Xinjiang Best Classic Silk Road Tour with Locals

Day 1: Kashgar City Cultural Walking Tour

1. 8h
   Kashgar has been claimed "the best-preserved example of a traditional Silk Road city to be found anywhere in Central Asia", although the city is becoming more developed.
   Being the cultural center of China, Kashgar is one of the top silk road destinations in China
   So far today we will do full day excursion in this city, and visit Kashgar Sunday livestock Market, Apak Hoja tomb, Idkah Mosque and Kashgar old town, and enjoy the Uyghur local cuisines like kebab, hand pulled noodle in best Uyghur food restaurant in kashgar.
2. Kashgar Live Stock Market
   2h · Admission ticket included
   our guide will take you to livestock market and you will see the real life of uyghur farmers and their way of business
3. Abakh Hoja Tomb
   2h · Admission ticket included
   it is one of the best preserves shrines in kashgar and it has unique architecture style from 17th century , you will have live show of Uyghur wedding and dancing performance

Day 2: Kashgar-Tashkorgan via Karakoram highway/5hr driving

1. Karakul Lake Tours
   2h · Admission ticket included
   Karakul Lake: it is rare highland lake in the world at the elevation of 3600m, located on the side of Karakoram highway ,200km south west of Kashgar, it is surrounded by many snowcapped high mountains like Mt Muztagh Ata(7546m) and Konggur (7649m). You will have chance to hike around the lake if our time allows
2. 3h
   Tashkorgan is only western most Entry and Exit gate of western China, mountain Tajik people live in surrounding area and it is important town in the Karakoram, located south west of Kashgar, borders with Badakhshan province of Tajikistan, Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan and Pakistani Kashmir where Karakoram, Pamir and Hindikush mountain ranges are connected. therefore, it has outstanding scenery of mountains,
   After breakfast in hotel , spend about an hour there to visit the Ethnic Tajik Museum, best preserved ruin Stone forte which dates back to 7th century, and visit the Pamir Grass land(goldden grassland),
3. 30m
   once we arrive at karakul lake we can see muztagh ata peak which is one of the famous peak in the world which the evlevation of 7546m ,
4. Corner Lake Tours
   30m · Admission ticket included
   on the way to tashkorgan , we ll visit baisha lake also called bulunkul lake ,it is a lake surrounded by sand mountains
5. Tashkurgan Fort
   1h · Admission ticket included
   it is stone city ruine that has history of 2000 years ,
6. Shitou City Ruins
   1h · Admission ticket included
   visit stone city ruine

Day 3: Tashkorgan -Back to Kashgar via Karakoram Highway /5hr driving

1. Kashgar
   8h
   Today early in the morning we will drive on the dragon road which recently became famous must see road in xinjiang ,then drive back to kashgar , on the way back also see taheman grassland ,karakul lake ,sand mountain lake on the karakoram highway , we will back to kashgar in the evening
2. Muztagh Ata Offbeat Tours
   Pass by
   on the way back to kashgar , we will see muztagh ata

Day 4: Kashgar-Shache -Heitan/Hotan(Khotan/和田）/6hr driving

1. Hotan
   2h
   Today we will drive to Hotan from kashgar ,we will drive towards southern silk road city hotan by crossing the oasis , villages and towns ,arrive Hotan in the evening and check in hotel , then we will go to visit Hotan night market which is one of the largest food market in Xinjiang where you can see hundreds of varies of xinjiang foods , drive back to hotel and rest ,
2. Ye'erqianghan Mausoleum
   2h · Admission ticket included
   it is the old tomb area of shache and we will visit shache old town ,and muqam world heritage center ,

Day 5: Hotan tours/2hr drive

1. Hotan
   8h
   hotan was very important city in the southern silk road, and also was one of the earliest Buddhist states in the world and a cultural bridge across which Buddhist culture and learning were transmitted from India to china, khotan was establishes as city in 300bc and completely Islamitized in 1006 ad, so you can visit some ancient Buddha ruins, as well as it's thousand years old of historical major products such as its famous nephrite jade,Hand made silk factories carpet and pottery factories. today we will visit Hotan grand market ,hotan Jade market , hotan Silk factory ,handcraft carpet factory where regular hotan people work ,and also we will visti Malik Awat accient buddha city , after the visiting the sites , we will go to hotan night food market again for dinner and enjoy the best of xinjiang foods ,
2. Hetian Nightly Market
   1h
   it is one of the best local food market in xinjiang worth visit for few hrs for dinner ,
3. Hetian Museum
   2h
   hetian museum is one of best museums in xinjiang , can see the relics found in tarim basin ,
4. Yuetegan Ruins
   1h · Admission ticket included
   we will visit Yuetegan old city
5. Malikewate Ancient City
   1h · Admission ticket included
   ancient city ruins are not best preserved but some ruins are preserved ,

Day 6: Hotan-Kuqa(Kucha,库车）via crossing Taklamakan desert from south to north/9hr drive

1. Taklamakan Desert
   8h · Admission ticket included
   Today is going to be very exciting and adventurous part of our trip, we drive across the vast Taklamakan desert from south to north via Desert highway , Taklamakan is second largest shifting sand dune desert in the world, full day driving on the new desert highway to reach Kuqa northern oasis city in the middle silk road , located north of Taklamakan , we will get our lunch prepared in the morning and drive on the highway cross the desert stop for photos and walk on the sand dunes ,arrive kuqa in the evening
2. 1h · Admission ticket included
   it is the budha tower which was preserved from 5th century ,located in the middle of the desert

Day 7: Kucha Tours-night train to Turpan

1. Kuqa County
   9h
   Kucha is Another ancient Buddha cultural city on the middle silk road located north part of Taklimakan desert ,Kucha was called Kusan (Qiuci in Chinese) in ancient times , today we will first visit Kizil Buddha caves for 3-4hr and visit Tianshan grand canyon 2hr ,after the excursion we will drive back to kuqa to visit the subash ancient city ,kuqa king palace and kucha grand mosque , then we will have dinner and back to hotel for rest , we can take you to night market in kuqa if you would like to walk around the foods markets again ,
2. Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves (Kezi'er Qian Fo Dong)
   4h · Admission ticket included
   it is one of the best preserved buddha ancient art in china ,our professional guide will take you all the caves and explain each buddha paintings ,
3. Subashi Gucheng Temple
   1h · Admission ticket included
   it is silk road ancient city ruin in kuqa
4. Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon
   1h · Admission ticket included
   canyon located in the middle of tianshan ,red mountains surrounded the valley
5. Kuche Royal Palace
   1h · Admission ticket included
   it is royal palace of kuqa from 16th centuries

Day 8: Arrive Turpan and start tour

1. Turpan
   8h
   after breakfast in one of the local reasturants in turpan , we will start tour in turpan , visit karez well ,tuyuq valley ,bezaklik thousand caves ,gaochang ancient city ,emin minarete ,and turpan museum
2. Turpan Museum
   1h
   one of the best museums in xinjiang with tarim mummies
3. Turpan Kariz underground water system
   1h
   under ground irrigation system which has been built in turpan for thousand of years ,
4. 1h · Admission ticket included
   visit another one of the best budha cultural site in turpan
5. 1h
   it is unique old village ,and best place to see the culture of local turpan people
6. Ancient City of Gaochang (Kharakhoja)
   1h · Admission ticket included
   one of the best preserved ancient city ruin in xinjiang
7. Emin Minaret (Su Gong Ta)
   1h · Admission ticket included
   it is only the minarate mosque in the China's silk road

Day 9: Turpan Tours then drive to Urumqi

1. Turpan
   8h
   Turpan is located in the Turpan Basin which is deepest basin in China, northeastern part of Taklimakan desert. it is the Key city on the Middle Silk Road and unique Uyghur Buddha cultural City throughout the Buddha cultural period in the history of Uyghur’s until the 14th century ,then Islam became completely dominant religion in this area after middle of 14th century , that’s why Turpan has considerably best preserves Buddhist historical sites and some of them very well preserved ancient ruins that protected by UNESCO
   
   Today spend the whole day to visit historical sites in Turpan, visit Emin Minaret, Karez well Museum, Bezaklik buddha caves ,jiaohe ancient city , Gaochang ancient city ,Tuyuq village, and have traditional lunch in local Uyghur family in Tuyuq village ,
   
   Emin Minaret (sugong Ta in Chinese): only mosque with tallest minaret in China (44m, 144ft), built in 1777, an elegant and circular Uyghur traditional architecture
   
   Karez Wells: More than 5000km long Karez was one of the greatest constructions of China ,Turpan's Karez water system is made up of a horizontal series of vertically dug wells that are then linked by underground water canals to collect water from the watershed surface run off from the base of the Tian Shan Mountains and the nearby Flaming Mountains. The canals channel the water to the surface, taking advantage of the current provided by the gravity of the downward slope of the Turpan Depression. The canals are mostly underground to reduce water evaporation.
   
   Jiaohe (Yarghul in Uyghur )ancient city: it is called Yarghul ancient city Uyghurs and well preserved, excavated mud ancient city ruin in the world . earliest settlers of this city was no later than 1800 years BC, it is abandoned in 14th century AD when the Islam became dominant in the area ,All the houses, even few floor high, were built by excavating the clay ground .that’s the distinctive part than any other ancient cities throughout the silk road .The city was built on a large islet (1650 m in length, 300 m wide at its widest point) in the middle of a river which formed natural defenses, which would explain why the city lacked any sort of walls. it is recently protected by UNESCO
   
   Tuyuk valley: lovely old valley in which the small typical Uyghur village located, when we walk around the village we can absorb the Uyghur old residential lifestyle in Turpan
   
   Bezaklik Thousand Buddha caves: complex of Buddhist cave grottos dating from the 5th to the 9th centuries. There are 77 rock-cut caves at the site. Most have rectangular spaces with rounded arch ceilings often divided into four sections, each with a moral of Buddha. The effect is of entire ceiling covers with hundreds of Buddha murals. Some ceilings are painted with a large Buddha surrounded by other figures, including Indians, Persians and Europeans. The quality of the murals varies with some being artistically naive while others are masterpieces of religious art.
   Night in hotel in Turpan
2. Ancient City of Jiaohe (Yarkhoto)
   2h · Admission ticket included
   our guide will take you all parts of this ancient city and explain you the history of this ancient city
3. 2h
   after arriving at urumqi ,visit international grand bazaar ,

Day 10: Urumqi -Museum -Heavenly lake

1. Urumqi
   5h
   Today we drive from turpan to Urumqi ,Xinjiang's capital city for few hrs and we will enjoy the fascinating scenery of tianshan mountain range and thousands of wind power plants , after we arrive in urumqi , check in hotel , and do walking tour in international grand bazaar ,
2. Mt. Tianshan and Tianchi Lake Scenic Resort
   2h · Admission ticket included
   one of the most beautiful lakes in xinjiang , guide accompany you for hiking for few hrs around the lake ,

Day 11: Departure from Urumqi ,guide and driver will drop you off at train station ,

1. 30m
   guide and driver take you to airport to end your tour

Pickup details

Our tour guide and driver will meet you at the airport or train station exit with sign of your name

• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels