Located in the middle of Turpan Basin in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Turpan has a history of more than 2,000 years. The city has a population of 240,000. Industries include food processing, wine brewery, chemicals and salt making. Turpan is hot and dry. The climate is favourable for the growth of melons, grapes and other fruits, which are produced in abundance. Turpan is crowned with "the land of fruits" being known worldwide for its seedless grapes and melons. The Flaming Mountains nearby draw hundreds of thousands of visitors from home and abroad with their fairy-tale legends.

The Jiaohe Ruins

China invested in a preservation project for an ancient city in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from 2000 to 2005. A total of 17.5 million yuan (US $ 2.1 million) was fed into repairing the Jiaohe Ruins, the world's biggest and best-protected clay-built city.

Located some 20 kilometres east of Turpan, the ruins of Jiaohe, meaning "old city between two rivers," used to be an ancient frontier army citadel from the Han Dynasty. Later the capital of the Cheshi State, the 220, OOO-squaremetre city is also the most intact ruined site of the kind in China.