Northern and Southern Xinjiang, June–September — 18 Days

Dear guests, welcome to Shanghai. We will gather in Shanghai and take the Yangtze Delta Star special train to start our journey to Xinjiang. You can enjoy the magnificent mountains and rivers along the way, and you can participate in a variety of cultural and entertainment activities on the train, making every moment of the journey full of beauty.

You can enjoy the great rivers and mountains of the motherland along the way, and VIPs can carry out various entertainment activities on the train. Arrive in Lanzhou in the evening and check into a local hotel.

Arrive in Lanzhou in the morning and visit the Gansu Provincial Museum after lunch (the tour lasts for no less than 2 hours). This is a national first-class museum. The treasures of the museum are the bronze galloping horse with "Horse Treading on Swallows", the portrait bricks of post envoys and the Majiayao painted pottery. It systematically displays the Silk Road and ancient civilization of Gansu.

Take a stroll through the [Yellow River Style Line] in the afternoon (the tour is no less than 1 hour). This is the soul of Lanzhou. You can visit the Yellow River Mother Sculpture, the Centennial Zhongshan Bridge, etc. along Binhe Road. In the evening, when the iron bridge lights up and the Yellow River flows, you can best feel the magnificence and fireworks of the "Yellow River Capital".

After dinner, take Yangtze Delta Star to [Korla].

Today, the train will leave the Hexi Corridor and head towards the magnificent Xinjiang. All distinguished guests can lean on the window and enjoy the vast Gobi desert and rolling mountains and rivers in the northwest, letting laughter accompany the journey, all the way to the beautiful Xinjiang. Arrive in Korla in the evening and check into a local hotel.

After breakfast, everyone rested in the hotel for a while, and then took the bus to the restaurant at noon to enjoy the special meal of Luobu people's grilled fish.

After lunch, go to [Rob Village] (about 2 hours’ drive, no less than 2 hours of tour). This place integrates the Taklimakan Desert, Tarim River, and primitive Populus euphratica forest. It is the traditional settlement of the ancient Rob people. Vast sand dunes and clear rivers and lakes complement each other, and vigorous thousand-year-old Populus euphratica can be seen everywhere. Here you can visit the Luobu people’s residences, experience the unique fishing and hunting folk customs, and immerse yourself in the unique Western style of the desert oasis.

After dinner, take Yangtze Delta Star to [Kashgar].

Arriving in Kashgar in the morning, we will drive to the Pamir Plateau, the "roof of the world", and start a journey that will make your body and eyes in heaven.

The first thing that greeted us was [Karakul Lake] (about 4 hours by car, no less than 2 hours of tour) - the pearl of the plateau which means "Black Sea". It is like a piece of deep black jade, lying quietly in the snowy area at an altitude of 3,600 meters, reflecting the majestic "Kunlun Three Heroes". Here, the sky, snowy peaks and lake water are so pure that there is no trace of impurities.

After that, we went to [Stone City], which has been sleeping for thousands of years (about 1 hour drive, no less than 1 hour tour). It is a thousand-year-old ruins on the main route of the ancient Silk Road. It was once the capital of the Xuanduo Kingdom and Xuanzang also passed through here on his westward journey.

The plateau wetland [Golden Grass Beach] under Stone City is covered with green grass in summer, covered with golden light in autumn, and cattle and sheep are scattered on the meadow. The wooden plank road passes through the wetland, and at sunset the golden light spreads over the grassy beaches. The snow-capped mountains, rivers and grasslands are all framed together, creating a unique pastoral picture of the Pamirs.

Arrange a special meal of plateau ecological yak hotpot in the evening, and check into a hotel in Ta County to rest after dinner.

In the morning, we participated in the [Tajik Home Visit] (the drive is about 0.5 hours, the tour is no less than 1 hour). We are not just passers-by, but become invited VIPs and enter the homes of the Tajik people in the Pamir Plateau. There is no performance here, only life. The hostess brings out handmade snacks. In the simple laughter and the melodious eagle flute melody, you will touch the soul of this nation as pure as icebergs and as proud as eagles.

After lunch, go to [White Sand Lake] (about 1 hour's drive, no less than 1 hour tour). The pure white sand mountains surround the blue lake, and the melted glacier water creates the changing colors of the lake. The towering snow-capped mountains in the distance, and the reflection of the sand mountains and the lake, are the most representative blue and white secrets of the Pamir Plateau.

Drive back to Kashgar city to enjoy a specially arranged special dinner of roasted whole lamb, and then check into the hotel to rest.

After breakfast, we entered the [Kashgar Ancient City] (a tour of no less than 3 hours). It is not only a maze of streets and alleys, but also a living Uyghur cultural museum.

Visit the well-preserved ancient Uyghur settlement [Gaotai Dwellings]. In the ancient city, we arrange for you to emboss your own Western Region patterns in the stamping and printing intangible cultural heritage workshop. You will also be given a cup of naan coffee as a gift. This is a creative and special experience not to be missed when visiting the ancient city. The special roasted naan is made into a coffee container and poured with mellow coffee.

In the afternoon, visit the [Id Kah Mosque] (visit no less than 2 hours). It was built in the Ming Dynasty. It is a large-scale ancient Islamic building complex in Xinjiang and an important religious and cultural relic in southern Xinjiang. You can experience the rich folk customs and architectural art of the Western Regions.

When night fell, we took the lingering fragrance of printed cloth and naan cups and boarded the train to Kuqa.

When the train arrived in Kuqa, we drove to the [Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon] (the journey takes about 2.5 hours, the tour is no less than 2 hours). This is one of the top ten canyons in China, with majestic reddish-brown rock walls and a unique skyline landscape. The red rocks change colors as the light and shadow flow, and the cliffs retain the ruins of the Aai Grottoes in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It combines the majesty and steepness with the ancient charm of Qiuci.

After lunch, we began to cross the Duku Highway, which is known as the Hero Highway (the total journey is about 4 hours), crossing multiple high-altitude mountains along the way. We experienced four seasons of scenery, including snow-capped mountains, spruce forests, alpine grasslands, and red layer canyons.

Arrive at [Bayinbuluke Grassland] in the evening (the tour lasts for no less than 2 hours). This is the second largest alpine alpine grassland in China. You can enjoy the nine twists and turns, and at sunset, you can also be lucky enough to watch the wonders of the Nine Suns.

Check into the hotel in Bayin Town and rest at night.

After breakfast, we came to [Nalati Grassland], one of the four largest alpine valley grasslands in the world (about 2 hours’ drive, no less than 2 hours of tour), which means “the first place to see the sun” in Mongolian. This is not a flat meadow, but a vertically blooming "hanging garden". From the river valley to the mountain top, wild lilies, tulips, poppies, sage...like an overturned palette, dye the green carpet into a gorgeous flower carpet with unrestrained momentum.

In the afternoon, drive back to Yining city (approximately 2.5 hours drive), enjoy a special meal, the Great Westward Migration Banquet, and then check into the hotel to rest.

After breakfast, we will encounter the sapphire on the ridge of the Tianshan Mountains - [Sailim Lake] (about 2.5 hours by car, no less than 2 hours of tour). It is called "the last tear of the Atlantic Ocean" and has a purity that directly touches the soul. You can walk along the lakeshore and watch the lake gradually change from light green to deep blue under the sun, and watch the snow-capped mountains in the distance reflected on the mirror-like lake surface. We have specially arranged afternoon tea by the lake, so that you can sit down, let the lake breeze blow, and indulge in this huge blue painting.

That night, with the clearness and tranquility of the lake, we took the Yangtze Delta Star and sailed to [Beitun].

After arriving in Beitun in the early morning, we drove to Hemu Scenic Area, known as the "Fairytale Secret Land" (about 4.5 hours' drive, no less than 2 hours of tour). It is known as the "God's Reserve" and is a well-preserved Tuva primitive village deep in the Altai Mountains. The Hemu River passes through the village, and log cabins are scattered in the river valley, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, grasslands and birch forests. Denhaden Observation Deck overlooks the whole village, with morning mist curling up, smoke rising from cooking fires, and cattle and sheep roaming in the forest.

Check into Jiadengyu Hotel to rest at night (about 1.5 hours’ drive).

After breakfast, we will go deep into the hinterland of the Altai Mountains and visit the [Kanas Scenic Area] known as the "God's Back Garden" (about 10 minutes' drive, no less than 4 hours of tour), which is the corner of China that is most like a fairy tale. We took a boat across the blue lake and enjoyed the scenery of virgin forests and snow-capped mountains on both sides. Then, walking along the river bank, you will encounter three bays that are like emerald necklaces: the blue crescent moon of Moon Bay, the misty morning mist of Shenxian Bay, and the river oasis of Wolong Bay. Every step is breathtakingly beautiful.

If you still have the energy, you can take a bus to [Yu Guan Tai] (free attraction, no return if you don’t go, due to time constraints and the speed limit on the mountain road in the scenic area, this attraction is determined by the tour guide and tourists based on actual conditions), and walk up the 1068 steps to the top of the mountain to overlook the panoramic view of Kanas Lake.

After dinner, check into Burqin Hotel and rest.

After breakfast, we went to Chonghur Folk Village (about 1.5 hours' drive), which is a home visit resort to experience Kazakh customs. For lunch, we went into a Kazakh ethnic home, tasted milk tea, Bolsak, listened to the playing and singing of Dombula, and felt the life in the pastoral area. An authentic Kazakh-style meal was specially arranged.

In the afternoon, we went to the [Colorful Beach] known as the "God's Color Palette" (the drive is about 1.5 hours, the tour is no less than 1 hour). The Irtysh River passes through it, creating a grand scene of one river separated by two banks and two heavens. The north bank has been eroded by wind and rain, and the rock walls show colorful colors of red, yellow, purple and white, with scattered ravines; the valley on the south bank is lush with Populus euphratica and full of vitality.

For dinner, enjoy the famous cold water fish feast. After dinner, take the Yangtze Delta Star to [Urumqi].

The train took us to the last battle of the journey - Urumqi, where we went to pay a pilgrimage to the sapphire known as the "West Queen Mother's Yaochi" - [Heavenly Lake of Tianshan] (the tour lasted for no less than 2 hours). We walked along the lakeshore and had a panoramic view of the majestic Bogda Peak and the green spruce trees.

At noon, enjoy the Yaochi Feast, a special meal. Return to Urumqi in the afternoon and check into the hotel. You can stroll around this city farthest from the ocean and feel the unique atmosphere of modern buildings and ethnic customs.

Set off back after breakfast. As the train slowly travels eastward, you can sort out the images of the Tianshan Mountains, lakes, deserts, and Populus euphratica that you took along the way, and condense your emotions into an album. You can also share your experiences with friends you met along the way, exchange contact information, and agree to travel together next time. Let your body and mind relax in the tranquility of the carriage, and quietly reflect on the beauty of this journey.

The panoramic trip to Xinjiang that lasted more than ten days is about to come to a successful conclusion. This magnificent journey across the Tianshan Mountains has become a shining page in your life. May the mountains and rivers be far and wide, always in my heart; may the beautiful encounters be in the future.

The train slowly entered Shanghai, and our trip to Xinjiang came to a successful end here.

This itinerary is a pre-sale product, and the stops and departure time may be slightly adjusted according to the final railway dispatch. The final itinerary is subject to the customer service notification and the group departure notice.