Turpan History

The History of Turpan City
The earliest inhabitants in Turpan may be an early Indo-European race of tall white people with blue eyes. However, among things through archeological finds and excavations done in the Turpan Prefecture, evidence of their being, culture and achievements have slowly been uncovered.

Turpan During the Han Dynasty
It was the center of an independent Buddhist Kingdom during Tang Dynasty. Later, after having outsmarted the Xiong Nu Tribes in competition the Han Chinese were able to turn Turpan into an allied Nation and a base for further explorations along the Silk Road. As this allowed the first opening of what was later to become known as the great Silk Road, Turpan became a window on the outside world for the Chinese, and its culture, including Buddhism was passed on and spread in the wider regions and along the roads towards the Chinese Capital of Chang'An (the present Xi'An). Eventually this allowed for Buddhism to spread into China where, over many centuries, it became one of the three accepted religions of the Chinese Realm.

Turpan during the Tang Dynasty
Turpan occupied a strategic location and was literally at a crossroads of Civilizations and cultures. Among things, Sogdians and Turks from Central Asia met the Han Chinese but also Tibetans and Mongolians in the town and regions in the 7th and 8th Century,all vying for economic influence and often ultimate political and military control. During their early rise the Tang Dynasty (618 AD - 907 AD), the Chinese were again able to dominate the town and affairs along the Silk Road in the regions among things, allowing the Chinese to ply their lucrative trades with the Sogdians and Turks from Central Asia and serving as a bae for military campaigns reaching far beyond into Central Asia. It was in this period that the now famous Buddhist Monk Xuanzang (Life:602 AD - 664 AD) was able to slip out of China (629 AD), on his further journey passing through Turpan where he met the Buddhist King and famously encountered several obstacles on his journey to India.

In the 8th Century
The outlying territories of the Empire again fell prey to the longstanding competitions between the rivaling powers in the regions. In the year 792 AD, the Tibetan Empire established under King Songtsan Gampo swept northward into the Taklamakan Desert and Tarim River Basin taking the town of Turfan and so taking control of the Silk Road trading routes in that area. Only a decade later the town changed hands again and became an important city under a Uyghur Moslim Rule known as the Uyghur Khanate.

In the 15th & 16th Century
Turpan is not only noted for its grand Buddhist Temple but is also mentioned as a location of ?the Cross? in other words a home of Christian believers along the Silk Road. This attracted yet more international interest in the town and regions of Turpan, and eventually, its name would resounds further west than Rome itself. In the 16th Century another western envoy and traveler, one Bentos de Gois (1562 AD - 1607 AD), would pass through time adding further to the already rich tales available about the town. Unfortunately for him, De Gois would was exposed as a western spie after his arrival in China, dying some months after his arrival in Jiuquan (Gansu) from exhaustion and starvation.

In the late 19th & in the 20th Century
Turpan was much visited by western explorers among whom famous names such as Sven Hedin, Sir Marcus Aurel Stein and various less renowned travelers and adventurours while the regions were traversed by Russian geographic missions, Cossack armies and Russian stragglers and refugees.

At Present
Today the city of Turpan, not withstanding it being the hottest place in China, is a well visited tourist destination and a layed back, thriving provincial city in the north of the Tarim River Basin.


Turpan--Main Stop alongside Ancient China Silk Road
Turpan used to be an important strategic point on the Silk Road. As early as two thousand years ago, a town called Jiaohe was built forth kilometers from today's town of Turpan. Jiaohe then was the capital of the Outer Chshi Kingdom. During the first century, Jiaohe came under the rule of the Han Dynasty. During the sixth century, Turpan was under the administration of Gaochang Kingdom. During the reign of Emperor Tai Zong (626-649), the Gaochang Kingdom was conquered by the Tang Dynasty, and Turpan again became a frontier town of China, serving as a stopover for merchants, monks, and other travelers on their way to the west.