Turpan is a prefecture-level city in the center of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the western part of the People's Republic of China. It is located in a depression on the eastern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains. The Turpan Depression reaches its lowest point at the shores of Aydingkol Lake, 154.50 meters below sea level, making it the third lowest depression on Earth after the Dead Sea and Lake Assal. The first millennium AD, the heyday of the Silk Road, has left significant archaeological traces in Turpan. Among Turpan's attractions are the ancient ruined cities of Jiaohe and Gaochang, the ancient cave monastery of Bezeklik with 9th-century wall paintings, and the Flaming Mountains.
