Grape Valley near Turpan

1. Vineyards Near Turpan, Xinjiang

We loaded up on our busses and started to go to the Grape Valley. Grape Valley, so called "pearl city in the desert" is located 15 km northeast of Turpan, Xinjiang Uygurs Autonomous Region. The valley is a world of unique beauty, presenting a striking contrast with the hot, dry and barren outside. Cushioned by green grass and graced with green trees, the valley is a world of green with brooks, canals and sparkling springs. There is a poetic flavor to the idyllic beauty of the valley. Scattered everywhere in the valley are trees: mulberry, peach, apricot, apple, pomegranate, pear, fig, walnut, elm, poplar and willow; also watermelons and muskmelons, making the valley into a "garden of one hundred flowers" in spring and an "orchard of one hundred kinds of fruits" in summer.