Grape Valley, Xinjiang Uygur, China

4Autumn S 5:00 PM Jan 21, 2017

Don't go in winter
I must admit I just had a fabulous visit to Grape Valley, but let me tell you my story and you can see why I suggest you don't go in winter. The buses seem to never come in Turpan, so I decided to take a taxi instead. I asked him to drop me off at the entrance instead of a "looking around place" which may or may not have been a good idea. I walked a km or so until I reached a map of the valley that showed how large it was. I had nothing better to do so I decided to walk the 8 or so km or at least until I was very tired and then I would figure something out. The scenery was breath taking even in winter, so I knew I would enjoy a long walk. About another km or two into the valley a cart with two women and a girl stopped and signaled for me to jump in. Always looking for an adventure I decided there was no harm in it. They asked if I had eaten and then fed me lunch also! After lunch I took a walk further up the center of the valley where it was more residential. After another km or so I passed a man who a minute later turned around and yelled to get my attention. He asked for my ID and I asked if my passport was okay. (I have been asked for my ID card in the most random places on this trip, so I just saw it as another product of a police state.) He then took pictures of my passport page, Chinese visa and me and then said I could go on my way. I decided it was better if I not do the whole valley at this point and headed back on a different road. After another km I was stopped by two police officers in an unmarked car who asked me to come to the police station with them. They were very polite, luckily, and curious about me traveling alone. They finally explained that Grape Valley is closed for the winter and that they thought I must be lost. I explained that I just wanted to walk around and look at the valley, but they said I couldn't. So they escorted me to my hotel. Also, don't come to Turpan in the winter unless you speak mandarin or one of the minority languages. Mandarin has been crucial for me to figure out the weird things people are asking of me. Regardless of the hassle, I loved my visit to Grape Valley.

4wt1986 5:00 PM Nov 5, 2017

A bit of green in the barren desert
We went to the grape valley during the low season so nothing was open. We didn't even pay entrance fee because everything was closed. We did manage to at least eat lunch at one of the restaurants along the river before they closed down for the day as ordered by the government. We had our lunch under the grape vines and while waiting, we were given some freshly plucked ones even though it was off season. They were small, seedless and very sweet.