Transportation in Turpan
By train
Tulufan Zhan - located in the town of Daheyan, 50 km NW of the town center
Kashgar - takes about 25 hours
Korla - takes about 8 hours
Lanzhou - takes about 25 hours
Liuyuan - takes about 8-9 hours
Xi'an - takes about 40-45 hours
By bus
Long Distance Bus Station is on Laocheng Road
Hami - takes about 6-7 hours
Kashgar - takes about 32 hours
Korla - takes about 6-7 hours
Kuqa - takes about 13-14 hours
Urumqi - takes about 2.5 hours (as of Fall 2012 First bus from Urumqi's Southern bus station leaves for Turpan at 8:40, the bus station itself only opens around 08:20)
The downtown area is small and you can walk around it.
Public buses, Y1.
Bus 102 - going all along Laocheng lu, you can take it on crossing Laocheng Eastern street and Qingnian pedestrian street.
Direction to East - the last stop is Su Gong Ta or Sugong pagoda = Emin minaret.
to West - East mosque, North mosque and West mosque. Take off on the last stop and walk (hitchhike) next 5km to Jiaohe Ancient City. Alternatively, from the last stop of the line 102, you can hire a vehicle for around 10 RMB to take you the rest of the way to the site if one happens to be there.
Taxi
A Taxi in the city is a standard 5RMB whether or not the driver starts the meter (it won't run over 5RMB even if you start it for journeys in the downtown).
Ubiquitous drivers means the competition is higher and prices are lower for private drivers to take you on a tailor-made "sightseeing" tour around the Turpan Region. Take your pick of any 4-5 "scenic spots" from the long list in your travel guide or on the map they'll show you (complete with photoshopped pictures) and expect to pay between 200-250 for the day. Recommended places would be JiaoHe and Tuyoq Village. A lot of the places including the Karez, Astana Tombs and Grape Valley are huge wastes of time and money.
Tahir is offering a great day tour to all major spots. He speaks very good English and offers a lot of tips and can help to organize a overnight stay as home stay in the nearby villages. (price for 1 day tour in 2012: 300 - 350 RMB, if possible arrange the trip in advance.)
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