Editing Turpan Depression (section)

==History of human settlement==
[[Image:Turpan-gaochang-d12.jpg|thumb|250px|Ruins of Gaochang]]
The ancient city of [[Gaochang]] was a key point on the ancient [[Silk Road]] and dates back to the 1st century BC. It was burnt down in wars in the 14th century. The [[Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves]], which are located in the [[Flaming Mountains]]' [[Mutou Valley]], about {{convert|30|km|abbr=on}} east of the city of Turpan, have been hewn into the rock from the [[Tang dynasty]]–era up to the time of the [[Yuan dynasty]] (13th century). The caves are famous for their murals, which can still be found in about 40 of the 77 known caves. The desert climate has favored preservation of the content of the [[Astana Cemetery|Astana-Karakhoja ancient tombs]], which are located about 6&nbsp;km from the ancient city of Gaochang. The tombs are the burial place for nobles, officials, and others who were interred there from the times of the [[Jin dynasty (265–420)|Western Jin dynasty]] until the middle of the Tang dynasty era.

The modern city of [[Turpan]] has a population of 242,000, of whom 71% are [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]].<ref name=xinjiang/> For water, the city relies on wells and traditional ''[[karez]]'' (meaning "well" in the local [[Uyghur language]]).<ref name=xinjiang>{{cite book|editor=S. Frederick Starr|title=Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland: China's Muslim Borderland|page=266|publisher=[[Routledge]]}}</ref>