Nothing quite compares to winter in Xinjiang. Because of the province’s sheer size, describing this season of the year with one blanket statement is nearly impossible. Pictures are the only thing that do Xinjiang’s winter justice.

People often ask me if it’s possible to travel to Xinjiang during the winter months and I’m happy to say that more and more this is becoming true. Over the past 5 years many places which were once off-limits due to dangerous road conditions are now accessible in the winter.

I still caution you, however, to think about traveling here during the winter. It is bitterly cold and travel is much slower than during the summer. And despite what they tell you, the roads are still dangerous.

But how else would you be able to get pictures like these?

Hemu village during winter, thanks to Xinjiang and Me

Kanas Lake during winter. It looks frozen, but the “lake” is actually still flowing.

The Jiaohe ruins in Turpan

Tianchi “Heavenly Lake”…and yes, it gets frozen over so that you can actually walk across the lake! Thanks again to Xinjiang and Me.

Karamay’s “Ghost City” during the winter months.

A winter sunset in Yili, Xinjiang

Why Travel to Xinjiang?

Check out some great reasons to get your butt out to beautiful Central Asia!

• Top 6 Reasons to Travel (or Live!) in Xinjiang
• Top 5 Destinations to Visit in Xinjiang
• Why Should You Experience a Uyghur Homestay?

At the heart of the debate over the destruction and rebuilding of Kashgar’s Old City is one primary assumption: Uyghur buildings are more reliable than the concrete, Chinese counterparts. They have stood the test of centuries of time.

But what if Uyghur buildings aren’t as indestructible as we think?

The Mud-Brick Emin Minaret – Turpan

Let’s take a look at Turpan’s Emin Minaret, a Muslim mosque built in the late 1700′s. It’s one of the city’s most iconic buildings with a prayer minaret that has been closed to visitors for the past few decades for safety reasons.

A unique feature of this building is the mud-brick construction that shows off the talents of local Uyghur craftsmen in the late 18th century. Considering that it was built for a well-respected local ruler, Emin Khoja, only the best materials and construction were used.

Fast-forward to April 2010 when Turpan was hit with what the Chinese called the “4.23 Windstorm”. Among other losses due to this high wind, perhaps the most noticeable destruction was to the right section of the Emin Minaret:

Half of the Emin Minaret collapsed.

Photo courtesy of FWC reader Vincent

In March of 2011 authorities announced that they were finally going to begin repairing the Emin Minaret, and I honestly don’t know if that has been completed or not.

Would You Live Here?

Take a look at this close-up picture taken in front of a Kashgar home before this part of the Old City was bulldozed:

Would you feel safe living in a building like this? I personally bemoan the systematic elimination of Uyghur culture as exemplified in Kashgar’s Old City, but not because of the quality of construction.

What do you think?

It’s no secret that the local government in Xinjiang has been systematically getting rid of Kashgar’s Old City over the past few years. Many parts are being completely demolished while others will be receiving a “face lift”.

What’s not very well known is how they plan to rebuild Kashgar’s iconic city centre.

While flying from Xinjiang to Beijing a little while back, I ran across an article in the China Southern in-flight magazine that addressed this very topic. The author obviously put a positive spin on all the changes, but what caught my attention the most were the following two photos:

This first picture was taken back in 2009, well before the majority of the demolition had occurred. Mud homes and tight alleys dominate the space with a hint of modern Chinese architecture in the background.

This second picture, however, is an interesting look into China’s view of Kashgar’s future.

What are your thoughts? Would you still be interested to travel to Kashgar if this is what awaited your arrival?

It is considered one of the greatest Uyghur engineering feats and has been nicknamed “The Underground Great Wall”. It is the reason that cities like Turpan exist and is still a primary source of water for many Taklamakan Desert towns.

Uyghur Karez (坎儿井) are a modern marvel, but because they are located meters below the ground they often don’t receive the credit they deserve. It’s a shame, really, because I would dare to say that the karez are more impressive than it’s above-ground brother – The Great Wall of China.

How to Get Water in the Desert

It’s a classic problem for desert dwelling people both now and in the past. How do we get the water we need to survive?

It’s especially problematic for those living in the Turpan Depression, an area of Xinjiang that can reach temperatures as high as 80°C (176°F). Because evaporation makes above-ground channels impractical, a new method had to be developed to transport mountain runoff to the flat land.

This is where the Uyghur Karez enter the scene.

By digging at the shallowest part of the underground reservior – fed by snow melt from the nearby Tianshan – the ancient Uyghur were able to channel the water toward their homes. As you can see in both diagrams, they constructed the underground channel using a series of shafts to dispose of the rock and ventilate the space.

These shafts usually average about 10-30 feet, but some go as far down as 100 feet.

Photo courtesy of Karez Documentary

It seems simple enough, but when you consider that they didn’t have any of the modern instruments or construction tools that we have today, it’s absolutely fascinating.

How does this look from above ground? While driving along highway 312 toward Turpan, it will look like giant ant piles or gopher holes lined up in a neat row. A birds eye view would look something like this:

Photo courtesy of SciencePhoto

Quick Facts on Uyghur Karez

• In Turpan alone, there are over 1,100 karez that span the length of an estimated 5,000km
• Currently the Uyghur karez still provide over 30% of Turpan’s water supply
• Karez function on gravity alone – no pumps are required
• The word “karez” literally means “well”
• By comparison, it took 600 prisoners at a German war camp an entire year to dig to freedom in 1944. Their tunnel – although impressive – was only 200 feet long.

Visiting the Karez

In Turpan it is actually possible to visit what is known as the “Karez Museum” west of the city center. Here you can get a brief history of the karez as well as a chance to walk through one of the tunnels.

Unfortunately while the karez are a marvel of human ingenuity, the museum is not. A hefty entrance fee of 40元 grants you access to a poorly designed karez model and only about 50 feet of actual karez. Most of the signs are all in Mandarin and Uyghur script, so knowledge of those languages is necessary to fully appreciate the museum.

Other Karez Resources

• Uyghur Karez Documentary (with video)
• Turpan Water System (Wikipedia)
• Download the entire Turpan travel guide

In Xinjiang, camels aren’t just for riding!

Thanks to Alex Blackwelder, a Xinjiang enthusiast and faithful FarWestChina reader, for submitting this photo! Below is an excerpt from her website about the photo:

I was in Hotan, West China exploring one of the city’s awesome weekly markets. Hotan citizens are mainly Uyghur, a Muslim ethnicity that you would never think lives in China. When I passed the butcher, I saw these two camel heads. Such an odd thing to see on the ground. I set up my composition & right before I took the photo, that man turned around & looked at me. Perfect. He completes the photo, in my opinion. I don’t remember him looking as mean in person as he does in this photo.