China Highlights Special Report

China in Fall

• China Tours
• Single City Tours
• Yangtze Cruises
• China Hotels
• China Flights
• China Guide
• Community

• Jiuzhaigou in fall
• Turpan - Harvest Fall
• Fall in Yellow Mountain
• Harvesting Countryside
• Chinese Culture in Fall

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Turpan in Fall

Golden grapes, yellow Hami melon and sweet smell of ripening fruit mark autumn in Turpan Depression, one of the fruit bowls of China in the far northwest of the country. This is the harvest season and the vineyards and the melons fields are a hive of activity.

Despite of the generally harsh weather condition dominating the area, the Turpan Depression is internationally known for its grape and Hami melons and of course the sun-dried raisin. Vineyards are scattered far and wide in the region. The famed Grape Valley in the northeast of Turpan city, some 10 kilometers from town is a forest of intertwined grape vines. 

Fall comes as the weather cools the grape leaves turn from green to yellow to chestnut brown, with occasional reddish leaves. The full bodied grapes hanging on the vines are at their optimum. The fruit, so perfectly situated on the vines looks like it has been placed there rather than grown. Grape Valley, heavily laden with fruit, is never more beautiful than at this time. Visitors can actually watch the grapes go from vine to raisins.

The Hami melons also come into season during fall. Locals pick them by hands and then transfer the fruit to the big bazaars for sale or store them for late use in the early winter.

 

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