# Gaochang, Turpan

Gaochang or Karahoja (Uyghur: قاراھوجا, romanized: Qarahoja, Қарахоҗа; Chinese: 高昌; pinyin: Gāochāng), is the only district and the seat of the oasis city of Turpan, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. Its population was 254,900 at the end of 2003.

## Name

According to the municipal government of Turpan, the district is named after the ancient city of Gaochang. It was also proposed that the district be named after Ayding Lake.

## History

The district was created on 12 April 2015 after Turpan was upgraded from a county-level city into a prefecture-level city. The district has the same size and population as the former Turpan county-level city.

## Demographics

The proportion of nationalities in Gaochang District County
Nationality
Percentage
Uyghurs
77.4%
Han People
15.7%
Hui People
6.6%
Others
0.3%
Source of the population statistics: :

## Subdivisions

Gaochang District is divided into 4 subdistricts, 5 towns, 3 townships and 1 other township-level division.
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Administrative division code |
| Subdistricts ||||||
| Laocheng Subdistrict | 老城街道 | Lǎochéng Jiēdào | كونا شەھەر كوچا باشقارمىسى‎ | Kona sheher kocha bashqarmisi | 650402001 |
| Gaochang Subdistrict | 高昌街道 | Gāochāng Jiēdào | قاراھوجا كوچا باشقارمىسى‎ | Qarahoja kocha bashqarmisi | 650402002 |
| Putaogou Subdistrict | 葡萄沟街道 | Pútáogōu Jiēdào | بۇيلۇق كوچا باشقارمىسى‎ | Buyluq kocha bashqarmisi | 650402003 |
| Hongliuhe Subdistrict | 红柳河街道 | Hóngliǔhé Jiēdào | يۇلغۇن ئېغىن كوچا باشقارمىسى‎ | Yulghun ëghin kocha bashqarmisi | 650402004 |
| Towns ||||||
| Qiquanhu Town | 七泉湖镇 | Qīquánhú Zhèn | چىچان بازىرى‎ | Chichan baziri | 650402100 |
| Daheyan Town | 大河沿镇 | Dàhéyán Zhèn | داخىيەن بازىرى‎ | Daxiyen baziri | 650402101 |
| Yar Town | 亚尔镇 | Yà'ěr Zhèn | يار بازىرى‎ | Yar baziri | 650402102 |
| Aydingköl Town (Aidinghu Town) | 艾丁湖镇 | Àidīnghú Zhèn | ئايدىڭكۆل بازىرى‎ | Aydingköl baziri | 650402103 |
| Ürümchilik Town (Putao Town) | 葡萄镇 | Pútáo Zhèn | ئۈرۈمچىلىك بازىرى‎ | Ürümchilik baziri | 650402104 |
| Yalquntagh Town (Huoyanshan Town) | 火焰山镇 | Huǒyànshān Zhèn | يالقۇنتاغ بازىرى‎ | Yalquntagh baziri | 650402105 |
| Townships ||||||
| Chatqal Township | 恰特喀勒乡 | Qiàtèkālè Xiāng | چاتقال يېزىسى‎ | Chatqal yëzisi | 650402203 |
| Astane Township (Sanbu Township) | 三堡乡 | Sānbǔ Xiāng | ئاستانە يېزىسى‎ | Astane yëzisi | 650402205 |
| Shengjin Township | 胜金乡 | Shèngjīn Xiāng | سىڭگىم يېزىسى‎ | Singgim yëzisi | 650402206 |
| Township-level division ||||||
| Turpan Seed Stock Station | 原种场 | Yuánzhǒngchǎng | ئەسلى ئۇرۇمچىلىق مەيدانى‎ | Esli Urumchiliq meydani | 650402401 |

## Climate

Gaochang District has a cold-desert climate (Köppen climate classification Dwa). The average annual temperature in Gaochang is 6.5 °C (43.7 °F). The average annual rainfall is 50.8 mm (2.00 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 22.8 °C (73.0 °F) and lowest in January, at around −11.5 °C (11.3 °F).
Climate data for Gaochang (Hongliuhe, 1981−2010 normals, extremes 1981−2010) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.3 (54.1) | 15.6 (60.1) | 23.5 (74.3) | 28.5 (83.3) | 34.4 (93.9) | 36.9 (98.4) | 40.2 (104.4) | 40.6 (105.1) | 34.5 (94.1) | 26.3 (79.3) | 18.3 (64.9) | 12.9 (55.2) | 40.6 (105.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.7 (27.1) | 2.1 (35.8) | 8.8 (47.8) | 16.8 (62.2) | 23.5 (74.3) | 28.2 (82.8) | 30.3 (86.5) | 28.9 (84.0) | 23.6 (74.5) | 14.8 (58.6) | 5.4 (41.7) | −1.7 (28.9) | 14.8 (58.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −11.5 (11.3) | −6.8 (19.8) | 0.2 (32.4) | 8.1 (46.6) | 15.3 (59.5) | 20.5 (68.9) | 22.8 (73.0) | 21.1 (70.0) | 15.2 (59.4) | 6.1 (43.0) | −3.2 (26.2) | −10.0 (14.0) | 6.5 (43.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −18.1 (−0.6) | −14.1 (6.6) | −7.4 (18.7) | 0.1 (32.2) | 7.0 (44.6) | 12.6 (54.7) | 15.4 (59.7) | 13.8 (56.8) | 7.6 (45.7) | −1.1 (30.0) | −9.8 (14.4) | −15.9 (3.4) | −0.8 (30.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −27.3 (−17.1) | −26.6 (−15.9) | −21.3 (−6.3) | −11.2 (11.8) | −6.4 (20.5) | 2.4 (36.3) | 5.2 (41.4) | 1.0 (33.8) | −1.4 (29.5) | −18.5 (−1.3) | −24.2 (−11.6) | −29.5 (−21.1) | −29.5 (−21.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 1.0 (0.04) | 1.0 (0.04) | 2.2 (0.09) | 2.7 (0.11) | 4.5 (0.18) | 8.9 (0.35) | 13.1 (0.52) | 9.2 (0.36) | 3.3 (0.13) | 1.8 (0.07) | 1.8 (0.07) | 1.3 (0.05) | 50.8 (2.01) |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 56 | 42 | 31 | 25 | 23 | 28 | 32 | 31 | 28 | 35 | 45 | 56 | 36 |
| Source: China Meteorological Data Service Center ||||||||||||||