42°47′N 89°20′E / 42.78°N 89.34°E
The Turpan Depression or Turfan Depression, is a fault-bounded trough located around and south of the city-oasis of Turpan, in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in far Western China, about 150 kilometres (93 mi) southeast of the regional capital Ürümqi. It includes Lake Ayding, −154 metres (−505 ft), the second or third lowest depression on Earth. By some measures, it is also the hottest and driest area in China during the summer.
The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at 7,439 metres (24,406 ft) high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is at the Turpan Depression, which is 154 m (505 ft) below sea level.
The Tian Shan is sacred in Tengrism. Its second-highest peak is known as Khan Tengri, which can be translated as "Lord of the Spirits". At the 2013 Conference on World Heritage, the eastern portion of Tian Shan in western China's Xinjiang Region was listed as a World Heritage Site. The western portion in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan was then listed in 2016.
The Turpan water system, also called the Turfan kārēz system, is used for water supply via a vertical tunnel in the Turpan Depression of Xinjiang, China. "Karez" (lit. 'well') is a word in the local Uyghur language that is derived from the word in the Persian language for the system from which it is derived: kārīz. Turpan has the Turpan Karez Paradise (a Protected Area of the People's Republic of China), which is dedicated to demonstrating its karez water system, as well as exhibiting other historical artifacts.
Turpan's karez well system was crucial in Turpan's development as an important oasis stopover on the Silk Road, which skirted the barren and hostile Taklamakan Desert.
Aydingkol (Uyghur: ئايدىڭكۆل, lit. 'moon lake'), or Aiding Lake (Chinese: 艾丁湖), is a lake in the Turpan Depression, located within Xinjiang, China. At 154 m below sea level, it is the lowest point in China. This lake is now totally dried, and very muddy and salty.
Turpan Karez Paradise (Chinese: 吐魯番坎儿井乐园) is a museum featuring Turpan's karez water management system in Turpan, a city in the Turpan Depression, Xinjiang, China. The karez is a vertical tunnel system connecting wells developed by the Turpan people to irrigate their arid land. The word karez means "well" (karez, Uyghur: كارىز, romanized: kariz) in the local Uyghur language. Visitors to the museum can learn about the underground irrigation system in the desert area and see the karez system in operation.
This facility is in a relatively convenient location, about five kilometers from the city center of Turpan, about one kilometer from China National Highway 312. The karez there, called Miyim Haji's Karez (Chinese: 米依木·阿吉坎儿井) was built about 800 years ago.