Turpan (also known as Turfan; ; ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 693,988 (2020).
Overview
Turpan (also known as Turfan; ; ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 693,988 (2020).
Geonyms
The original name of the city is unknown. The form Turfan (while it is older than Turpan), was not used until the middle of the 2nd millennium CE and its use became widespread only in the post-Mongol period.
Historically, many settlements in the Tarim Basin, situated between Chinese, Turkic, and Persian language users, have a number of cognates. Turpan/Turfan/Tulufan is one such example. Others include Jushi/Gushi, Gaochang/Qocho/Karakhoja and Jiaohe/Yarkhoto.
The center of the region has shifted a number of times, from Yar-Khoto (Jiaohe, to the west of modern Turpan) to Qocho (Gaochang, to the southeast of Turpan) and to Turpan itself.
