Xinjiang chartered tour: 0991-8585456 1813962-2229 (same as WeChat)
Day 1
Urumqi
Fly from various cities across the country to the city farthest from the sea; Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is the only provincial capital in China where you can see snow-capped mountains. Upon arrival, we will arrange for a dedicated car and person to pick you up (or from the train station) and take you to the hotel to rest. Along the way, enjoy the prosperity of Urumqi today and in the past.
Meals: Breakfast (please arrange on your own) Lunch (please arrange on your own) Dinner √
Accommodation: Urumqi
Day 2
Urumqi–Korla (500KM, approximately 7 hours by car)
After breakfast, take a car to southern Xinjiang, which is a city in southern Xinjiang and the second largest city in Xinjiang after Urumqi. It is the target city for the Xinjiang Autonomous Region government to implement the “North Urumqi, South Korla” development strategy—Korla, also known as the “City of Pears”. It is a fortress for entering and exiting southern Xinjiang and the watershed between northern and southern Xinjiang. Along the way, take in the Ten-Mile Salt Lake and Asia’s wind power station—the Dabancheng Wind Power Station. Pass through the ancient Silk Road “Dry Gully” and Malan Base, enjoying the scenery of the Gobi Desert. After lunch, visit [China’s inland freshwater lake—Bosten Lake (45 yuan)] (Lotus Lake), which is the end of the Kaidu River and the source of the Kongque River. In the warm summer, lotus flowers ripple on the water, with fish playing alongside boats; in autumn, the reeds flutter golden fluff, and wild geese honk as they fly long distances. You can take a boat into the lake at your own expense to see the dense reeds, clear lake water, and the underwater forest wonders. There is a marker for the source of the Kongque River in the lake, allowing you to feel the beauty of the lake amid the vast Gobi Desert in Xinjiang. Upon arrival in Korla, visit [Tiemen Pass, the First Pass of the Western Regions (6 yuan)], one of China’s ancient 26 famous passes. It was established as a pass during the Jin Dynasty and is called Tiemen Pass because of its strategic location and fortified defenses. Admire its majestic view of mountains and rivers.
Meals: Breakfast √ Lunch √ Dinner √
Accommodation: Korla
Day 3
Korla/Taklamakan Desert/Diverse-leaved Poplar Forest Park/Minfeng (600 kilometers, driving for approximately
After breakfast, take a bus to the longest desert highway in the world and enter the Taklamakan Desert, the second-largest desert in the world and the Sea of Death (in Uyghur, it means ‘once entered, never to return’). Drive on the world’s longest desert highway, feel the Sea of Death, and experience the miracle of ‘transforming the sand sea into an oil field and the desert into a thoroughfare’. View the magnificent Tarim Bridge and the ‘unbridled wild horse’ [Tarim River, the Mother River], winding through the desert. Then visit the [World’s Only Original Diverse-leaved Poplar Forest Park Reserve, 100 yuan/person, including scenic area train and shuttle bus]. Ten percent of the world’s diverse-leaved poplar forests are in China, and ninety percent of China’s diverse-leaved poplar forests are in Xinjiang’s Tarim River basin. Its ancestors appeared as early as 135 million years ago and are called ‘fossils of the third century’ by geologists, making it the oldest type of poplar in the world. The original diverse-leaved poplar forest – the ‘hero tree of the desert’ and the ‘dead for a thousand years but not decayed’ diverse-leaved poplar tree impart a sense of resilience and the spirit of striving upwards in any environment. Along the way, various landscapes unfold before your eyes. Then, take a bus to Minfeng County, located in the southwest of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, at the northern foot of the Kunlun Mountains and the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert.
Meals: Breakfast √ Lunch √ Dinner √
Accommodation: Minfeng
Day 4
Minfeng/Hotan Jade Dragon River/Walnut King Tree/Grape Corridor/Hotan (320 kilometers, driving
After breakfast, take a bus to Hotan, known as the hometown of silk, jade, and carpets. Visit the miracle in grape cultivation history – [15-yuan Qianli Grape Corridor]. To save farmland, farmers in Bageqi Town, Hotan County, used farmland roads to plant grapes along the roadside, with branches and vines covering the road. Occupying more sky than land, this practice was later unified and expanded year by year, creating a miracle in grape cultivation history and highly praised by guests from home and abroad. Next, visit the [15-yuan Walnut King Tree], which has been through 560 years of wind and rain. The tree roughly forms a ‘Y’ shape, and five people can barely embrace its trunk together. Twelve meters away from the King Tree, another walnut tree grows from its roots, resembling the old King Tree in shape and also forming a ‘Y’ shape. Upon closer inspection, it looks like a deeply affectionate mother and son, evoking profound emotions.
Accommodation: Hotan
Day 5
Hotan / Yingjisha / Kashgar
After breakfast, take a vehicle to the southern Xinjiang town – Kashgar. If you haven’t been to Kashgar, you haven’t really been to Xinjiang!
Meals: Breakfast √ Lunch √ Dinner √
Accommodation: Kashgar
Day 6
Kashgar / Karakul Lake (one-way 190 kilometers, about 2 hours and 30 minutes of driving)
After breakfast, take a vehicle to Karakul Lake, known as the Black Lake (collectively apply for a border pass). Pass through National Highway 314 – China-Pakistan Friendship Highway to the photographer’s paradise, the Pamir Plateau, to appreciate the magnificent scenery of the majestic Kunlun Mountains. Along the way, enjoy the sights of Red Mountain, Gaz Ancient Post, White Sand Mountain, Quicksand River, and yak on the plateau, and experience the hardships of the ancient Silk Road. Along the way, you can browse the Uyghur countryside scenery and feel the leisureliness of Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall in the depths of the desert. You can also take photos in front of the Whitesand River, known as the Quicksand River, and布伦口White Sand Mountain with its gods-created scenery. Along the way, you can also see the ancient Silk Road posts. Visit the [Karakul Lake 50 yuan] (meaning "black lake" or "great lake"; it is the highest lake in the world, with an altitude of over 4000 meters and an area of 10 square kilometers). Here, you can view Mount Muztagh Ata, Kongur Tagh, and Kongur Tobe, three mountains standing tall like celestial pillars with an altitude of 7546 meters, hence the nickname "Father of Glaciers". Then, take a vehicle back to Kashgar.
Meals: Breakfast √ Lunch √ Dinner √
Accommodation: Kashgar
Day 7
Folk customs in Kashgar / Urumqi
After breakfast, visit Abakh Hoja Tomb – [Fragrant Concubine’s Tomb 30], built in 1640. In the afternoon, visit the national-level [Id Kah Mosque 20]. In the evening, visit the [Old Town 30] and stroll through the street of handicrafts with ethnic characteristics, as well as the street of gold and silver jewelry. Later, visit the [Bazaar – Farmers’ Market] (praised by foreign tourists as the "First Bazaar in Central Asia") – the street of ethnic handicrafts, which has various handicraft products. After dinner, take a flight back to Urumqi.
Meals: Breakfast √ Lunch √ Dinner √
Accommodation: Urumqi
Day 8
Urumqi
After breakfast, free activities. Then, according to the flight schedule, transfer to the airport to end the pleasant journey and return to your lovely home!
Meals: Breakfast √ Lunch (please arrange on your own) Dinner (please arrange on your own)
Xinjiang chartered tour: 0991-8585456 1813962-2229 (same as WeChat)