Turpan Caries: Caries being separated from Uyghurs and turned to benefit Chinese companies

With most of the Uighur canals destroyed and the remaining ones ravaged by tourism, the Chinese government is celebrating the inclusion of the canals on the World Irrigation Heritage List.

Turpan Aqueducts were recently included in the World Irrigation Heritage List in an assessment held in Sydney, Australia. However, in the news and articles published by the Chinese authorities, the Turpan Kariz are promoted as "the product of the hard work of workers of all ethnicities in the Turpan Basin", and the name of the Uyghurs is not mentioned anywhere. China's attempt to separate the ownership rights and inheritance of Turpan Kariz from Uyghurs and turn it into a "common heritage" of the virtual community of so-called "people of all ethnicities", as well as combining Kariz with tourism to make it a source of profit for Chinese tourism companies, experts in this field are strong. is subject to criticism.

According to the special report of "Xinjiang Daily" on September 4, the 2024 "World Irrigation System Heritage List" was announced on September 3 in Sydney, Australia. Turpan caries have been successfully listed.

Mr. Ulimjan Inayet, a professor at the Turkish World Research Institute of Aga University in Turkey, interviewed us about this and said:

"Inclusion of the Turpan Canals in the 'World Irrigation System Heritage List' is theoretically positive and meaningful." This is an important step forward for the recognition of Uyghur culture and the recognition of Uyghur's contribution to the world's cultural treasures. However, at a time when the Chinese government is urgently destroying the material and spiritual culture of the Uyghurs, they cannot be trusted to protect the Kariz in Turpan.

Dr. Rune Steenberg, a researcher at Palacky Olomouc University in the Czech Republic, also received an exclusive interview about this, and said:

"On the one hand, I think it is significant that the Turpan canals have been included in the World Irrigation System Heritage List. This may be useful for the recognition and protection of Uyghur culture. However, it is clear that the Chinese government uses the Kariz to hide its oppression and human rights abuses against non-Chinese ethnic groups such as Uyghurs and Kazakhs, including camps and forced labor. We absolutely must not go for it.''

The report said: "Turpan canals are underground water channels. It is a large-scale water conservation and utilization project built by ancient laborers according to local conditions. Caries have a history of more than 2000 years. In recent years, the city of Turpan has continuously strengthened the protection and use of aqueducts, drilling wells and monitoring the aqueducts to ensure the normal recovery of its irrigation capacity. It is similar to the blood vessels in the 'whole body' of the Turpan Basin. Fresh water from the glaciers and snow melts through the canals to the surface, irrigating the vineyards and feeding the children of all ethnic groups in Turpan.

Mr. Abdullam Samsakov, a former researcher at the Moscow Science Research Center, Uighur geologist and caries expert from Kazakhstan, refuted the Chinese media's statements about caries, saying:

“There are different opinions about when the loan was created and when it came into use. By mathematically calculating the time taken to dig each cave, the characteristics of the soil, the rocks that come out of it, the depth of the cave, and conducting detailed research, it is known that the cave has a history of about 6000 years. Kariz is a ``miracle of water engineering'' in the world, created and built by Uyghur ancestors. It is not the right definition to feed the ``children of all nations'' in Turpan, as it is said in Chinese propaganda.

In his book "Ancient Central Asia", the Uyghur scholar Abdurshukur Muhammedin noted that kariz is a very important irrigation method for the people living in the arid geography of Central Asia.

Ziyaudun Jalalidin, deputy head of Turpan City Water Department, said that there are 1,540 caries in Uyghur now. Among them, water flows in nearly 190 channels, with an annual flow of 114 million cubic meters. In other words, it is possible to irrigate an area of ​​nearly 100,000 acres using kariz water. The total length of the canals in Uyghur is more than 3400 kilometers.

However, Mr. Abdullam Samsakov, a geologist and hydrologist, noted that in 1974, there were a total of 1,700 caries in the Turpan basin, Turpan and Hamul regions, but by 2003, only 400 caries had survived. He said some of the canals are as long as 32 kilometers. The main reasons for the decline or drying up of the rivers are the continuous increase of Uyghur and Chinese immigrants, unplanned urbanization, land development and oil extraction. He believes that the future fate of Kariz, that is, whether they will survive or not, cannot be said for certain. Therefore, in order to protect and survive the caries in Turpan, it is necessary to be included in the "World Heritage List" of the United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Recently, it was revealed that some local residents in Turpan who spread information and filed complaints to protect Kariz have been kidnapped. Our radio revealed that some local residents who opposed the destruction of Kariz in Turpan were abducted on suspicion of "disseminating negative information" or "disturbing public order".

Jin Qiang, secretary and deputy head of the Turpan Municipal Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, told "China Science and Technology Network" that in recent years, the Turpan Municipal Government has integrated Kariz with large-scale tourism, and Kariz is an important part of developing Turpan's economic and cultural resources. which reveals that it has been converted into a window.

Although the Chinese government advertises the development of tourism in the Uyghur region and the creation of great economic benefits, it is known that this type of tourism is destroying Uyghur sacred sites and cultural traces. The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) recently released a report stating that international travel companies organizing tours to the Uyghur region will not benefit the local Uyghur people, but will help China to overcome its "crime against humanity and genocide" policy.