This is southern Xinjiang, where it is said there is another Xinjiang
When it comes to traveling in Xinjiang, where is the first place that comes to your mind? I guess many people’s first reaction is Kanas or Tian Chi in northern Xinjiang. Actually, besides the well-known northern Xinjiang with numerous tourists, there is another scenery in Xinjiang that has long been unknown to the majority of tourists, namely the vast southern Xinjiang region south of Mount Tianshan.
1, Choice of travel routes in southern Xinjiang. Generally speaking, there are two distribution centers for travel routes in southern Xinjiang, one is Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, and the other is Kashgar, an important town in southern Xinjiang. In terms of transportation convenience, most people’s travel routes in southern Xinjiang take Urumqi as the gathering and final dispersing place; the travel route in southern Xinjiang can solely cover the area south of Mount Tianshan, generally taking 10-14 days. If it is the Grand Circle Route covering both southern and northern Xinjiang, it may take more than 20 days. Most tourists may not have such a long holiday. If you only have a holiday of about ten days, we recommend setting one of the northern and southern Xinjiang as your travel destination instead of visiting both, otherwise it may make the overall itinerary rather rushed and reduce the travel experience. In view of this, we recommend a 12-day outdoor route in southern Xinjiang with Urumqi as the distribution center, and the brief itinerary is as follows:
Day 1 Various Cities Nationwide – Urumqi (Assembly)
Day 2 Urumqi – Lop Nor Village – Korla (about 620KM)
Day 3 Korla – Tianshan Grand Canyon – Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves – Kuqa (about 400KM)
Day 4 Kuqa – Kuqa王府 (王府 is a place name here, kept as is) – Taklamakan Desert – Hotan (about 650KM)
Day 5 Hotan – Yecheng – Kashgar (about 520KM)
Day 6 Kashgar – Karakul Lake (Muztagh Ata) – Kashgar (about 400KM)
Day 7 Kashgar – Wensu Grand Canyon – Aksu (about 600KM)
Day 8 Aksu – Kuqa (about 255KM)
Day 9 Kuqa – Southern Section of Duku Highway – Bayinbrook (about 265KM)
Day 10 Bayinbrook – Nalati (about 80KM)
Day 11 Nalati – Northern Section of Duku Highway – Urumqi (about 640KM)
Day 12 Urumqi – Various Cities Nationwide (Dismissal)
2. The brief itinerary above includes the Duku Highway. The Duku Highway, a road from Dushanzi to Kuqa. With a total length of 561 kilometers, it connects northern and southern Xinjiang. Stretching across towering mountains and deep valleys, it has shortened the distance between northern and southern Xinjiang by nearly half from the original 1,000 kilometers, making it a milestone in China’s highway construction history. To build this highway, tens of thousands of soldiers worked tirelessly for 10 years, with 168 of them sacrificing their lives. The Duku Highway is a scenic avenue rivaling the southern Sichuan-Tibet section of National Highway 318 in beauty, but due to topographical and climatic conditions, it is only open to traffic mainly from June to October each year. For safety reasons, only vehicles with seven seats or fewer are usually allowed to pass during the open season. Therefore, the recommended itinerary above is for travel between June and September. If the Duku Highway can be omitted, the suitable travel period can be extended by one month before and after.
Xinjiang Tourism Consultation: (Same) 0991-8585456