Karez Water System

Chinese name: 坎儿井（Kan Er Jing）
Location: Yaer town, Gaochang District, Turpan, Xinjiang.
Ticket: Entrance ticket CNY30.00
Estimated tour time:1-2 hour
Recommended time to visit: May to Oct 
Nearby attractions: Grape Gully, Karez Water System, Ancient City of Jiaohe, Sugong Pagoda, etc.

The Karez Water System, an irrigation system of wells connected by underground channels, is considered as one of the three great ancient projects in China, the other two being the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. There are in the Turpan area nearly one thousand Karez totaling 5,000 kilometers in length.

The Karez Water System is a unique water system in Xinjiang region which is still in good operable service. This long-lasting Water System not only solves the drinking water problem of the local people and provides water for wild animals, but it also prevents the Aiding Lake, located in the lowest point of Turpan basin, from drying up and becoming a desert. It also provides a balance for the local fauna, a benefit of economic and zoological value.

In addition, the Karez Water System has a significant human value because it has watered the oasis in Turpan and provided for its culture ever since the system was finished 2000 years ago. Elderly people in their declining years can still remember the convenience and benefit brought about by the Karez Water System in their childhood. Without this water system in place, there would be no Turpan, no sweet melon and fruit and no green grapes as shiny as pearls.

The structure of the Karez basically consists of wells, underground channels, ground canals and small reservoirs. In spring and summer, a great mount of melting snow and rainfall flow down from the Bogda and Karawuquntag mountains north and west of the Turpan Depression into the valleys and then seep into the Gobi Desert. Taking advantage of the mountain slopes, the working people ingeniously created the Karez to draw the underground water to irrigate the farmland. The water in Karez will not evaporate in large quantities even under the scorching heat and fierce wind, hence ensuring a stable water flow and gravity irrigation.

As far back as the Han Dynasty, the Karez was recorded in Shi Ji (The Historical Records) and then called "Well Canals". Most of the existing Karezes in the Turpan area were built in the Qing Dynasty and in after years. Nowadays, large stretches of fertile land are still irrigated by Karezes. The Wudaolin Karez and the Karez in the Wuxing Town are open to visitors.