Young Pioneer Tours
China’s Far West: Xinjiang Tour
Join YPT in the deserts and oasis towns of China’s Far West in this quintessential Xinjiang Tour!
From the ancient city of Kashgar, through small Uyghur towns on the southern Silk Road, we cross the Taklamakan Desert to Turpan, the lowest city in China at 142m below sea level.
The Xinjiang Far West tour starts in the historic city of Kashgar, closer geographically to Tehran and Damascus than to Beijing, a border town between China and the Central Asian states of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and the site where traditional Uyghur life hits the Chinese state head-on. We visit the old town, livestock market and main bazaar and, being YPT, can’t miss out on the huge statue of Chairman Mao in People’s Square.
We check out small Uyghur towns that haven’t been developed along the Kashgar model, yet, and skirt the Taklamakan Desert as we go. On the north of the desert, we spend a day at Kuqa’s amazing Thousand Buddha caves, reminding us that before the spread of Islam southern Xinjiang was the place where Buddhism entered China.
Lastly, we hang out in the Turpan, China’s Death Valley, the lowest and hottest place in China. In the countryside outside the city, it’s surprisingly green though and we wander the ruins of ancient cities and stop in a Uyghur holy village for lunch.
If you’d like to see some more Central Asia while you’re here, you could join us for the Silk Road Summer Tour, which visits Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan as well or simply the Kyrgyzstan Independence Day and Xinjiang Combo to combine the best of these two locations and one of China’s least travelled border crossings.
Friday September 6th – Afaq Khoja/Grand Bazaar/Kashgar
- Arrive in Kashgar and meet in the hotel at 7pm
- Dinner of Uyghur fried rice and mutton.
- Check out the night markets and street food.
- Overnight in Kashgar
Saturday September 7th – Afaq Khoja/Grand Bazaar/Kashgar
- Stop by People’s Square and the largest statue of Chairman Mao in China!
- Walking tour through the windy lanes of the old town and the exterior of the Id Kah Mosque
- Head out of town to the beautiful tomb of Afaq Khoja: a 17th-century mausoleum of this important Uyghur figure.
- Lunch of Xinjiang noodles.
- Browse the bustling Grand Bazaar, which depending on how you measure it, is the biggest in Asia.
- Check out Kashgar’s old town, or what’s left of it, to get a glimpse into what life in the area used to be like
- Dinner and overnight in Kashgar
Sunday September 8th – Kashgar/Yarkand
- Wake up nice and early to begin our drive out to the smaller Uygur oasis towns that line the Taklamakan Desert
- We get to Yengisar and we’ll take a stroll around the Altun Mosque complex, surrounding cemeteries and the Old Town of this Uyghur town, inhabited completely by Uyghur people.
- Lunch of Xinjiang noodles.
- In the afternoon we’ll head out into the desert for some strolling around or a quick camel trek (optional)
- Drive back to Kashgar and preparation for our overnight train to Kuqa!
- Overnight on the train to Kuqa.
Monday September 9th – Kuqa/Grand Mosque/Beacon Tower/Kuqa Royal Palace
- We arrive in Kuqa early morning and take some time to freshen up.
- We visit Kuqa Royal Palace and the Grand Mosque within the city.
- Drive out of town to see the best-preserved extant alarm tower along the Silk Road and the nearby caves of Kizil Kagha.
- Visit to the spectacular ruins of Subashi Ancient Tombs.
- Overnight in Kuqa
Tuesday September 10th Kuqa/Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves/Tian Shan Canyon/Overnight train to Turpan
- Head out to the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves, one of the best reminders of the pre-Islamic Buddhist history of the whole region
- Grab lunch out of town
- Head to Tian Shan Grand Canyon.
- Return to Kuqa for dinner and to stock up on some more supplies for the train
- Catch the overnight train to Turpan, which takes about eight hours.
- Overnight on the train
Wednesday September 11th – Turpan/Yarkhoto/Tuyoq
- Arriving in the morning, we’ll check into our hotel in Turpan.
- Turpan is China’s “death valley”, being the lowest and hottest part of the country at 142m below sea level.
- Visit the Karakhoja ruins, the site of a 1600-year-old well-preserved ancient town.
- Leaving the town, we’ll visit the holy village of Tuyoq, a traditional mud-walled Uyghur village beneath the Flaming Mountains.
- We visit the Flaming Mountains and the ‘Journey to the West’ monuments installed there.
- Drive back to Turpan
- Farewell dinner in Turpan, expect barbecue, maybe a whole plate of chicken and plenty of Xinjiang beer to wash it down!
- Overnight in Turpan
Thursday September 12th
- Catch the fast train back to Urumqi, which takes under two hours.
- Arrive in Urumqi where the tour concludes.
- End of tour, YPT can help with onward transfer for your destination.
Tour Extensions
Want to extend your YPT adventure? Join one of our great tour extensions
