Karez Wells

Karez Wells

The Karez Wells are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a National Water Conservancy Scenic Area.

The Karez Wells, along with the Great Wall and the Grand Canal, are known as one of the three great ancient engineering projects of China. There are nearly a thousand Karez Wells in Turpan, with a total length of about 5,000 kilometers. The structure of a Karez Well generally consists of four parts: vertical shafts, underground channels, surface canals, and a “lao ba” (small reservoir). In the northern Bogda Mountains and the western Kalawucheng Mountains of the Turpan Basin, large amounts of snowmelt and rainwater flow down the valleys during spring and summer, seeping underground beneath the Gobi Desert. People ingeniously harnessed the mountain slopes to create the Karez Wells, channeling underground water to irrigate farmland. The water is not subject to significant evaporation due to heat or strong winds, resulting in a stable flow that ensures gravity-fed irrigation.

The Karez Wells were documented as early as in “Records of the Grand Historian” (Shiji), where they were referred to as “Jing Qu” (well canals). Most of the existing Karez Wells in Turpan were built successively from the Qing Dynasty onwards. Today, they still irrigate vast oases and fertile fields. The Wudaolin Karez Wells and Wuxing Township Karez Wells on the outskirts of Turpan City are open for visits. The name “Karez” in the Uyghur language of Xinjiang is called “Karezzi.” In Persian (Iran), it is called “Kanatz,” and in Russian (Soviet Union), it is called “Kanalyz” (k,lplItK). Phonetically, although there are distinctions, the differences are minor.

In the Chinese region of Xinjiang, it is called “Karez” or simply “Kan.” In various inland provinces of China, the names vary: in Shaanxi, it is called “Jing Qu,” in Shanxi, “Shui Xiang,” in Gansu, “Bai Yan Chuan Jing,” and in some places, it is referred to as “underground channels.”

The Karez Wells are an ancient type of horizontal water collection structure used for developing and utilizing groundwater. They are suitable for foothill and alluvial fan fringe areas, mainly for intercepting groundwater to irrigate farmland and supply residential water.

According to statistics from 1962, there were approximately 1,700 Karez Wells in Xinjiang, China, with a total flow of about 26 cubic meters per second, irrigating an area of over 500,000 mu. Most of these Karez Wells are distributed in the Turpan and Hami basins. For example, the Turpan Basin alone has about 1,100 Karez Wells, with a total flow of 18 cubic meters per second, irrigating 470,000 mu of land, accounting for 67% of the basin’s total cultivated area of 700,000 mu. They play a very important role in developing local agricultural production and meeting residents' living needs.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units