Xinjiang’s tourism routes are diverse, covering natural scenery, cultural landscapes, and other aspects. Here are some classic Xinjiang tourism routes:?
Kanas Loop: A 5-7 day itinerary, mainly visiting the Altay region, including scenic spots such as Kanas, Hemu, Koktokay, Ghost City, and Black Oil Mountain. This route is characterized by lake and mountain scenery and primitive natural landscapes, with the best travel time being from September to October.?
Yili Loop: A 6-10 day itinerary, centering around the Ili River Valley enclosed by the Tianshan Mountains, including scenic areas such as Sayram Lake, Nalati, Xiata, Tangbula, and Duku Highway. This route focuses on the stunning scenery at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, suitable for visiting from May to August, when the grasslands are lush and flowers are in bloom.?
Kayi Loop: An 11-13 day itinerary, combining the best of the Kanas Loop and Yili Loop, allowing you to visit the scenic spots of these two major routes. It is the most essential natural scenery travel route in Northern Xinjiang. It is suitable for travel from May to October, when the weather is pleasant and the scenery is delightful.?
Northern Xinjiang Grand Loop: A 13-17 day self-driving tour of the entire Northern Xinjiang, in addition to the scenic spots of the Kayi Loop, it also includes the desert and Gobi landscapes of Turpan, Hejing, and Hami in East Xinjiang. This route covers all the essential scenic spots of Northern Xinjiang, from deserts to grasslands, from lakes to canyons, having it all. It is suitable for travel from May to November.?
Southern Xinjiang Grand Loop: A 13-17 day itinerary, facing the Northern Xinjiang Grand Loop across the Tianshan Mountains, it focuses on experiencing cultural customs, mainly passing through places such as the Taklamakan Desert, Pamir Plateau, Kunlun Mountains, etc. This route blends the unique cultural customs and natural landscapes of Southern Xinjiang, with the best travel seasons being September to November and March to May.?
Southern Xinjiang Small Loop: An 11-13 day itinerary, as a condensed version of the Southern Xinjiang Loop, it also allows you to experience the natural scenery and cultural characteristics of Southern Xinjiang. There is relatively less natural scenery in Southern Xinjiang, so the radius of the loop can be reduced a bit, and you still won’t miss the key scenic spots. It is suitable to visit during the spring and autumn when the temperature is pleasant, and the Populus euphratica forest in mid-to-late October is particularly beautiful.?
Grand Xinjiang Loop: A 40-50 day itinerary, combining the best of the Northern Xinjiang Loop and Southern Xinjiang Loop. It starts from the Hexi Corridor in Gansu, crosses the Qilian Mountains into Hami, Xinjiang, and after separately circumnavigating Northern Xinjiang and Southern Xinjiang, exits Xinjiang along Mangya in Qinghai. This route is the most comprehensive Xinjiang travel itinerary, covering all the essential scenic spots and cultural customs of Xinjiang. The best travel time is from May to November.?
In addition, there are also some other special routes such as the Tianshan Highway, Nanshan Line, Urumqi East Line, East Tianshan Line, Bayinbrook~Sayram Lake Loop, etc., which are also worth visiting.?
. These routes each have their own characteristics and can be selected based on personal interests and schedules.?