TURFAN

Chinese (Wade-Giles) T'u-lu-p'an, or (Pinyin) Turpan, city in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. It lies about 95 miles (150 km) southeast of the city of Urumchi (Wu-lu-mu-ch'i) in a mountain basin between the Po-ko-ta Mountains (an eastern extension of the Tien Shan) and the K'u-lu-k'o-t'a-ko range, on the northern side of the Turfan Depression. It has long been the centre of a fertile oasis and an important trade centre on the main northern branch of the Silk Road from Ha-mi to Kashgar (K'a-shih), with an alternative northern route, via Urumchi, running into the Dzungarian Basin, the I-li (Ili) River valley, and Central Asia. Traditionally, Turfan was on the border between the nomadic peoples of the north and the settled oasis dwellers of Sinkiang. Under the Han dynasty (206 BCAD 220) the Chinese knew it as the Ch-shih kingdom. In 450 it became the new state of Kao-ch'ang. In 640 western expeditions sent by the T'ang dynasty (618907) destroyed Kao-ch'ang. Eventually taken in the 13th century by the Mongols, Turfan enjoyed a new commercial prosperity as the Central Asian land routes flourished as never before. When Mongol rule collapsed, the Turfan Depression was divided into three independent states, and in the early 15th century Turfan itself became the most important of these. During the 18th-century wars between the Ch'ing dynasty (16441911) and the Dzungars, Turfan was a key point. In 1759 a Chinese protectorate was established over Turfan. The area had long been predominantly Muslim, and a second Chinese city was built next to the old Muslim one. In 1912 Turfan was given county status. The city's economy is based on agriculture and fruit farming in the Turfan Depression; principal products are cotton, mulberry trees, apricots, melons, and grapes. A rail line links Turfan with the main line to Urumchi to the northwest and with K'u-erh-le (Korla) to the southwest. Pop. (mid-1980s est.) 10,00050,000.