Turpan has also become quite trendy, with the winds of Southern France blowing into its homestays.

Twelve years ago, when I came to Turpan for volunteer teaching, it was still a small city surrounded by sandstorms and scorching heat. Now, revisiting Turpan, aside from the unchanged heatwaves and hospitality, tourist towns have blossomed along the roads outside the city, while upscale hotels and homestays dot the urban area like stars. I had long heard of "Yuefeng Suji" and came specifically to see it—truly amazed by this combination of hotel and homestay cluster. Online, it's dubbed the "Morocco of Xinjiang," but in reality, it's simply Turpan's most authentic architectural style and natural colors. Grapevines and drying raisins sway under the infrared heat radiating from the ground. The complex houses 5 hotels and homestays, 1 multi-purpose banquet restaurant, and 1 integrated cultural and entertainment building featuring a café, tea house, bar, and mural research center. Behind it lies a farm, pasture, and the local specialty—sand therapy center. The bar and performance venue here, called "Hum," is a recently opened comprehensive entertainment hub. The bar area includes a regular bar section with a performance space and counter, a KTV zone on one side, and a quiet wine area next door. The wine racks are filled with bottles adorned with murals reminiscent of the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves, the donor portraits on the labels seeming to come alive. In July and August, Turpan lives up to its name as the "Land of Fire." If you're lucky enough to clink glasses with friends in the wine bar or share whiskey in Hum's grand hall, I believe even the most sweltering nights in this fiery land can become cool and serene.