6 Days Urumqi Turpan Kashgar Efficient Tour

Day 1 Urumqi Arrival

Urumqi airport/train station pick up and hotel check-in

Welcome to Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Meet your tour guide and driver at the airport/train station, then transfer a short while to the downtown of Urumqi. 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 Urumqi? Currently, you can take flights to Urumqi from Beijing (about 4 hours), Xian (about 3.5 hours), Shanghai (about 5.5 hours), Guangzhou (about 5 hours), Chengdu (about 3.5 hours), etc., or high speed trains from Turpan (about 2 hours), Dunhuang (about 4.5 hours), Lanzhou (about 11 hours), Xining (about 9.5 hours), etc.

Free time idea: 1) 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 local living style. Finding a higher location in the park, you are rewarded a pleasant panoramic view of Urumqi city; 2) Erdaoqiao Grand Bazaar, a great place to enjoy a leisure stroll and purchase some snacks, souvenirs, etc.

• Uygur dancers at Erdaoqiao Grand Bazaar
• Urumqi city view from Red Hill Park

Day 2 Urumqi - Heavenly Lake - Urumqi (B, L)

Today's highlight: Heavenly Lake full day exploration

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 the ancient Silk Road.

Leaving the museum, you are going to explore the Heavenly Lake (or Tianchi in Chinese) which is only about 70 km (about 1.5 hrs' drive) away from Urumqi 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 onto a park bus to the parking lot around the lake area. Walking for about 15 minutes, you will get to the lakeside of 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 1980 meters, 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 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.

• Taking a relaxing cruise on Heavenly Lake
• Green mountains at the lakeside of Heavenly Lake (August)
• Grandiose view of Tianshan Mountains from Heavenly Lake

Day 3 Urumqi - Turpan - Urumqi (B, L)

Today's highlights: Tuyuk Vaillage, Karez System, Jiaohe Ancient City

Today is a long-hour day trip to Turpan to visit the classic Silk Road sites, which means you have to get up earlier than other days and may return to Urumqi in the late afternoon. Turpan is China's hottest city, also an outpost on the Silk Road and a lot of cultural heritage sites can be explored.

You will drive about 3.5 hours (245 km) from Urumqi to Turpan to visit Tuyuk Valley along Flaming Mountain Grand Canyon, which condenses the essence of the landscape of Flaming Mountain - red sandstones looking like flaming fire, distinctive rocks showing the uncanny workmanship of nature and deep gorge with crisscross valleys. Mazar Village, the oldest existing Uighur village with a history of over 2,600 years, is a big highlight of Tuyuk Valley. It holds a significant status in Buddhism and Islam. 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. Some villagers kindly ask the travelers to visit their vineyards and taste their fresh grapes or preserved fruits. You will then 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 be melted from snow mountains of Tianshan range to desired farmlands on the desert area. 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.

After Turpan exploration, drive the same way back to Urumqi for accommodation.

• Underground Canals of Karez
• Earthy Yellow Jiaohe Ancient City Ruins under Blue Sky
• Peaceful Mazar Village in Tuyugou Valley
• An Old Villager in Mazar Village, Photo Taken by Our Customer Shane from UK in February 2023

Day 4 Urumqi - Kashgar (B, L)

Today's highlights: Kashgar Old Town, Ancient Tea House, Id Kah Mosque, Abakh Hoja Tomb

This early morning, you will take a flight to Kashgar (about 2 hrs), the southwestern border city of Xinjiang which used to be the epicenter of the regional trade and cultural exchange of ancient Silk Road for more than two millennia. Upon arriving at the airport of Kashgar, you will be welcomed by your local tour guide and driver, and escorted to Kashgar downtown. The rest of today is a guided tour of this legendary Silk Road city.

You will visit the Abakh Hoja Tomb first, which is not a simple tomb but an exquisite architectural complex including chapels, gardens, archways, etc., as the best place in the region to admire Uygur people’s extraordinary aesthetics and skills of Islamic architecture. It also offers a rare opportunity to see and learn about the funeral customs of Uygur families because there is a large Islamic family of five generations whose name is Abakh Hoja buried here. The Abakh Hoja was a local Islamic master who had strengthened the spread of Islam in the Kashgar area, which later earned a great reputation for him and his family.

Next, you will visit the landmark of Kashgar - Id Kah Mosque, which is regarded as the holy shrine for Muslims. Every day, there are thousands of Muslims worshiping here. In history, Id Kah Mosque used to be a school where Islamic culture and history were taught. Many scholars and honored clergies graduated from here.

Only several minutes' walk from the mosque is the exotic Kashgar Old Town where you can experience the authentic Uyghur living style. Explore the traditional earth buildings where local people live, walk through the famous Handicrafts Street where you can see how the local craftsman makes handicrafts. It is a good place to buy some interesting souvenirs for your family and friends. You will also take a break and enjoy a cup of local tea at the Ancient Tea House, which is more than 100 years old. The locals also like to spend some leisure time in the tea house with friends and families - drinking, chatting and playing music sometimes.

Today’s activities end. Have a good rest in your hotel in Kashgar.

• Id Kah Mosque is the most influential Islamic mosque in Xinjiang
• Abakh Khoja Tomb
• Kashgar Old Town

Day 5 Kashgar - Karakul Lake - Kashgar (B, L)

Today's highlights: Karakul Lake, Muztagh Ata, Baishahu Lakes, Pamirs Plateau

Today, you are going to visit the famous Karakul Lake, which is about 190 km/about 3 hours’ drive from Kashgar downtown. Although it is a long drive, you are surprisingly compensated by the constant landscape of the overwhelming Pamirs Plateau - harsh and lonely snow mountains, inhabited barrens, expansive grassland, pure glaciers, peaceful villages... Make a stop at Baishahu (White Sands Dunes Lake) where a tranquil lake lies under the towering snow mountains of Pamirs Plateau. The sands of Taklamakan Desert fly westward, get stopped by the edge of Pamirs and deposit at the slopes of the mountains, then get washed by the melting ice of the snow mountains, which is the reason why you can see white sand dunes surrounding the White Sand Lake.

You will get to Karakul Lake around noon. After lunch, throw yourself into the breathtaking scenery of the lake and its surroundings. With an altitude of 3600 meters, Karakul Lake is one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in Central Asia. It welcomes visitors with stunning views of pristine lake nestled against Pamirs mountains which provide an azure backdrop as they are covered with snow all year around, including three gigantic mountains - Muztagh Ata (7546 meters), Kongur Tagh (7649 meters) and Kongur Tiube (7530 meters). From other sides, there is a mixture of boundless grasslands, deserts and valleys. A few Kirghiz nomads put their yurts and graze their herds of sheep, horses and camels near the lake. Take your time to wander around the lake to enjoy the landscape and take photos until returning time.

Drive the same way back to Kashgar, and have a good rest in Kashgar city.

• Tranquil Karakul Lake in October
• Shane from UK visited Karakul in February 2023 with China Discovery

Day 6 Kashgar Departure (B)

Today's highlights: Kashgar Bazaar, Livestock Market

After breakfast, go to visit the famous Kashgar Bazaar, which is huge, busy, crowded, amazing, chaotic, interesting and colorful. Bazaar, in Uygur, means a large market. Kashgar Bazaar has been the largest and busiest trading center of West and Central Asia since the origin and flourish of the Silk Road. Here you can buy anything from Muslim millinery to authentic Iranian saffron, from pashminas to carpets, from fruits to spices, from a cradle to a camel... or find a place to sit down to enjoy some local snacks, or just experience local culture.

If you happen to visit Kashgar on a Sunday, don't miss the opportunity to experience the Livestock Market, which takes place once a week on Sunday. By lunchtime, numerous sheep, camels, horses, cows and donkeys will be driven by the Uyghur farmers and herders to squeeze through the gates of the bazaars for trade. It’s dusty, smelly and crowded, but most people find it very exotic.

After the tour, you will be escorted to catch your flight or train to the next destination, or be sent to the border if you want to exit China by land port.

• Sunday Bazaar