Turpan Shengjinkou Karez Gorge Head (Shengjinkou Gorge Karez System)
Shengjinkou Karez · Turpan Gorge Karez
Han to Qing continuum (200 BCE–1900 CE) karez re-use·Gaochang / Uyghur oasis·🇨🇳 Xinjiang, Turpan Depression, Shengjinkou Yardang Gorge NW of Turpan City, China
About
About Turpan Shengjinkou Karez Gorge Head (Shengjinkou Gorge Karez System)
Gorge-head karez at Shengjinkou Yardang Gorge mouth northwest Turpan Depression (−45 m, below sea level, unique globally). Vertical mother well 38 m deep in gorge alluvial fan, 4.2 km tunnel gallery with 24 vertical shafts (8–18 m) intercepting Flaming Mountains snowmelt aquifer and delivering 2.8 L/s to Gaochang oasis fields. Unlike central Turpan Karez plain system (already in DB as turpan-karez), Shengjinkou shows gorge-head colluvial fan technique with boulder-lined gallery (0.6 m). Qing 1783 stele records dredging 1.2 km. Tourist ‘Karez Paradise’ shows 3 shafts.
Why it mattersKey hydraulic illustrating Gaochang / Uyghur oasis hydraulic/geoglyph/kite/kurgan tradition in Xinjiang, Turpan Depression, Shengjinkou Yardang Gorge NW of Turpan City.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Han vs Tang origin of gorge-head
Theories
- 01Gaochang gorge-head vs plain karez technique contrast
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.200 CE (initial Han-era colluvial karez)
- Period
- Han to Qing continuum (200 BCE–1900 CE) karez re-use
- Culture
- Gaochang / Uyghur oasis
- Builders
- Gaochang
- Purpose
- Gorge-head karez intercepting alluvial fan aquifer at Shengjinkou gorge mouth
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.200 CE (initial Han-era colluvial karez)
Initial construction
2020
Drone/UAV high-resolution mapping and heritage inventory
On the ground
Structures & features
42.9500° N · 89.0500° E · -45 m · 4 mapped features
Mother Well (38 m) Gorge Head
hydraulic38-m mother well at gorge alluvial fan
42.9510° N · 89.0510° EGallery 4.2 km to Oasis
aqueduct4.2 km boulder-lined gallery 0.6 m wide
42.9490° N · 89.0490° EQing 1783 Dredging Stele
inscriptionQing stele recording 1.2 km dredging
42.9510° N · 89.0510° EShaft Shaft-7 Viewing Point Tourist
hydraulicTourist-accessible vertical shaft 14 m deep
42.9480° N · 89.0480° E