Notes from the turpan basin: Pioneering research on the Karez

Abstract

The karez in China is a unique example of the underground tunnel irrigation systems that were developed by the Persians in ancient times and spread to many regions of the globe. Until relatively recently, it had been difficult for foreign researchers to study the karez in the field because of limited access to the interior of Asia. But in 1981, a Sino-Japanese mission was organized to explore the karez system in the Turpan Basin in China's Xinjiang province. The author, Iwao Kobori, professor of drylands and desertification at the United Nations University in Japan, was part of that mission and has spent decades studying and documenting the karez system. Today, while the use of the karez is, generally speaking, declining, the research conducted by the mission, as outlined in the chapter, is valuable for conservation and restoration. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.