Xinjiang Tour Carpooling Freestyle _ Route Recommendations _ Cost _ Guide _ Price
Xinjiang Carpooling 0991-8585456 (same number)
Xinjiang, located in the northwest of China, occupies one-sixth of the country’s total land area and borders eight countries, including Russia, Mongolia, India, and Kazakhstan. It mainly has a temperate continental climate. Simply put, Xinjiang can be summarized with the two words “large” and “dry”.
① “Large”: Friends who have visited Xinjiang cannot deny one point: traveling in Xinjiang is really tiring because Xinjiang is extremely large! (How large is Xinjiang? I roughly calculated that Beijing + Shanghai + Jiangsu + Zhejiang + Guangdong = Xinjiang’s area ÷ 4) The distance between attractions in Xinjiang is measured in hundreds of kilometers, and tourist attractions are scattered. Sometimes, traveling from one city to another or from one attraction to another often requires a ten-hour car or train ride. Moreover, some scenic areas cover nearly 100 square kilometers and can only be toured by shuttle buses. Therefore, almost more than one-third of the time spent traveling in Xinjiang each day is on the road. Friends who want to visit Xinjiang should be psychologically prepared to sit in a car for long periods. It is worth mentioning that the scenery along the roads in Xinjiang is indeed beautiful, and sometimes the beautiful scenery is right on the road.
② “Dry”: Xinjiang is located in the middle of the Eurasian continent. Such a geographical location determines that marine moisture is difficult to reach, and Urumqi is even the city farthest from the ocean in the world. Therefore, the climate in Xinjiang is relatively dry overall, with low air humidity. For friends from the eastern coast, especially the southeast, it may be a bit difficult to adapt. So, be sure to do a good job of hydrating and moisturizing when traveling to Xinjiang. If you plan to visit Hotan and the Taklamakan Desert, you should also take measures to prevent wind and sand.
II Choosing the Time to Travel
Xinjiang tourist season: July, August, September, October
① March-April: It is windy, with cold waves intruding, and prone to gale-force winds and dust storms. Precipitation increases. At this time, visiting Southern Xinjiang is a good choice, with peach and apricot blossoms blooming, as well as newly revived grasslands. You can appreciate wild apricot blossoms in places like Turpan and Shanshan.
② June: The Ili region offers a sea of flowers across the mountains and beautiful lavender (most beautiful in mid-June), but at this time, the fruits and vegetables are not yet ripe.
③ July to August: You can still see fields of flowers and vast, lush grasslands. The mountainous areas are great summer resorts. At this time, the grasslands welcome the Nadamu Festival and Tianma Festival. However, lavender has already been harvested, and fruits and vegetables start to ripen from mid-August.
④ September to October: It is the harvest season of beauty in Xinjiang, with comfortable weather and a true golden autumn season with fragrant fruits and vegetables. Autumn in Kanas is recognized as the most beautiful autumn scenery in China, and the胡杨林 in southern Xinjiang is also dyed with the colors of golden autumn. Fruits and vegetables are also in the harvest season. However, these two months are also the peak tourist season in Xinjiang, with corresponding increases in prices and scenic spot ticket prices.
⑤ Winter: The temperature drops to minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius. Many places have been closed due to snow, and many scenic spots are also closed. However, this is the off-season for tourism, with lower prices and discounted tickets for some scenic spots. Some scenic spots can even be visited free of charge to see the snowy landscapes of the northwest. But I believe the viewing value in winter is not as good as that in summer and autumn.
Three Choices of Travel Methods
Personally, I believe the order of preference for travel methods to Xinjiang should be:
Group Charter > Customized Tour > Group Carpooling > Group Tour
1. Group Self-Drive and Group Charter are similar, except that when you charter a car, you also hire a driver. This way, you don’t have to drive for a long time and can quietly enjoy the beautiful scenery. Moreover, the chartered car drivers are very familiar with the nearby scenic spots and can take you to the most beautiful places, even serving as your tour guide. However, if you charter a car, you have to cover the meals and accommodation expenses of the driver, which will cost more than self-driving.
2. Group Carpooling: Xinjiang is not a suitable place to travel alone. Firstly, the meals in Xinjiang are served in large portions, like the famous Xinjiang-style large plate chicken. Even the medium-sized portion is too much for less than three people to finish. If you want to eat well and diversely in Xinjiang, traveling in a group is better. Secondly, in some places in Xinjiang, there are no buses, and there are no direct buses to the scenic spots. Sometimes if you miss the bus or public transportation, you can only charter a car. If you carpool with others, you need to wait for the driver to pick up more passengers, which will waste a lot of time. If the timing is awkward and you can’t find enough people to carpool, you will have to bear the high cost of chartering a car. Therefore, traveling in a group can also share transportation costs and reduce expenses. Of course, traveling in a group is also safer.
Group Charter: A group of good friends organize a chartered trip to Xinjiang together.
Group Free-and-Easy Travel:
The costs of food and transportation can be shared, so the expenses are a little smaller, and it is also more interesting. Of course, the prerequisite is that this person shares the same values with you :) However, hitchhiking is difficult if you are traveling in a group.
Solo Free-and-Easy Travel:
There are many inconveniences. It is difficult to save money on food and transportation. For friends who are not good at striking up conversations, it is even more lonely. But being alone is freer, and the experience is deeper. It depends on personal choice! You can choose to carpool for tourism, and don’t worry about traveling alone without companionship.
⑥ Group Tour:
Xinjiang is not very suitable for group tours. Because group tours have time limits, and the scenic areas in Xinjiang are very large. The one or two hours that the tour guide gives you is actually not enough to deeply and comprehensively appreciate the sights, and there are not many opportunities for you to interact with the locals. It is impossible to deeply experience the true style of Xinjiang. Therefore, this is not a recommended way.
Five Tourism Routes
The classic tourism routes in Xinjiang are generally divided into East Route, West Route, North Route, and South Route.
If you want to travel the Grand Circle Route of Xinjiang, the order is generally: North Route → West Route → South Route → East Route
Below are four classic routes listed for everyone, each containing famous and beautiful scenic spots. You can choose according to personal preferences, budget, and time:
① North Route (Mainly Altay Region): 7-8 days
a. Urumqi – Koktokay – Burqin – Jiadengyu – Hemu – Kanas Lake – Baihaba – Habahe County – Colorful Beach – Burqin
Or: b. Urumqi – Koktokay – Burqin – Colorful Beach – Habahe County – Baihaba – Kanas Lake – Hemu – Jiadengyu – Burqin
PS: Altay Region Trekking Routes:
a. East Route Trekking: 3-4 days
Jiadengyu – Halfway Inn – Hemu Village – Black Lake – Kanas
b. West Route Trekking: 4 days
Kanas – Tubiek – Shuanghu – Naren Ranch – Baihaba
② West Route Tourism (Mainly Yili Region): 8-9 days
Burqin – Urho (Devil City) – Sayram Lake – Guozigou Bridge –霍尔果斯 Port – Yining – Zhaosu – Tekes – Karajun – Qiongkushitai – Nalati – Bayinbrook
PS: Qiongkushitai – Karajun Trekking Route: 2-3 days
Qiongkushitai Village – Camping Platform – Flower Platform – West Karajun
③ Southern Route Travel (Southern Xinjiang Folk Custom Route): 9-10 days
Bayinbuluke – Duku Highway – Kuqa – Kashgar – Hongqilapu Port – Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County – Tashkurgan County – Kashgar – Hotan – Minfeng – Desert Highway – Korla – Urumqi
④ Eastern Route Travel: 4-5 days
Urumqi – Tianshan Tianchi – Urumqi – Turpan – Shanshan – Hami
Ten Travel Precautions
1. Weather: As the saying goes, ‘Wear cotton-padded clothes in the morning, silk in the afternoon, and eat watermelon by the fireplace.’ The weather in Xinjiang is changeable, and you can experience all four seasons in one day. Please be sure to prepare sunscreen, cold protection, and rain gear;
2. Clothing: The temperature difference between day and night in Xinjiang is large. Even in July and August, it is relatively cold at night. Clothing should be breathable and warm. Also, try to wear loose, cotton pants. If you want to ride a horse, never wear sandals without socks, as the stirrups will rub your feet raw in no time.
3. Sunscreen and Heatstroke Prevention: Some areas in Xinjiang have high altitudes and strong UV radiation, so please bring sunscreen items (such as high-SPF sunscreen and sunglasses) and wear long-sleeved shirts and pants. Otherwise, you will definitely get sunburned after a day. In addition, the summer temperatures in Turpan can reach above 40 degrees Celsius, so you should carry medicine or granules for heatstroke prevention;
4. Transportation: The straight roads in Xinjiang can cause visual fatigue and are prone to speeding; roads in places like Tianshan Daban are very steep and the road conditions are poor, so drive carefully; moreover, most of Xinjiang is pastoral, and livestock such as cattle and sheep often cross the highway, so if you hit livestock while driving, you will need to compensate and apologize. Friends who are self-driving please be very careful! In addition, the journey may take a relatively long time, so travelers who are prone to carsickness should pay attention.
5. Car Rental: It’s better to have more than one person who can drive because Xinjiang is vast, and it’s normal for scenic spots to be 500-600 kilometers apart. Driving alone can be very tiring. Usually, three or four people rent an off-road jeep together for 15 days, costing 500-600 yuan per day. The total cost for renting a car to travel throughout Xinjiang is about 7500-9000 yuan, averaging 1875-2250 yuan per person. At the same time, since there are few cars on Xinjiang’s highways, many people may speed. Please be sure to drive safely.
Food for National Day Holiday
1. Big Plate Chicken (Order according to the number of people, even the medium-sized plate is enough for at least three people, and it’s better to add some noodles mixed with the sauce after finishing the chicken) ¥70-150, varying
2. Grilled Mutton Skewers (Remember, the mutton in Xinjiang is not smelly!) ¥3-10 per skewer
3. Roast stuffed bun (with mutton filling), thin-skinned stuffed bun ¥3-5 per piece
4. Nang (essential dry food for long-distance travel) under ¥5
5. Roast whole sheep
6. Pilaf with lamb ¥20-25 starting price
7. Oil-fried meat with noodles (highly recommended! Delicious noodles!) starting at ¥20-25
8. Basbousa (actually feels like very sweet sachima)
9. Ili’s handmade ice cream (only a few yuan but I think it rivals Häagen-Dazs, highly recommended!!) ¥3-8
10. Ili’s kvass/gazpacho (kvass goes perfectly with sheep skewers) ¥4-8 per cup
11. Yogurt, yogurt lumps (so sour it can make your teeth fall out, add some sugar)
12. Narin
13. Bourjin’s grilled pike perch starting at ¥25
14. Cold fish from Altay region (personally think steaming is better) starting at ¥25
15. Pot noodles
16. Butter
17. Oil towers, fried cakes
18. Noodles in soup ¥10-20
19. Jelly
20. Milk, mare’s milk (negotiable price around ¥20-30 per kilogram), camel milk
21. Blood sausage
22. Stewed fish
23. Lagetiao (hand-pulled noodles)
24. Sheep offal
25. Soup rice starting at ¥15
26. Rice intestines, flour lungs, and sheep offal
27. Wusu beer (easier to get tipsy than mainland beer, perfect with grilled meat!)
28. Sanzi (fried dough twists)
29. Cold noodles (also called yellow noodles, not as good as Xi’an’s), flour noodles starting at ¥15
30. Ili’s horse sausage and smoked horse meat
31. Bean noodles
32. Milk tea (very distinctive)
Twelve. Fruits and dried fruits are priced per kilogram
In Xinjiang, there is a well-known nursery rhyme: Turpan’s grapes, Hami’s melons, Korla’s fragrant pears are praised by everyone, Yecheng’s pomegranates are top-notch. This place is renowned for its fruits and dried fruits, with fresh and dried fruits available throughout the year in the market.
1. Hetian Cele’s walnuts and figs
2. Turpan’s grapes and raisins (grapes ripen in mid-August)
3. Kashgar-Shache’s almond
4. South Xinjiang’s mulberry
5. Aksu’s ‘Bingtangxin’ apple
6. Watermelon (Kucha watermelon costs 0.5 yuan per kilogram)
7. Hami’s Hami melon
8. Yecheng’s pomegranate
9. Korla’s fragrant pear (ripe in October)
10. Aksu and Hetian’s red dates
11. Kucha’s small white apricot
13. Shopping Guide
In Xinjiang, people often go shopping at the Grand Bazaar. Grand Bazaar means large marketplace. If you want to shop in Xinjiang, the Grand Bazaars and farmers’ markets in various places are good choices.
Specialty products:
1. Dried fruits
2. Flower hats
3. Carpets
4. Yingjisha dagger
5. Hetian jade (Hetian Majia, requires a certain level of discrimination)
6. Lavender products (essential oil, face masks, sachets, etc.)
7. Musical instruments (Dombra, drums, Dutar, etc.)
8. Aidile silk
9. Hami paper-cutting
10. Ottoman eyebrow pencil
11. Xinjiang earthenware pottery
12. Various types of jewelry