4 Days Best Turpan to Urumqi Tour with Tianchi Lake Sightseeing
The Best Essence of Turpan and Urumqi
The Best Essence of Turpan and Urumqi
If you just have 4 days and want to see as many aspects of Xinjiang as you can, just go to Urumqi and Turpan - top two destinations that you can't miss. Turpan is an oasis along the edges of a vast desert and a charming outpost along the Silk Road while Urumqi is the provincial capital with attractive suburbs. Because of the short distance, traveling them together is convenient.
This 4-day Turpan Urumqi tour takes you to enjoy some of Xinjiang's most extraordinary natural landscapes - barren red sandstone hills, eroded city ruins, snow-capped mountains, greenish-blue waters, etc., as well as the cultural relics along the ancient Silk Road. You will start your tour from Turpan, which is well connected with other Silk Road cities (like Dunhuang, Zhangye, Lanzhou…) by train and then drive to Heavenly Lake of Tianshan for a nature feast and go to Urumqi for a short glimpse at last.
Day 1 Turpan Arrival
Urumqi airport/train station pick up
Welcome to Turpan - China's hottest city and its highest temperature reaches about 50°C in summer and an outpost on the Silk Road and a lot of cultural heritage sites can be explored. Meet your tour guide and driver at the airport/train station, then transfer a short while to the downtown of Turpan. Check in to your hotel. The rest time is free for you to relax. Feel free to ask for recommendations of places to go from your guide.
How to get to Turpan? There are nonstop flights to Turpan from Lanzhou (2.5 h), Changsha (4.5 h), Zhengzhou (4.5 h)… as well as high speed trains from Xian (12.5 h), Xining (8 h), Lanzhou (10 h), Zhangye (6.5 h), Dunhuang (3.5 h)…
Warm Tip: Be ready for the hot weather in Turpan, especially in Flaming Mountain and always remember to drink more water.
Turpan North Railway Station
Day 2 Turpan Sightseeing (B, L)
Today's highlights: Tuyuk Valley, Jiaohe Ancient City, Karez System
After breakfast in the hotel, you will drive to Tuyu Valley along Flaming Mountain Grand Canyon, which condenses the essence of the landscape of Flaming Mountain - the hottest spot in Turpan. Flaming Mountain is immortalized in the Chinese classic Journey to the West as a blazing mountain that the monk Xuan Zang has to pass through. Finally, they use a magic fan to extinguish the blaze and go on with their trip. Flaming Mountain Grand Canyon splits the whole mountain in half and you will clearly admire the unique landform - red sandstones looking like flaming fire, distinctive rocks showing the uncanny workmanship of nature and deep gorge with crisscross valleys. The magnificence, strangeness, danger, and elegance of Flaming Mountain are fully shown here.
The winding road hanging on the cliff of Flaming Mountain will soon lead you to Tuyuk Valley (Tuyugou in Chinese) which is an Uighur valley with lots of historical sites. Mazar Village, the oldest existing Uighur village with a history of over 2,600 years, is a big highlight of the valley. Mazar Village holds a significant status in Buddhism and Islam. It is said that 6 Muslims came to China and started preaching there, so Mazar Village is called Eastern Mekka. Before Islam, it once was a Buddhist center as well. Many Buddhist caves can be found in the village, but the statues and murals failed to survive. The villagers still live peacefully in the village and you can clearly see how they run their daily lives in the old mud adobe houses.
Next to drive back to Turpan City to discover the brilliant project of Karez System. Together with the Great Wall and Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Karez System is regarded as one of China’s Three Greatest Ancient Projects. It is a special kind of irrigation system consisting of vertical wells, underground canals, ground canals and waterlogging pond. The vertically dug wells are linked together to channel the water which occurs during summer rain season, or is melted from snow mountains of Tianshan range to desired farmlands in the desert area. Visiting Turpan Karez Museum, you will not only see the pictures and models detailing the history of Karez System, but also visit the real underground tunnels.
Your last stop is the famous relic - Jiaohe Ancient City - an ancient city that was strategically located along the ancient Silk Road. Perching on a plateau, it acted as a natural barrier from the attacking enemies in the old times. Now, it is renowned as the best-preserved earthen architecture in the world. The interesting sculptures, videos and some other displays in Jiaohe Cultural Village Museum will give you an appreciation of the history of Jiaohe City before you start exploring. Then, take a shuttle bus to the core scenic area. Walking up along the pathway uphill, you can see many historical structural remains, including the residential area, official area and Buddhist temples. It is also available to walk to the central platform for a more awesome view of the whole park. When the night drops, you will feast on a breathtaking sunrise over the ruins.
Stay overnight at Turpan.
Day 3 Turpan - Tianchi Lake (B, L)
Today's highlight: Heavenly Lake full day exploration
In the morning, you will drive about 4.5 hours to Heavenly Lake (or Tianchi in Chinese) which is only about 290 km away from Turpan downtown. To protect the authenticity of the natural environment, our private car can only bring you to the entrance of the park. You will then shift on to a park bus to the parking lot around the lake area. Walking about 15 minutes, you will get to the lakeside of the Heavenly Lake. The rest time is free for you to stroll along the periphery of the lake, breathe the remarkably fresh air, and soak in the wonderful scenery. With an altitude of 1980m, Heavenly Lake and its alluring surroundings truly offer you a visual feast like heaven, featuring in serene alpine lake, rugged slopes with snow-capped mountains, pure glaciers, wild forest, vast grassland as well as unique ethnic culture.
Generally speaking, there are three ways to explore Heavenly Lake. You can go to walk around the lake, take a boat cruise, or ride a cable car to the mountain top. If time allows, you can even enjoy all the experiences. The Boat cruise and cable car need extra fees. Tell your preference to your guide who will then arrange accordingly for you.
- Walking around the lake. Plank roads were constructed to encircle the lake. But since the lake is very large, it takes about 5 hours to finish the circle. You can decide the hiking length on your own according to your physical condition and time. Fee: free.
- Boat Cruise on the lake. It is very popular among travelers to take a boat cruising to the deeper area of the lake and back, which is leisure and scenic. There are modern ships, Chinese-style ships and high-speed boats available at different prices. Fee: about CNY 100.
- Panoramic view from Maya Mountain. If you want more landscape, you can take a cable car up to Maya Mountain where you can enjoy the panoramic view of Heavenly Lake and a closer view of Tianshan Mountain Range. Fee: about CNY 220.
After the landscape trip, take a park bus to exit the park, and drive back to Urumqi
Day 4 Urumqi Departure (B)
Today's highlights: Xinjiang Regional Museum, Red Hill Park, International Bazaar
This morning after breakfast, you will be taken to have an educational visit to the Xinjiang Regional Museum. It is the most important ancient Silk Road themed museum in China which exhibits about 50,000 historical relics including more than 400 National First-class relics (60% of the total in Xinjiang). Among all the exhibitions, the most unique exhibition is the Mummy Hall. It collects 10 more than 4000 years old mummies which were mostly found in Loulan Ancient Kingdom Ruin and preserved almost intact. Loulan Princess, the most famous mummy in the museum, will definitely strike you with its typical European face. All these important exhibitions help you learn deep into the history and culture of Xinjiang as well as ancient Silk Road.
Continuing your Urumqi city tour, you will move to Red Hill Park which is regarded as the symbol of Urumqi. It is the most popular place for the locals to relax and gather. For travelers, it is a great place to experience folk culture and living style. Finding a higher location in the park, you are rewarded with a pleasant panoramic view of Urumqi city. Leaving the Red Hill Park, you will get to Erdaoqiao Grand Bazaar to enjoy a leisure stroll. If you want to purchase some souvenirs, here is the best place.
The rest of today is free for you to relax until you are escorted to catch your flight/train to the next destination. Tour ends.
1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in 4-star hotel
and traveling with our private tour in low seasons.
2. This price is subject to change according your
traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities in your itinerary and possible fluctuation of
currency exchange rate. If you want a lower price, you can get more people to join you, or use economy class hotels.
3. This price is only valid to March 31, 2025.
4. Reference exchange rate of USD 1=RMB 6.85. The final quote is based on current exchange rate. It may change
according to the currency fluctuation, while the RMB quotation will be remained the same.
Hi Mr Wang,
Thanks! I had a weekend away to Xi’an, China to celebrate my birthday. It was an exciting weekend and it was certainly something off the beaten trail for most of my friends. The itinerary you have suggested provided good coverage of the city’s rich history. From the fascinating Terracotta Army to the City Walls to the sacred Mount Hua, to the Muslim Quarter to the Drum & Bell Towers, there’s an interesting story from every historical era in Xi’an. I managed to hike up Mount Hua from North Peak to West Peak, but I didn’t get to do the dangerous plank walk as it was closed.
The hotel Eastern House was very accessible too with food places within steps and its proximity to the Drum Tower is a plus. The room was very clean and comfortable.
At this point, I have to quickly mention our amazing tour guide Betty Jiao Yan who was assigned to us as part of our private tour package. She made our time feel so very special and I wonder if Xi'an would have been as awesome without her. She had such a positive and caring nature and when we had to say goodbye, we felt very sad. It was strange to miss a guide after only knowing her for 5 days! Luckily we still keep in touch on WeChat. Our driver Mr Ma was very polite, punctual and accommodating, making our travel a pleasant experience
Anne
Hi Jack,
Thanks. The Harbin and Snow Town trip was excellent and very enjoyable. We are now in Japan skiing, and will send our feedback upon our return on 31st Jan.
Best wishes
Leong
Hi Rita,
From my end, everything is remarkable! Jane is amazing! She really make us feel welcome.
All the hotels were amazing too! My parents also very impressed.
I will definitely reaching out again, next time when I visit China. There’s many more places I want to visit.
Best regards,
Jefry
Dear Rita,
We are home. Thanks for arranging this nice trip. Everything worked out nicely except the smoking room problem in Chengde.
Thanks again.
John
Hi Rita,
In response to your enquiries, we had a wonderful experience with the tour arrangements in both Guilin and Yangshuo. Both the tour guide and driver were very professional and handled the arrangements well.
I am surely recommending any friends or relatives who are interested in travelling to China in future to use China Discovery. Also, will be looking at other destinations for ourselves too.
Thanks once again for the wonderful experience.
Kwan
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Turpan North Railway Station
Jiaohe Anicent City Sunset
Vertical Well of Karez
Flaming Mountain Grand Canyon
Traditional Mud Houses in Mazar Village
Aluring Heavenly Lake Scenery
Urumqi city view from Red Hill Park
Uygur dancers at Erdaoqiao Grand Bazaar
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