The ‘Tianshan Express’ was tailor-made and newly built by Urumqi Railway Bureau in 2023 with heavy investment. It includes bar carriages, entertainment carriages, and dining carriages. The special train is equipped with hard sleeper carriages and soft sleeper carriages, providing a full range of service experiences for your journey!
The newly operated ‘Tianshan Express’ inclusive tourist train covers over 80% of 5A scenic spots in both northern and southern Xinjiang. It offers rich new travel services such as on-board bars and leisure facilities at affordable prices, while allowing tourists to enjoy the experience and services of high-quality tourist trains.
2025 Reservation Guide for Xinjiang Tianshan Express:
In 2025, Urumqi Railway Bureau plans to operate 12 high-quality special tourist trains named ‘Travel Xinjiang by Train·Tianshan Express’, covering different tourist seasons to fully meet travelers’ needs and provide a higher-quality new tourism experience. In 2023, Urumqi Railway Bureau invested 3 million yuan to tailor-make and build new bar carriages, entertainment carriages, and dining carriages for the ‘Tianshan Express’. The special train is equipped with hard sleeper carriages and soft sleeper carriages. Each carriage is decorated with unique scenery, and high-quality fabrics are used for bed linens. Carpets are laid in corridors, and all aspects of interior decoration are thoughtfully considered. It provides a full range of service experiences for your journey; the special train uses 25G air-conditioned carriages with a combination of hard sleeper carriages, soft sleeper carriages, one bar carriage, one multi-functional leisure carriage, and one dining carriage.
[Product Features]
Scenery: Northern Xinjiang boasts glaciers, snowy mountains, forests, lakes, deserts, gobis, oasis, grasslands, ancient villages…
Culture: Many ethnic minorities live and thrive in southern Xinjiang; while on Pamir Plateau, eagles soar in the sky.
Fulfill your dream of traveling across Tianshan Mountain and throughout northern and southern Xinjiang, making your trip simple and joyful.
Product Description of Tianshan Express, Xinjiang Tourist Train:
The "Xinjiang by Train: Tianshan Express" is a tourism product that combines a special train for tourism with tourism products. Train tickets are not sold separately and must be booked and registered in combination with a Xinjiang tourism itinerary.
[Attraction Upgrade]
In addition to traditional popular attractions (Kanas, Hemu, Nalati Grassland, Sayram Lake, Kashgar, Urumqi, Turpan), a special arrangement has been made to visit the middle and southern sections of the Duku Highway starting in mid-June, encountering the beautiful scenery of Xinjiang. Visitors will check in at Bayinbuluk Grassland, one of the four largest grasslands in the world, and head to the First Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in Alar to listen to the stories of the Xinjiang Corps. Passing through the He-Ruo Railway, tourists will circle around cities near the Taklamakan Desert. The comprehensive route is all covered by the Tianshan Express!
Departure time of the "Xinjiang by Train: Tianshan Express":
From May to October, with the first departure on May 7th or May 1st, and a new departure every 15 days (specific dates may be adjusted; it is recommended to consult Wang Fei, the official customer service of Xinjiang Pathfinder International Travel Agency Special Train Center, at 180 9596 9599 for confirmation).
Luntai — Tarim Populus euphratica
Bachu — Red Sea Populus euphratica Sea Scenic Area
Korla — Original Populus euphratica Forest in Lop Nur Village, Tarim River, Ahongkou of Bosten Lake, Swan River
Baqiu, Prefecture of Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture — Loulan Museum, Loulan Cultural Park, Milan Ancient City Site, Red Date Orchard
Hotan — 47th Regiment Sand Sea Veterans Memorial Hall, 28 Ancient Water Mills, Rewak Buddhist Temple, Fig King, Walnut King Park, Round City, Thousand-Mile Grape Corridor, Hotan Museum, Desert Highway
Kashgar — Pamir Plateau, White Sand Mountain, White Sand Lake, Karakul Lake, Kashgar Old Town
Urumqi — Red Hill, International Grand Bazaar, Nang Cultural Industrial Park, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum
Turpan — Beziklik Thousand Buddha Caves, Kanarez Wells, Grape Paradise, Uyghur Homestay, Flaming Mountain
Shihezi — Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall, Junken Museum, Gobi Impression Cultural Tourism Park
Route of the "Xinjiang by Train: Tianshan Express":
Urumqi-Beitun-Yining-Turpan-Kuqa-Aksu-Kashgar-Urumqi, a train loop tour covering the panoramic view of both northern and southern Xinjiang.
With a loud whistle, the first high-quality special tourist train, "Xinjiang by Train: Tianshan Express," departed from Urumqi Station. More than 200 tourists from all over the country embarked on a 14-day journey to explore the beautiful scenery of Xinjiang.
Scenic spots along the "Xinjiang by Train: Tianshan Express":
"Xinjiang by Train: Tianshan Express" is Xinjiang’s first tourist train covering major tourist attractions in three regions of Northern, Southern, and Eastern Xinjiang. The one-way journey lasts 14 days, with the train accompanying tourists throughout. The train stops where tourists play, and the route connects major tourist cities in Xinjiang such as Urumqi, Beitun, Yining, Turpan, Alar, Kashgar, and Hami. It includes most of the popular scenic spots featuring Xinjiang’s "three mountains and two basins" geographical characteristics, connecting multiple scenic areas such as Flaming Mountain, Kanas, Sayram Lake, Kashgar Old Town, and Hami Temple Ergou into a line. Throughout the journey, tourists can take in snow-capped mountains, plateaus, lakes, deserts, gobies, oases, grasslands, villages, and other geographical and cultural landscapes.
To provide tourists with a better travel experience, the Xinjiang Railway Department has adopted all soft sleeper and hard sleeper configurations for the "Travel Xinjiang by Train·Tianshan Train" high-quality special tourist train based on its itinerary characteristics of "night travel, day sightseeing". The train functions have been further improved, with a bar car and a multi-functional leisure car installed for the first time.
Booking process and precautions for booking the Tianshan Train
1: Since the Tianshan Train is a customized tourist special train, it is recommended to book tickets through designated formal travel agency channels such as Xinjiang Pathfinder International Travel Agency, which cooperates with the Railway Bureau. It is recommended to call the official booking center of the Tianshan Train and New Oriental Express of Xinjiang Pathfinder International Travel Agency for consultation and booking: 180 95969599
2: The Tianshan Train does not sell train tickets separately. It needs to be booked together with tourism products. When booking, ID card information is required, and a unified electronic contract on the national tourism supervision platform needs to be signed.
3: Determine the specific price based on the travel date and selected route. Prices may vary due to the peak and off-peak seasons of tourism in Xinjiang and different travel dates; select a suitable travel time and tourism product.
4: Provide personal name and ID card number to customer service to confirm the tour date and tourism product. Prepay the train ticket deposit and sign the unified electronic contract for national tourism service supervision to complete registration.
Since the Tianshan Train is a customized tourist special train with regular schedules, there are only 2 trains per month and 12 trains per year. It is recommended to book in advance to avoid affecting your travel plans. Due to the difficulty in obtaining tickets for the New Oriental Express, based on sales and booking situations in recent years, it is recommended to consult customer service in advance to understand detailed itinerary arrangements and costs for better travel planning.
The interior of the soft sleeper carriages of the "Travel Xinjiang by Train·Tianshan Train" high-quality special tourist train mainly adopts a wooden texture as the main tone. The carriage decoration highlights the concept of "one carriage, one scenery", selecting scenery from six major regions including Altay, Aksu, Ili, Turpan, Hami, and Kashgar. Each carriage has a unique theme, making each carriage unique in cultural characteristics.
This year, the Xinjiang Railway Department plans to operate 10 high-quality special tourist trains of the "Travel Xinjiang by Train·Tianshan Train" throughout the year, covering different tourist seasons in Xinjiang, fully meeting the travel needs of different tourists and providing a higher-quality new travel experience.
More tourism consultation (Panda Special Train, New Oriental Express, Silk Road Dream Train, Lindu Train, Yichun Train, Gobi Cruise Train, New Western Train, New National Train, Tianyuan Train, Tianshan Train) special train booking center: 180-9596-9599 (copy and add as a friend for free consultation and detailed route information)