Arrival in Urumqi, meet & greet at the airport and transfer to hotel. Free time at leisure for the rest of the day. Meals on own expenses.

Overnight at hotel in Urumqi

After breakfast at the hotel and a visit to Heavenly Lake in the Tianshan Mountains, which is located 1,980 meters above sea level and offers picturesque views of snow-capped peaks, you can enjoy the crystal-clear water sourced from melted snow. A boat cruise on Heavenly Lake provides great pleasure, with magical colors covering the lake and offering stunning views. In Urumqi, we will visit the Xinjiang International Bazaar. Afterward, board the private train to Kuqa.

Overnight on board of the train

After breakfast on the train, disembark and enjoy a full day of sightseeing in Kuqa, a thriving city known for its oil and gas development in the Tarim Basin with ½ million residents. In ancient times, it was the homeland of the Buddhist Kingdom of Kucha. Today, we will visit the following scenic spots:

Kuqa Grand Canyon The Mystic Grand Canyon fascinates with its colorful red sandstone rocks.

Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves, also known as Kizil Thousand-Buddha Caves or Kizil Ming Öy in Uygur language, is the largest existing Buddhist stone caves in Xinjiang and the oldest, the largest and westernmost Buddhist grottoes in China.

Kuqa Royal Palace, built by Qing Emperor Qianlong and reconstructed on the old site, exhibits the unique characteristics of the palace and the history of King Uyghur.

Overnight onboard of the train on the heading to to Kashgar

fter breakfast, arrive in Kashgar, taking the Karakorum Highway to the Pamir Plateau and the city of Taxkorgan, the last town before the China-Pakistan border at the Khunjerab Pass.

Overnight at hotel in Taxkorgan

Taxkorgan, with a rich history as a Silk Road stop, served as a convergence point for major caravan routes leading to Kashgar in the North, Tajikistan in the West, and Pakistan in the South. It has been a center of various kingdoms for centuries and is now the focal point for the ethnic Tajik in China. Developed into a tourist center on the modernized Karakorum Highway, Taxkorgan offers a visit to the Taxkorgan Fort, also known as Stone City, situated on the outskirts next to the Golden Grassland. Take a stroll through the Tashkurgan grasslands after breakfast.

After an early lunch we head back to Kashgar via the Karakorum Highway . On the way, we do a photo stop at Lake Baisha (“Blue Lake”).

Overnight at hotel in Kashgar

Kashgar, a historic oasis city in southern Xinjiang, played a vital role on the Silk Road for over 2000 years. With a diverse cultural past under Chinese, Turkic, Mongol, and Tibetan empires, it now thrives as a bustling city of 4 million residents. Connected by the Karakorum Highway to Pakistan and the Torugart Pass Highway to Kyrgyzstan, Kashgar hosts China’s westernmost railway station. A feasibility study is underway for a new railway to Uzbekistan. After breakfast, explore the city’s top attractions.

Kashgar Old Town
Kashgar Old Town often described as “the best-preserved example of a traditional Islamic city in Central Asia” has been demolished and reconstructed during the last decade to become the major tourist attraction in Xinjiang province. In the center located is the Id Kah Mosque which is one of the largest in China.

Afaq Khoya Mausoleum and Xiang Fei Garden
Built in 1640 as Muhammad Yusuf’s tomb, the mausoleum later became the resting place for his more famous son, Afaq Khoja, and five Afaq family generations. It stands out as an exemplary piece of Islamic architecture in China, covering 20,000 square meters with structures like a gate tower, great mosque, small mosque, scripture hall, and the main tomb chamber. Nearby, Xiangfei Garden, a tourist park, opened in 2015. Linked to Chinese legend, the site is associated with the “Fragrant Concubine” (Xiang Fei), who became a consort to the 18th-century Qianlong Emperor

Bazaar (“Sunday Market”) and Livestock Market
The Kashgar Sunday Market is renowned as the biggest market in central Asia; a pivotal trading point along the Silk Road where goods have been traded for more than 2,000 years. The market is open daily, but Sunday is the largest. In the outskirts of the city there are livestock markets, the main one on Sundays as well, but others every day. Both, the bazaar, and the livestock markets are considered as unique experiences by overseas visitors.

Overnight onboard of the train on the heading to Hetian

After breakfast, arrive in Hetian, also known as Hotan. This major oasis town in the southwest of Xinjiang province has a population of about 0.4 million, with the majority being ethnic Uyghurs.

Hetian is renowned for its Nephrite jade, silk fabrics, and hand-woven silk and wool carpets. The railway line from Kashgar to Hetian was opened in 2011. A full day of unforgettable sightseeing experiences is on today’s itinerary.

• Tuangcheng Old Town
• Hetian Museum.
• Grand Bazaar & Night Market

Overnight at hotel in Hetian

After a week of sightseeing, today is a leisurely day.

The major highlight for today is a rail experience travel through the Taklimakan Desert, World’s first deser railway line completed in 2022 to Ruoqiang at its southeastern edge.

This railway, is a feat of engineering with five viaducts designed to let sandstorms pass underneath. It’s one of the first private train tours to complete the full circle around the Taklimakan Desert, offering comfortable views from your cabin, dining, or bar car. Enjoy this unforgettable rail journey!

Overnight stay at a hotel

Ruoqiang is a rarely visited small town with only 43,000 residents at the southeastern edge of the Taklimakan Desert. In the morning, after breakfast, we begin sightseeing in Ruoqiang and explore the Milan Ruins and the Loulan Museum, which explains the history of ancient civilizations in the region. In the evening, we reach Korla..

Overnight at hotel in Korla

With nearly 800,000 residents, Korla is a major city in Xinjiang province, situated as an oasis town on the Peacock River at the northern edge of the Taklimakan Desert. Fueled by the discovery of oil in the desert, Korla is experiencing rapid growth, hosting the headquarters of Petro-China’s Tarim oil fields.

In the morning, visit Bosten Lake for a boat trip, the largest freshwater lake in China. Our journey continues to Turpan.

Overnight at hotel in Turpan

Turpan, also known as Turfan, is located about 150 km southeast of Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital in a mountain basin, on the northern side of the Turpan Depression. It is the center of a fertile oasis and used to be a trading center in ancient times. It is regarded as the hottest place in China in record temperatures reaching 47,8° C in July. After breakfast, we start another day full of sightseeing activities:

The Flaming Mountains, also called Red Mountains, are well known by Chinese people because of the legendary story “Journey to the West”.

Jiaohe Ancient City is an island-shaped plateau situated at in Yarnaz Valley. It is the largest, oldest, and well-preserved earth-structured city in the world, with a history of over 2000 years.

The Grape Valley is an area of arid land in Turpan where grapes and other fruits are grown.

Overnight at hotel in Urumqi

Tour ends today.

Free at your own leisure until pick up to airport for the flight back to your hometown or next destination. Bon voyage