Sincerely welcome you to this magical and exotic city of Xinjiang – Kashgar. Our professional and local guide will meet you at the airport, railway station, or port, then take you to your hotel by a comfortable private vehicle and help you with check-in. In the rest of the day, you can explore nearby as much as possible by your own, and please feel free to get some useful suggestions from your tour guide. 

Meal: No

Altitude: 1290m

Hotel: In Kashgar

In the early morning, after having your buffet breakfast, start a new day which is full of surprises. Driving on the China-Pakistan Highway, enjoy the magnificent Pamir Plateau, pay a visit to Opal village, it is a perfect place for you to understand about the traditional Uygur people’s village life and culture as well as customs, and take part in interesting activities like bread making.
Next, after driving about 1.5hrs we will visit the magnificent Oytagh Red Mountain, it’s valley is surrounded by a beautiful backdrop of multi-colored mountains topped by snow-capped peaks, you can take some nice photos as much as you want.
Then, head to our next destination – Karakul Lake, you can see Kirghiz herdsman and their livestock around the lake, if you want to exchange cultures with them and learn about ethnic minorities customs, feel free to communicate. The following day will be spent exploring the enchanting scenery surrounding the highway, and your driver and local tour guide will drive to take you to the Taxkorgan County for overnight stay. 

Meal: B

Altitude: 3100m

Traffic: 320kms, 6hrs driving

Hotel: In Taxkorgan

In the morning head to Kashgar, you will visit the Stone Fortress. Located in the north of Taxkorgan, it is 3,100 meters above sea level and also known as a vital ancient site on the ancient Silk Road of Xinjiang. Stone Fortress used to be the intramuros of Puli Garden, it stands at the key, imposing, from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, expansion and garrison constantly, and the highest point of the wall as high as more than 20 meters. Multi-layer or broken or continued walls outside the city, overlapping between the stone mounds, piles of stones, constitute a unique stone fortress scenery.
If you look down to the east of the Stone Fortress, you will see a very beautiful grassland, which is known as Golden Grassland, full of cattle and sheep; when the sun is about to set, the whole stone fortress will reflect a wealth of light, first the whole city is gray black, then brick red and ochre. Standing on this pile of rocks, looking at the grassland at the moment, the distant naked mountain, you’ll forget the existence of time.

Meal: B

Altitude: 1290m

Traffic: 320kms, 6hrs driving

Hotel: In Kashgar

After breakfast, in the early morning your tour guide will take you to visit the majestic Idigar Mosque, it is the biggest mosque in China where you can feel the strong religious atmosphere. Every Eid, a lot of people come here to celebrate the most delightful festival for Muslims and if you are lucky you will enjoy singing and dancing performances. Next, pay a visit to the Kashgar Old Town which has a history of more than 2,000 years and is like a vivid scroll of Xinjiang Uygur folk custom. When you stand in the Old Town, it is like standing in the boundless ancient oil painting, you may think that this is the charm of the Silk Road. Here, you can experience the unique ethnic culture and customs by visiting a local Uygur family.
Then, head to prosperous Sunday Bazaar, when people come here for selling livestock, you can experience the ancient forms of trade of the Silk Road and it’s quite interesting to witness their typical methods of bargain.
Next, your tour guide will take you to the Handicraft Street, hundreds of handicraft workshops and stalls are gathered on both sides of the street, there are textile, gold and silver jewelry, hardware processing, wood processing, hat, clothing, musical instruments, etc. The handicrafts here have a strong national characteristics and good quality, which are loved by many people and enjoyed a high reputation both at home and abroad.

After visiting, say goodbye to Kashgar and you will be transferred to the airport to take the flight to Urumqi.

Meal: B

Altitude:836m

Traffic: 2hrs 

Hotel: In Urumqi

Start a brand new day to drive to the particularly charming city – Turpan. First, go to visit the Tuyoq Village, which is a tourist area with both natural scenery and cultural relics; it is also the most mysterious place in western China, Turpan City, Xinjiang Province, about 55 kilometers to the east of Turpan City. This is the cultural land of the four major civilizations in the world. Various religious cultures such as Islam, Buddhism, Manichaeism and Nestorianism collide and gather here. The scenery of the desert canyon and the ancient Uygur villages complement each other. The Thousand Buddha Caves in Tuyoq Village is the earliest and largest excavation in Turpan area; and the Mazaar ancient village, known as the “living fossil of folk customs of traditional Uygurs”. 
Next, visit the Jiaohe Ancient City, which is an ancient city that was strategically located along the ancient Silk Road. Perching on a plateau, it acted as a natural barrier from the attacking enemies in the old times. Besides, Jiaohe Ruins is a city without city walls; it was once one of the most prosperous cities on the ancient Silk Road. It is an ancient city in the Western Regions as famous as the ancient city of Loulan, known as the “Oriental Pompeii”. And Jiaohe Ruins is currently the largest, oldest and best-preserved city with earthen buildings in the world. It is the only and most complete Han Dynasty city site in China.

Meal: B

Altitude: 36m

Traffic: 200km, 3hrs driving

Hotel: In Turpan

Today, after having a quick breakfast, we will go to discover the amazing project of Karez Well system. Together with the Great Wall and Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the Karez System is regarded as one of China’s Three Greatest Ancient Projects. It is a special kind of irrigation system consisting of vertical wells, underground canals, ground canals and waterlogging pond. The vertically dug wells are linked together to channel the water which occurs during summer rain season, or is melted from snow mountains of Tianshan range to desired farmlands in the desert area. 

Next, we will drive back to the downtown area of Turpan to visit some famous must-see tourist attractions such as the collection house, which is also known as “Turpan’s Grandpa Antique Shop” and the largest Islamic minaret in China built in 1778 – Sugong Minaret. It is the product of a historical event, and is an exquisite national architectural art treasure on the Silk Road in the Western Regions.

In the afternoon, we’ll drive bact to Urumqi and enjoy a walking tour at the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, which is located in Tianshan District of Urumqi and is currently the largest Bazaar in China. The Grand Bazaar’s architectural style and scale are magnificent, and the ethnic minority products in the market are rich and exquisite.The entire International Bazaar is the most ethnic-style place in Urumqi. The garden tower about 100 meters high in the center of the square is called the Silk Road Tower. It is the most famous scenic spot in the Grand Bazaar. There are paintings and exhibitions on each floor of the tower to show the historical stories of the Silk Road and you can overlook the surrounding city scenery from the top of the tower. Inside the Grand Bazaar is a huge market, where numerous vendors sell specialty products from Xinjiang. Dried fruits, clothing, essential oils, and handicrafts are dazzling, and the decorations in the market are colorful and very beautiful, so you can have a good visit.

Meal: B

Altitude: 552m

Traffic: 200km, 3hrs driving

Hotel: In Urumqi

First, your tour guide will take you to visit the gorgeous Heavenly Lake, which is famous for its stunning view and various tourist resources. In addition, Heavenly Lake, known as “Yao Chi” in ancient times and it is also a World Natural Heritage Site. The spring of Heavenly Lake is quite long; at this time, half of the water in the Heavenly Lake is normal lake water, while the other half is ice crystal like a mirror. You can fully enjoy the Heavenly Lake’s picturesque view and get more close with nature. 40-minute scenic shuttle bus ride that twists though the dramatic mountains. Then you can either walk to the lakeside in 10mins or take the electronic cart. There are 3 options suggested. Boating cruise to take the incredible view of Tianshan Mountain. Trekking along the lake in the fresh air. or you can explore further to the Maya Mountain by the cable car to enjoy the magnificent view of the Mountains. After the visiting, we will drive you to Urumqi train station, and catch an overnight train to Beitun. (Guide will also take the same train with you.) 

Meal: B

Altitude: 530m

Traffic: Train, 12hrs 

Hotel: Stay on the train

Today, we’ll drive about 2hrs to enjoy the beautiful Kanas Nature Reserve, which is located in the middle of Xinjiang Altai Mountain, is located in the border zone between China and Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia, covering an area of 10030 square kilometers. Here spectacular glaciers set off tranquil lakes and vast grasslands contain deep primitive forests. Besides, it is also regarded as China’s only European-like ecological site, you can appreciate the masterpiece of nature and take some nice photos as much as possible.
Then, after having lunch we’ll head to Kanas Jiadengyu, after that go to the center of park and take the shuttle bus to visit some main attractions including Moon bay, Dragon Bay and Immortal Bay. Next stop is pay a visit to the Fish Pavilion, where you can fully admire the panoramic view of extremely eye-catching Kanas. You can stand on the Fish Pavilion and feel the inner peace of yourself as well as the true value of life. In the late afternoon, back to Jiadengyu district to check into the hotel. 

Meal: B

Altitude: 1375m

Traffic: 200km, 3hrs driving

Hotel: In Kanas

Today we will head to Burqin, enjoy the scenery of Five-Colored Beach, Walk into the colorful Beach, you will feel as if in a dream world. Five-colored Beach is located on the first and second steps on the north bank of the Irtysh River, which is the only one in China that flows into the Arctic Ocean. The Five-Colored Beach is popular with its spectacular and beautiful scenery especially the sunset here is gorgeous and the view of the two side is totally different but very special. If you like nature and beach and like to take pictures of beautiful sunset, then its a nice place to visit. In the evening, you can walk around the bustling streets of Burqin, enjoy your leisure time and taste delicious food and local snacks. We’ll spend the night in Burqin. 

Meal: B

Altitude: 1463m

Traffic: 3500km, 5.5hrs driving

Hotel: In Burqin

Today we will head to Urho to visit the mysterious Ghost Town. It is popular with its mysterious legend and spectacular Yadan landform. If you like historical legends and nature, it is an amazing place to explore and visit. Overlooking the Wind City, it looks like a large castle in medieval Europe. There are many large and small castles, high and low. For millions of years, due to wind and rain erosion, the ground has formed ravines of different depths, and the exposed stone layers have been carved into strange shapes by the wind: Some bared their teeth and grinned like monsters; some towered high towers, with distinct stacks of butterflies, resembling an ancient castle. Here it is like a pavilion, with eaves and roofs; there is like a magnificent palace, standing proudly. It’s so varied and fascinating. The undulating hillside was covered with blood-red, blue, white and orange stones , just like a witch’s beads, adding a little more mystery. After visiting, we will spend the night in Urho.

Meal: B

Altitude: 1390m

Traffic: 300km, 5hrs driving

Hotel: In Urho

Our 11 days North Xinjiang group tour is about to an end. We are going to drive back to Urumqi Airport to catch your flight. Wish you have a pleasant journey home. Looking forward to seeing you in another China trip!

Meal: B

Altitude: 800m

Traffic: 430km, 5hrs driving

Hotel: No