Turpan’s first digital-intelligent grape industry conference and 32nd Silk Road grape festival kick off

Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Song Yawen) news: The first Turpan Conference on High-quality Development of the Digital-Intelligent Grape Industry, alongside the 32nd Silk Road Turpan Grape Festival, opened on August 23, 2026 in Turpan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The dual-event gathering centered on grapes and empowered by digital intelligence, integrates industrial growth, cultural tourism, and business networking. It offers a full-spectrum look at Turpan’s grape-sector achievements and the city's unique appeal, giving a solid boost to the upgrade of local specialty industries in this Land of Fire.

At the opening ceremony, song-and-dance performances including Turpan's Grapes Are Ripe, Nazirkom and Rhythm of the Fire-land Drums took the stage one after another. The shows vividly presented Turpan’s profound cultural heritage and unique folk customs, drawing repeated applause from the audience.

Photo taken on August 23, 2026 shows Turpan's first digital-intelligent grape industry conference and the 32nd Silk Road grape festival kick off in Turpan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Li Jinghai)

Compared with previous editions, this year's Grape Festival features digital-intelligent industry as its theme for the first time. Moving beyond the traditional festival-event model, it focuses on the digital and intelligent transformation of the grape industry. The festival is set to drive the sector's upgrade from conventional planting and processing to a full-chain development covering smart cultivation, intensive deep-processing, brand marketing and cultural-tourism experiences. It also enables two-way empowerment and in-depth integration between festival activities and industrial growth.

At the conference, the Information Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs officially unveiled the Turpan Grape Price Index System. The "Turpan Digital-Intelligent Grape Industry Brain" went online for trial operation, and the "Turpan Digital-Intelligent Salmon Industry Brain" was launched at the same time. The Report on the High-quality Development of Turpan's Grape Industry was released on-site. It systematically reviewed the progress made in Turpan's grape sector, analyzed its industrial strengths and weaknesses, and offered authoritative guidance and practical recommendations for the local advancement of large-scale, standardized, digital-intelligent, brand-driven and integrated grape-industry growth.

An investment-signing ceremony was also held during the event. Altogether 31 projects were signed, covering industrial investment, the full-chain supply of grape-related products, integrated culture-tourism and other sectors. Among them, industrial-investment projects reached a total deal value of 24.76 billion yuan (about 3.42 billion U.S. dollars), while sales of grape products across the whole industrial chain hit 205,000 tons.

The grape festival will run for three days, with a host of supporting activities lined up to deliver immersive experiences for local residents and tourists. A display of 550 grape varieties has opened along the Grape Corridor on Qingnian Road in Gaochang District, offering a full picture of achievements across Turpan's entire grape industrial chain. Donations of sand samples from 16 countries worldwide and sand-therapy classics, including physical specimens and ancient records, will support Turpan's push to build an international sand-therapy resort center. Submissions are now open across online platforms for the "Turpan's Grapes Are Ripe" mass singing contest, set to create a viral hit on social media.

In addition, a series of events will unfold throughout the festival, including a performance by the Hunan Song and Dance Theatre, an art-creation tour to Turpan for renowned national-level calligraphers and painters, a DIY wine-bottle creativity contest, and the Turpan Grape Carnival. These activities will cover major scenic spots and featured parks across the city.

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