The further west you go in China the more Muslim influence appears, in Turpan, you reach a tipping point where it starts to surround you. The city still appears to be structured in the same way that makes most Chinese cities similar, however, I would call this a "Muslim flavored" Chinese city. There are landmarks all around the city, including the flaming mountains and GaoCheng Ancient City, however for my stay, I decided to focus on what I was able to find in or near Turpan proper; Jiahe Ancient City(交河故城), The Karez Canal(米依木·阿吉坎儿井) and The Ermin Minaret(苏公塔).
My first half hour at Jiohe had me worried that I might have wasted my morning, the tourist entry gate, tram ride and museum gave me the impression that this attraction was a completely fake modern day representation of an ancient city. When we pulled up to the third tram stop I was relieved to find that there actually was a real ancient city here. It's not just a couple structures either, this is five square kilometer plateau filled with eroding ancient stone buildings and stone paths; walking the whole thing is a less mind-numbing then I worried it could be.
My first half hour at Jiohe had me worried that I might have wasted my morning, the tourist entry gate, tram ride and museum gave me the impression that this attraction was a completely fake modern day representation of an ancient city. When we pulled up to the third tram stop I was relieved to find that there actually was a real ancient city here. It's not just a couple structures either, this is five square kilometer plateau filled with eroding ancient stone buildings and stone paths; walking the whole thing is a less mind-numbing then I worried it could be.
