez Folk Culture Park, located on the east side of Turpan City, about 3 kilometers away from the city center. It is a scenic spot with the theme of displaying Karez culture and one of the most famous attractions in Turpan. There are Karez prototypes and museums in the scenic area, where tourists can systematically understand Xinjiang Karez culture.

It's not worth visiting. Although it has history and characteristics, the display effect is very average, and there are a lot of people selling things at the exit.

Cultural landscapes must be accompanied by explanations to be worth seeing

The infrastructure is complete, the atmosphere of the staff is particularly good, there will be singing and dancing performances in the barbecue area at night, and the food tastes good, it is authentic Xinjiang cuisine~~

The popular science base of Karez tells the story of the development of Karez and also preserves the ruins, which you can go and see.

One of the three great projects in ancient China, you can feel the wisdom of ancient people by yourself. It is worth a visit~

Karez is a special irrigation system in desert areas, which is common in Turpan, Xinjiang, China. Karez is known as one of the three major ancient Chinese projects along with the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. There are more than 1,100 Karez in Turpan, with a total length of about 5,000 kilometers.

The biggest advantage of traveling in the off-season is that there are fewer people and no need to queue. It's a pity that I didn't see the grapes. The tour guide and the driver were very enthusiastic and provided good service. The tour guide explained carefully and I learned a lot.

Don’t make the grapes too sweet. They are really delicious and leave you with a lasting aftertaste.

Karez, one of the great projects of the working people, must be given 5 stars!

It is a must-see attraction in Turpan. There are many tourists. The attraction is not big. The gate of the scenic spot is placed in the parking lot, which means that only tourists brought by travel agencies can come. It is very inconvenient for self-guided tours. There is only one bus passing by, and it may not come once an hour. It is very informative to see the Karez, but the grapes in the park have been picked.

Karez has a strong commercial atmosphere. To exit the scenic area, you need to go through a winding commercial street, where you can find clothing, jade, handicrafts, specialties, etc.

Just hearing about the structure of the karez is already extremely shocking! Thinking of the working people in the past, under such difficult conditions, for the sake of irrigation and survival, they actually spent so much manpower and material resources to dig out such a large area of underground irrigation projects. It is really incredible. . .

Karez is the crystallization of ancient people's wisdom and nurtured the people of Turpan...cough cough introduction. Simply put, due to the lack of water in the area, the locals have to dig very long ditches underground to drain the melted snow water from the mountains to irrigate the crops. It is a unique irrigation system in the desert area.

It is the so-called heritage area, and I think it is a big model.

Many people who have visited the karez say it is a scam, but whether it is a scam or not depends on the individual.

Walking into the scenic spot, you will see "Anarhan's House", which restores our imagination of Turpan. Next to it is Turpan's first pit, which is used to bake naan.

The water source of the Karez is the melted snow from Bogda Peak in the Tianshan Mountains. The water is icy cold and slightly sweet. Walking out of the Karez exhibition area, there is a huge grape rack with countless grapes hanging on it.

The Karez is known as one of the three great projects in ancient China. Its magic can only be experienced by listening to the tour guide's explanation in person. The Karez Folk Park is located in an inconspicuous place in the city. Only a section is symbolically selected for display. Most of them are later imitations, and only the Longkou is the real one.

But it's harmless, its existence is already amazing. In fact, karez can be seen in many places, the raised sand piles in the sand.

As a special irrigation system in desert areas, Karez is common in Turpan, Xinjiang, China. It is known as one of the three major ancient Chinese projects along with the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. There are more than 1,100 Karez in Turpan, with a total length of about 5,000 kilometers. Although such a huge underground project was initially built as an investment by wealthy families to make money, it did not prevent it from becoming a great project that benefited future generations.

The ticket is 40 yuan, and a taxi from the downtown area to the Dashizi is 10 yuan. Karez is a unique underground water conservancy irrigation project in Xinjiang.

I feel it's just so-so inside. I personally don't think it's very interesting, but one thing is that it's very cool inside. Going from the Flaming Mountain to the Karez is like going from hell to heaven, very refreshing.

To be honest, I was not very interested, but the driver said that since I was here, I had to understand the local culture. Karez is a dry desert area that uses groundwater to be developed and infused through underground channels.

It's too hot in Xinjiang, the surface water evaporates quickly, the drinking water people drink is brought here from the underground well built at the foot of Tianshan Mountain, but it's a lie inside, you can't see it at all, it's just very cool, there are art for sale inside

The Karez is an ancient water conservancy device invented by the people of Xinjiang. It makes full use of the slopes and terrain trends, digs channels dozens of meters underground, introduces snow melt water and rainwater, controls water loss and evaporation in the dry season, and provides water for irrigation of farmland and people's daily life.

There were not many people visiting the Karez at night. From what the tour guide said, it was clear that as an irrigation system unique to the desert areas of Xinjiang, the precision and skill of its design reflected the infinite wisdom of the ancient Chinese.

After this tour, in addition to gaining a preliminary understanding of the development and technology of the karez, I was also deeply impressed by the wisdom of the ancients.

The ancients used the slope of the mountain to divert groundwater to irrigate farmland, which still nourishes large tracts of oasis fields today. There is no reckless action that violates the laws of nature and destroys the ecological balance, but rather an ingenious design that utilizes natural conditions to create a small environment for human survival. This awareness fully reflects the concept of human-land coordination, and is the unshirkable responsibility of geographers to cultivate the next generation.

Karez is an underground water conservancy project invented by the working people in Turpan, an arid and high evaporation area. It can use the melted snow water from the Tianshan Mountains to the maximum extent for irrigation and drinking. This may be the coolest place in Grape Valley. There are many grape vines and freshly squeezed grape juice for sale. It is the seedless white juice just picked from the shelf, without any additives, and tastes sour and sweet. You can try it.

I took my children to popularize historical and geographical knowledge, and marveled at the greatness of the ancient Uyghur people. It took ten years to build a 10-kilometer canal, and there are more than 4,000 canals in total. The well water is clear and can be directly drunk.

This is a project that has only been seen in junior high school textbooks and is known as the "Underground Great Wall".

But the deepest well in the entire karez can reach more than 90 meters, and the soil dug out can circle the earth...

When I squatted down to take pictures of the canal… it was really… ah… it was so cool… it was all melted snow water, just let me squat here, don’t pull me up…

Feel the karez water flowing quietly through the vicissitudes of life, irrigating oases one after another... It is the crystallization of the wisdom of the working people, and it is also earned through hard work and sweat. Traveling is not only about scenery and food, but also about local customs and culture.

It is highly recommended. It is recommended to find an explanation after you go there so that you can better understand what the karez is and the production process. The wisdom of the working people is endless!

It is worth a visit and has its own unique features. The only drawback is that tickets can only be purchased by credit card or cash, which greatly dampens the interest of tourists who can only pay by mobile phone.

How did the ancients detect water sources, dig vertical wells and repair underground canals without seeing the water sources? How many failures did they have to go through before they could successfully dig a karez? I admire their wisdom and courage!

The Karez embodies the wisdom of the ancient working people. It is the longest underground river in China and a great engineering project. If you like this kind of thing, you can take a look.

I always thought that "Karez" was a well, but when I went to Xinjiang I discovered that Karez was a huge water diversion and irrigation project - a thousand-mile underground channel dug purely by manpower without any modern machinery.

I heard the tour guide say when passing by the statue of Zuo Zongtang: "Thanks to Zuo Zongtang, if it weren't for him, we would be traveling abroad today." General Zuo is a great contributor to the Chinese nation.

There are lifelike wood carvings here, and you can take a quick tour of the underground wells. No matter how hot the weather is, the water in Xinjiang is always cool, sometimes freezing.

This shows how smart the people of Xinjiang are. No matter how bad the conditions are, they will think of various ways to overcome difficulties and strive to live a good life.

If you are traveling with children, it is recommended that you rent a guide at Karez, which will definitely benefit you a lot.

It's a bit like a tunnel maze, but it feels very cool

According to the guide, although Turpan is hot and rainless, it has abundant underground water sources and special soil that is not easy to collapse, which provides good geological conditions for the development of the Karez. The current scenic spot is the new well, which is partly imitation and statues. I personally think it is not as interesting as the old well. As soon as you enter the old well scenic spot, you will feel a very obvious coolness, and you can truly appreciate the title of Karez as a "natural air conditioner".

It is a great project that embodies the wisdom and hard work of the ancient working people. It can compete with the Great Wall. They dug underground channels to divert the water from the Tianshan Mountains for irrigation.

Karez is still worth a visit. The ticket is 45 yuan. It is recommended to ask for a guide (100 yuan for up to 10 people) to understand it more clearly. It will take about an hour to visit.

We set out early and when we arrived at the Karez Folk Culture Park, including a group of less than 10 of us, we were able to visit and explore without any obstruction.

The Karez attraction is quite disappointing. There is nothing there, just a model and some artificial things placed there.

The weather was very hot and there was no beautiful scenery to see, so I left with a little disappointment. The whole visit took less than an hour.

With the friendship of Hunan in aiding Xinjiang, Karez offers a 40% discount on tickets for Hunanese people. Although the full price is only 40, it is also a source of pride for Hunan. As one of the three great architectural wonders, you still have to experience it.

Going underground to visit the Karez, it was not so hot. After entering, there was a large arched venue with many small commodities for sale, souvenirs, specialties, scarves, and I was interested in the beautiful paintings. The underground water channel of the Karez was quite narrow and crowded. Everyone came to wash their hands with a handful of water. The cool water relieved the heat! I couldn't help but sigh at the wisdom of mankind!

The tour guide said that many people died when digging the karez. It was very dangerous to dig close to the underground undercurrent layer. Once the last layer was dug, water would rush into the tunnel and the people inside would definitely lose their lives. Therefore, people did this with the intention of dying. In addition, when building the tunnel, it was very short and people had to bend over. The long-term bending over caused the surviving heroes to be unable to walk upright after coming out, and they all had hunched backs and bent over. When the local people saw these people, they respected and were grateful to them.

Personally, I think that Karez is more suitable for children in primary or middle school to visit, so that they can visit and understand the crystallization of Turpan people's wisdom - the great water conservancy irrigation system Karez, where staff can give free explanations. As for adults, they have learned about it in textbooks and have understood the principles, so there is no need to see the real thing, which is also a simulation of the irrigation system of Karez.

For more wonderful moments of Xinjiang travel, please read my travel notes💕

Kanjing is worth a visit to learn about China's greatest water conservancy project, how to use groundwater for irrigation in a desert area where no grass grows. The artificial culverts that draw cool spring water from underground really save lives in the desert.

Explore the secrets of Karez, a special irrigation system in desert areas, which is known as one of the three major ancient Chinese projects along with the Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. After the visit, I sincerely felt the difficulty and greatness of the Karez project. I had lunch at a Huizu restaurant outside the Karez, where I had authentic Xinjiang cold noodles.

I tasted white mulberries in the Karez Folk Culture Park and took some photos I liked. It didn’t seem so bad.

The temperature below the Karez is much cooler than on the ground. After visiting the Karez, there is a large shopping mall. The blue roof immediately caught my eye.

There are various handicrafts for sale in the hall. I took a fancy to a hat, but I was hesitant about the price and regretted it so much when I got back.

The Karez is indeed a great invention. In ancient times when there were no large-scale mechanical equipment, the people of the Western Regions built such a huge water conservancy project with their own hands, which makes people have to admire their diligence and wisdom. It is no wonder that later generations compare it to the three major ancient Chinese projects, along with the Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It is the "mother river" of the people of Turpan; it is also known as the three major ancient Chinese water conservancy projects, along with the Dujiangyan Irrigation System in Sichuan and the Lingqu Canal in Guangxi.

Karez, which means "well hole", was recorded as early as in the "Records of the Grand Historian". It was called "well channel" at that time, and "Kanerzi" in Xinjiang Uyghur. Karez is a special irrigation system in desert areas, which is common in Turpan, Xinjiang, China. Karez is known as one of the three major ancient Chinese projects along with the Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. There are more than 1,100 Karez in Turpan, with a total length of about 5,000 kilometers.

Karez is a very ancient type of horizontal water collection structure for developing and utilizing groundwater. It is suitable for foothills and the edge of alluvial fans. It is mainly used to intercept underground groundwater for farmland irrigation and residential water use.

The structure of the karez is generally composed of four parts: a vertical shaft, an underground channel, a surface channel, and a "laoba" (a small reservoir). In the Bogda Mountain in the north of the Turpan Basin and the Karaucheng Mountain in the west, a large amount of snow and rainwater flows down the valley and into the Gobi Desert in spring and summer. People used the slope of the mountain to cleverly create the karez to lead underground flow to irrigate farmland. The karez does not cause a large amount of water to evaporate due to heat and strong winds, so the flow is stable, ensuring gravity irrigation.

The Karez fully embodies the wisdom of the ancient working people. Although modern science is very advanced, the Karez has been in use until now, which shows the scientific value of the Karez. I want to praise the ancients. They used their wisdom and wisdom to leave a precious legacy for future generations. It is really great.

Next to the Grape Valley. The working people are really smart. They can grow such delicious fruits in such a dry place. It is necessary to go in and learn more.

The Karez underground water conservancy project uses underground drilling channels to divert snow-capped mountain meltwater to village farmland, avoiding evaporation loss due to surface baking. This is how the Turpan region has overcome harsh natural conditions and achieved prosperity. This is the wisdom of the working people for thousands of years!

The ticket is 40 yuan. On the ground are some homestay statues, grape racks, and a small museum. The real karez is hidden at the entrance of the museum's inland underground passage. Walking down the passage, you can see those interconnected secret passages and wells. They are still in use today. It probably uses the principle of altitude difference to introduce snow-capped mountains and rivers through underground passages, open channels and secret channels. 😂 Anyway, it is a very ancient and awesome water conservancy project🐮

The exit from underground to above ground is cleverly designed as a souvenir shopping area and a grape house experience photo area

If you are not a hydrologist, if you are not interested in agricultural irrigation, then don't come!

The Karez, one of the three major water conservancy projects in ancient my country, draws its water from the snow of the Tianshan Mountains hundreds of kilometers away. Its main structures include vertical wells, open channels, underground channels and reservoirs (small ponds). The model on display includes open channels and reservoirs. The open channels only appear in villages, ensuring that a large amount of water will not evaporate. The open channels at the Karez scenic spot are still in use today.

The ancient working people of my country started by finding an underground river at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains. They dug vertical shafts every few hundred meters to kilometers and opened up each section to make underground channels, directing water from hundreds of kilometers away to the villages.

There are many different opinions about the origin of the technology of the karez. Some say it was invented by my country, while others say it was brought from the Western Regions. There are also a large number of karez in the Middle East, such as Iran, but many have been abandoned due to wars. However, my country's karez are still well preserved. I think it doesn't matter who invented the karez. What's important is the working people who worked hard to dig it from generation to generation. It is more meaningful to go to the karez, feel the wisdom of the ancients, and feel the efforts made by the working people to change their own situation.

Looking at the underground water supply in the magical desert, I was impressed by the miracles of nature and human wisdom. This place is worth taking the children to see.

40 yuan per ticket, all of which are man-made attractions. It takes 20 minutes to walk back and forth. It's not worth it.

The Karez is one of the three great ancient Chinese engineering projects along with the Great Wall and the Grand Canal.

I visited here and listened to the explanation. It was very cool inside.

I went there just to learn about the great project of Karez, nothing special. After I bought the ticket, there was a guide who introduced it.

A must-recommend place. The scenic spot has developed a real karez into an underground museum for people to visit. It's great. The great inventions of the ancient people are really eye-opening.

It is a well-known tourist attraction in Turpan, but the scenery is average and the local characteristics are OK.

The scenic area is set up in a circle, with open channels, underground channels, etc. Although it is a bit discounted compared to the ticket price, it is still worth seeing as it is one of the great ancient projects.

The Karez Folklore Park is basically a must-go for group tours. You can taste grapes here, but the main thing is to see the great project - the Karez. Turpan is recommended to travel independently, and you can also take a train home directly at the new railway station.

Karez is a must-see when visiting Xinjiang. When you see the bird's-eye view of the Karez in the district museum in Urumqi, you will marvel at how great human wisdom is. In such an arid area, the water, the source of life, is preserved and used in this way. The water in the Karez is very clear and I heard that it can be drunk directly, but it is not open to tourists to try to avoid pollution. The greatness of this groundwater project is in no way inferior to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.