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Karez
 As the life source of the Turpan area, the Karez
was an ingenious creation of the underground irrigation by the ancient people in
Xinjiang, and was later exported to the Central Asia countries and Persia
(today's Iran) via the ancient Silk
Road.
The Karez,
an irrigation system of wells connected by underground canals, is considered as
one of the three great ancient projects in China, the other two being the Great
Wall and the Grand
Canal. It was invented and built by the ancient people of various ethnic
groups in Northwest China's Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region to adapt to the natural environment in the dry region,
and by taking advantage of the mountain slopes.
In Xinjiang, the Karez wells are mainly distributed in the Hami, Turpan,
and Mori areas, but they are mostly in the Turpan Basin, where, at its peak,
there were altogether 1,100-odd Karez wells totaling 5,000 kilometers in length,
hence the moniker of "the underground canal."
Why were the Karez wells built in great number in the Turpan Basin? The
answer is due to the local natural geographical conditions. To the north of the
Turpan Basin is the Bogeda Mountain and to its west, the Kalawucheng Mountain.
 In summer, large amounts of melted snow water and
rainwater flow down from the mountains into the valleys, then infiltrate into
the ground, thereby making an underground current, leading to an adequate
underground water source for the Karez wells. Besides, the earth in the Turpan
Basin is solid and good for building wells and underground channels.
In the basin, it is very dry and hot in summer, with a high evaporation rate.
In the windy season, the strong wind blows sand into every corner, often burying
a lot of farmlands and water channels in sand. But the Karez, unaffected by the
season and sand, can continue supplying water through underground channels. In
addition, the Karez, with a very low evaporation rate and a stable supply of
water, can irrigate farmlands all the year round.
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