Tursunhan Hujaahmat, a Uygur tour information, holds a novel bond with water. She works in Turpan City of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and at all times reminds guests from dwelling and overseas of the significance of each single drop of water.
In Turpan, typically dubbed China’s “land of fireplace,” water is especially a priceless useful resource. The common annual precipitation right here is simply 16mm, whereas the evaporation fee measures about 3,000mm. Despite such dry climate, the place isn’t a barren land. Instead, it’s flourishing with massive oases and quite a few vineyards.
Whenever curious guests enquire about this, Tursunhan, who works with Turpan Karez Paradise, a museum web site devoted to Karez wells, replies with pleasure that the important thing to the area’s prosperity lies within the distinctive Karez wells.
Tursunhan’s ancestors, and other people of different ethnic teams in Xinjiang, developed the Karez wells 1000’s of years in the past, offering the native folks with a gradual move of water for ingesting and irrigation.
“It’s our fountain of life,” Tursunhan mentioned.
A Karez effectively consists of a vertical shaft related to underground channels that floor within the type of ditches and small ponds. The channels are equipped with water from the melted ice and snow in Xinjiang’s Tianshan Mountains, whereas the underground construction of the wells prevents water from evaporating.
Spanning over 5,000km throughout Xinjiang, the Karez wells ingeniously transport water from deep underground to the floor. Regarded as one of China’s most exceptional historic feats, these wells be a part of the ranks of esteemed man-made buildings such because the Great Wall and the Grand Canal.
Every day, Tursunhan leads guests of the museum down to a Karez effectively, navigating by way of the winding underground channel, telling them concerning the historical past and development course of of the effectively. As they stroll alongside a glass path, cool and clear water flows beneath their ft.
“An underground channel of Karez effectively is often a minimum of 3km lengthy, and each channel was dug by hand,” she informed the encompassing guests.
“In outdated instances, employees had to kneel to dig the mud within the cramped and darkish underground channels, with their legs immersed within the icy water. Many employees suffered from rheumatism because of this,” she mentioned.
“They used kantuman, a sort of hoe and shovel utilized by Uygur folks for digging. One strike solely dug down a nut-size quantity of mud. We can solely think about how lengthy it had taken to dig a number of kilometers.”
“So, we ought to worth much more the water that has been acquired by way of the blood and sweat of the employees,” she added.
Working as a tour information for 19 years, Tursunhan holds a novel ardour for Karez wells, largely as a result of of her father.
“My father volunteered to dig the wells. He died at his put up. His rope broke when he was decreasing himself down in a vertical shaft. I used to be 5 at the moment,” Tursunhan mentioned.
However, the tragic expertise did not dampen her enthusiasm.
“At first, I discovered it arduous to work right here, for it is a spot full of unhappy reminiscence. But later I realised that the spirit of my father and different employees wanted to be inherited,” she added.
For centuries, the knowledge embodied by the Karez wells has sustained and enriched the lives of the native folks. However, a number of a long time in the past, due to the pressures of fashionable irrigation and pumping practices, some of the wells dried out.
The quantity of the wells dropped to round 270 in 2009 from over 1,200 throughout its peak time, in accordance to Gupur Nuridin, vice secretary normal of Xinjiang Karez Research Association.
Subsequently, these wells underwent a resurgence by way of various interventions and the energetic involvement of native residents, yielding impactful outcomes. As of 2022, a complete of 165 wells in Turpan had been efficiently rejuvenated and strengthened.
The quantity of water move of Miyimu Bay Karez effectively, which passes by way of the Turpan Karez Paradise, has elevated from 90 litres per second in 2014 to 240 litres per second in 2021, Gupur Nuridin mentioned.
While Tursunhan did not bodily partake in effectively excavation or direct restoration efforts, she is striving to protect the dear legacy by way of her personal distinctive contribution – telling extra folks the story of Karez wells and creating consciousness concerning the significance of saving the painstakingly procured water.
She mentioned she hopes that her efforts will make sure the enduring vitality of the Karez wells and that the tales will attain a broader viewers, thus perpetuating the essence and legacy of previous generations.
“The spirit will move on, technology by technology, identical to the water within the underground channels by no means stopped flowing,” mentioned Tursunhan, including that her daughter can be working as a tour information in Turpan Karez Paradise. – Xinhua/Asia News Network
