Itinerary written by Xiaohong, 9/6/2025
Highlights:
Landscapes: deserts, canyons, high mountains, lakes, grasslands, ancient villages.
Culture: Uyghur villages, old towns, Buddhist caves, Silk Road ruins.
Food: hand-pulled rice, big-plate chicken, lamb specialties, naan, fresh melons, Aksu apples, Hami grapes.
Special Drinks: yogurt ice, milk beer, carrot juice, pomegranate juice.
Souvenirs and local products: dried fruits (dates, raisins, figs, apricots, almonds).
Key Route Overview
Days 1–2: Beijing → Bayan Nur → Ejina Banner
Long drives westward (desert and poplar forest views).
Day 3–4: Ejina → Hami → Turpan
Desert and Yardang landforms.
Flaming Mountains, Tuyoq ancient Uyghur village, Grape Valley.
Turpan’s ancient Karez irrigation system.
Day 5: Turpan → Urumqi
Karez Museum, Dabancheng, optional hot springs.
Evening in Urumqi: International Grand Bazaar, local foods, dried fruit markets.
Days 6–8: Urumqi → Sulfur Hot Springs → Anjihai Grand Canyon → Duku Highway → Ili region
Stunning Danxia landscapes and canyons.
Sayram Lake (sunrise, swan area, scenic drive).
Guozigou Bridge and Horgos border town.
Days 9–12: Ili → Bayinbulak Grassland → Kuqa
Bayinbulak prairie and Swan Lake.
Mysterious Tianshan Grand Canyon, Thousand Buddha Caves.
Flaming Spring (water + fire phenomenon).
Days 13–16: Kuqa → Kashgar
Wensu Grand Canyon.
Kashgar Old Town: alleys, tea houses, local foods.
Side trips: Karakul Lake, Muztagh Peak, Red Mountain, White Sand Lake, Tashkorgan & Khunjerab Pass.
Days 17–19: Kashgar → Hotan → Minfeng → Tarim Desert Highway → Korla
Endless desert highway.
Tarim Poplar Forest Park.
Bosten Lake, Lop Nor Yardang canyons, Lop People’s Village.
Days 20–23: Korla → Turpan → Dunhuang → Qinghai → Lanzhou → Beijing
Xuanzang Museum, Mogao Caves, Crescent Moon Spring.
Salt lakes, Jade Lake, Qinghai Lake.
Xining → Lanzhou.
Return via Shaanxi landscapes (Wave Valley) → Beijing.
✅ Trip Theme: A blend of geology + food.
⛰️ Nature & Landforms: deserts, lakes, glaciers, gorges.
🍇 Food Journey: lamb dishes, naan, yogurt drinks, seasonal fruits.
🛍️ Specialties: Xinjiang dried fruits, nuts, and dairy drinks.
More Details:
Day 1: Oct 20
Beijing → Bayannur (950 km, 12 hrs, overnight stay)
Day 2: Oct 21
Bayannur → Ejina Banner, Leaf Hotel (700 km, overnight stay)
Day 3: Oct 22
Ejina Banner → Hami City (700 km, overnight stay)
Day 4: Oct 23
Hami → Great Pirate Scenic Area → Kumtag Desert → Flaming Mountain → Tuyoq Mazar Village → Grape Valley → Turpan (550 km, overnight stay)
Features: desert scenery, Uyghur village, Flaming Mountain, Grape Valley
Great Pirate Scenic Area tickets: 45 RMB/person, 100 RMB/vehicle
Tuyoq Mazar Village: one of the oldest Uyghur villages, nestled in a gorge of the Flaming Mountain
Day 5: Oct 24
Turpan → Karez Museum → Dabancheng → Hot Springs (optional) → Urumqi (Baofenglou Veterans’ Guesthouse, overnight stay) (300 km)
The Turpan Karez system, together with the Great Wall and the Grand Canal, is one of the three great ancient Chinese engineering feats, with more than 1,100 canals spanning ~5,000 km.
Day 1 (again, from Xinjiang proper): Sept 25–26
Urumqi – Handle border permits – Xinjiang Regional Museum – Hetian Second Street (for dining: hand-grab rice, big-plate chicken, thin-skin dumplings) – Consulate Lane (milk-skin ice cream) – International Grand Bazaar – Xinjiang Folk Street (photos) – Jinquan Mall (souvenirs) – Veterans’ Guesthouse.
Shopping: Red Hill Dried Fruit Market or Hualing Dry Fruit Zone.
Day 3: Sept 27
Urumqi → Liuhuanggou Hot Spring → Danxia Landform → Kangjia Shimenzi Rock Paintings → Lujiaowan → Anjihai Grand Canyon → Dushanzi (400 km, overnight, via S101 Defense Highway).
Anjihai Grand Canyon (Red Mountain Canyon): a spectacular rift carved by Tianshan glacial waters, exposing Cretaceous and Tertiary strata. A 30-km stretch filled with red cliffs, green islands, and winding rivers—“a scar of beauty on the earth.”
“Zero Kilometer” starting point of the Duku Highway.
Day 4: Sept 28
Dushanzi (Duku Hwy start) → Sailimu Lake (East Gate → North Gate → Dianjiangtai → South Gate Exit) → Guozigou Scenic Overlook → Khorgos Border Port → Huocheng County (500 km, overnight).
Notes: Enter Sailimu Lake from the east gate, go counterclockwise (Moon Bay, Songshutou sunrise, Dianjiangtai, Swan Lake), exit south gate, skip the tunnel, take the road toward Guozigou Scenic Overlook.
Day 5: Sept 29
Khorgos Border Port → Tangbula Scenic Gallery → Qiolma Martyrs Cemetery → Bayinbuluke Town (550 km, overnight; depending on weather, enter Bayinbuluke Grasslands).
Day 6: Sept 30
Bayinbuluke → Dalongchi Lake → Tianshan Mysterious Canyon → Flaming Spring → Kuqa City (350 km, overnight, end of Duku Hwy).
Tianshan Mysterious Canyon: towering red cliffs, strange rock formations, Tang-era Thousand Buddha Cave (35m cliff-side murals, unique in Central Asia). Sunset paints the peaks like a red sea.
Flaming Spring: spectacular “fire-and-water” phenomenon.
Day 7: Oct 1
Kuqa → Wensu Grand Canyon → Aheqi County (500 km, overnight).
Day 8: Oct 2
Aheqi → Kashgar Old City (350 km, overnight).
Kashgar attractions: Rainbow Alley, Cloth Sack Alley, century-old teahouses.
Alternative Kashgar Routes
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Option 1 (Sept 30 – Oct 4)
Kashgar → Xiji Stone Tablet → Irkeshtam Border Port → return to Kashgar
Kashgar → Oytagh Red Mountain → White Sand Lake → Mugezhi Volcano Crater (“Eye of the Devil”) → Karakul Lake → Stone City → Golden Grassland → Tashkurgan Wetlands (450 km, overnight)
Highlights: Muztagh Ata Peak (snowcapped year-round, glaciers, ice towers, alpine lakes), Karakul Lake, Stone City ruins, Panlong Ancient Road.
Tashkurgan → Khunjerab Pass → Bandier Blue Lake → return to Kashgar
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Option 2 (Oct 6–8)
Kashgar → Shache → Hotan → Minfeng (800 km)
Minfeng → Taklamakan Desert Hwy → Tarim Poplar Forest Park → Luntai County
Luntai → Bosten Lake → Lop Nor Yardang Grand Canyon → Luobu Village → Korla (400 km, overnight)
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Option 3 (Oct 6–8)
Kashgar (seasonal figs/peaches) → Aral City
Aral → Tazhong Town → Tarim Poplar Forest → Luntai (apricots) (650 km, overnight)
Luntai → Lop Nor Yardang → Bosten Lake → Korla (500 km, overnight)
Continuing Itinerary
Day 15 (Oct 9): Korla → Turpan → Shanshan (500 km, overnight)
Day 16 (Oct 10): Shanshan → Guazhou (700 km, overnight; Xuanzang Pilgrimage Museum)
Day 17 (Oct 11): Guazhou → “Son of the Earth” Sculpture → Mogao Caves → Crescent Lake → Yumen Pass → Dunhuang (350 km)
Day 18 (Oct 12): Dunhuang → Heidushan → West/East Taijinar Lakes → overnight nearby
Day 19 (Oct 13): Qarhan Salt Lake → U-shaped Highway → Dachaidan Emerald Lake → Delingha
Day 20 (Oct 14): Delingha → Qinghai Lake → Xining (550 km, overnight)
Day 21 (Oct 15): Xining → Lanzhou (230 km, overnight)
Day 22 (Oct 16): Lanzhou → Wave Valley → Jingbian (630 km, overnight)
Day 23 (Oct 17): Jingbian → Beijing (900 km)
Notes
AA expenses start being calculated from Urumqi.
Expenses include lodging, food, fruits, fuel, tolls, vehicle maintenance.
Major attractions: Great Pirate Scenic Area, Flaming Mountain, Karez Wells, Grape Valley, Anjihai Grand Canyon, Sailimu Lake, Guozigou Bridge, Bayinbuluke Grassland, Dalongchi Lakes, Tianshan Canyon, Duku Hwy, Taklamakan Desert Hwy, Flaming Spring, Wensu Canyon, Kashgar Old City, Kongur Peak, White Sand Lake, Karakul Lake, Bandier Blue Lake, Mugezhi Volcano (Devil’s Eye), Stone City, Golden Grassland, Khunjerab, Muztagh Ata, Panlong Ancient Road, Tarim Poplar Forest, Luobu Village, Bosten Lake, Lop Nor, Mogao Caves, Crescent Lake, Qarhan Salt Lake, Dachaidan Lakes, Qinghai Lake, Wave Valley.
Foods: pepper chicken, big-plate chicken, hand-grab lamb, Nang-baked meats, pilaf, sheep’s head, meat naan, seasonal fruits (e.g., Lao Han melon unique to Xinjiang, Aksu apples and cherries).
Specialties: “three kings” of dried fruit (Ruoqiang grey dates, Aksu thin-shelled almonds, Hotan figs), Hotan jujubes, raisins, prunes (buy at Hongshan Dry Fruit Market or Hualing Market).
Drinks: Tianrun milk beer, V18 almond milk, Kvass, Paisili, Shenne carrot juice, fresh pomegranate juice, Salangduoha (yogurt shaved ice), Hans Cabin beer, Amina blackcurrant juice.
This is a geology + food journey.
Border permits required for: Altay, Tacheng, Aksu, Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Kashgar, Ili, Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Muge Township, Xiji Stone Tablet (Wuqia County), etc.