Day-by-day Itinerary

1. Day 1: Kashgar Arrival (No meal)

   Upon your arrival at Kashgar airport, the local driver will pick you up from the exit gate by holding a welcome board with your name and transfer to downtown hotel for check-in. Free and easy on your arrangement for rest of the day.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Kashgar

2. Day 2: Kashgar-Karakuri Lake 260kms/4-5hrs (B, L)
   Karakuri Lake

   Today you will head to the amazing Karakuri Lake. The driving lasts around 4 hours from Kashgar city to the lake, which would be a good chance to enjoy the mountain-and-lake view on the way.

   Karakuri Lake also named Karakul is a high mountain moraine lake. Karakuri means “Dark Ocean”, which is corresponded to its appearance: the water is deep and unfathomable, the grass growing well on the banks where Kirgiz shepherds usually stay for grazing. The Lake embraces the inverted images of the snowy pinnacles, green grass and leisure flocks and herds when sunny days while it turns to be dark and bleak in the rainy days.

   Finishing the relaxing sightseeing, you will go back to Kashager.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Kashgar

   

3. Day 3: Kashgar-Urumqi by Flight (B, L)
   Kashgar Old Town, Handicrafts Market, Id Kah Mosque

   Today you will further visit Kashgar city. No doubt the first site will be Kashgar Old Town. Kashgar’s spirit is in the old town with curved lanes distributed in the maze-like Islam blocks, which is the thing that bewilders you to be here. Eyes on face and camera in hands should be busiest during visit, elegant folk dwellings, neat streets, cozy tea houses gathering leisure old people, naughty kids playing in front of doors and bursting into laughter when you walking closely… soul warmth rising from bottom of hearts along your slowly wander.

   Later, move on to the local Handicrafts Market. Spending some time in the handicrafts market is also a top things-to-do in Kashgar. Follow the local crowd to walk leisurely and stop at a stall interesting you or talking with those hawkers with ethnic faces. Do not forget to bargain when you are picking some as souvenirs.

   After that, come to the largest Islam Mosque in Xinjiang - the Id Kah Mosque, whose birth could be traced back to 1442, in Ming Dynasty. It’s an ancient architectural complex sitting in the city center with strong ethnic and religious color, composed by four parts: the pagoda, garden, scripture hall and praying hall. Not only functioned as center for religious activities, is the Mosque also the place for local people to celebrate festivals. If you are lucky to visit it on a praying day and or festival day, you will meet an extreme busy scene that thousands of Islam followers gather on the Square.

   At the end of the visit, you will be dropped off at Kashgar airport to catch an evening flight to Urumqi. Upon your arrival at Urumqi, there will be the local driver picking you up at the exit gate by holding a welcome board with your name and transfer to local hotel.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Urumqi

   

4. Day 4: Urumqi Tour (B, L)
   Heavenly Lake, Xinjiang Regional Museum, Erdaoqiao International Bazaar

   After hotel breakfast, drive around 1.5 hours to the amazing Heavenly Lake of Tianshan Mountain. Heavenly Lake, read Tianchi Lake in Chinese, is an alpine lake nestled against the slope of the snow-covered Bodga Mountain. Heat, the special feature coming with summer is seldom there due to its geographical conditions. Looking out over the scenic area, the white snowy mountains mirroring in the green lake and colorful flowers spotted on the green grassland along the lake, plus the tour guide’s commentary to the tale of Queen Mother of the West bringing it some color of mystery, both your eyes and souls will be fully pleased by the pure beauty here.

   Afterwards, move on to Xinjiang Regional Museum. As the only autonomous region class museum in Xinjiang, Xinjiang Regional Museum houses over 40,000 collections including all kinds of relics and specimens, exhibited in five separate halls. You can find many treasures ever glittering on the famous Silk Road. The No.1 star exhibition in the museum is the unprecedented ancient corpse with even tiny fingernails well preserved.

   Driving back to Urumqi city, follow your guide to explore the interesting evening scenery in Erdaoqiao International Bazaar. It’s one of the bazaars with largest scale in the world with strong Islam flavor in its buildings. You should not miss this site during your tour to Urumqi, even if you are not going for shopping, you would favor the experience for the strong ethnic flavor here. Eyes are dazzled by an overwhelming of goods in the stalls while ears are excited by the hawking, bewildering you if you are travel through space and time to the ancient silk road to glimpse the prosperous trades between different nations.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Urumqi

   

5. Day 5: Urumqi-Turpan 180kms/3 hrs (B, L)
   Karez Well, Sugong Pagoda, Tuyu Valley, Jiaohe Ruins

   Today you will head to Turpan which drives around 3 hours on the way. Upon arrival in Turpan, you will start the visit with Karez Well, an underground irrigation system created by ancient Xinjiang people. This project can be called the source of life for the arid northwestern region. Later, move on to Sugong Pagoda, you will witness this typical Islam architecture with the largest scale among all pagodas in Xinjiang.

   Next, come to Tuyu Valley. It is the oldest Uyghur village in Xinjiang and a nice place to soak up Buddhist and Islamic culture. Afterwards, continue your visit to Jiaohe Ruins, the largest, oldest and best-preserved raw-soil building in the world with a history of more than 2,000 years. You will wander around this ancient city stepping back in time to trace past civilizations.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Turpan

   

6. Day 6: Turpan-Dunhuang by High-speed Train (B)
   Shazhou Night Market

   Enjoy the peaceful morning time on your own. At around 9am, the driver will pick you up from the hotel lobby and drop you off at train station to catch the noon high-speed train to Dunhuang. The train rides around 3.5 hours and you can enjoy the scenery on the way. Upon arrival at Dunhuang station, the local English speaking guide and driver will be waiting for you and drive to downtown hotel.

   Duly refreshed, follow your guide to explore the amazing Shazhou Night Market. Though you might have visited many night markets or food streets during your weeks of vacation, Shazhou Night Market still brings something different for you. Mogao Caves visited in daytime put the most outstanding highlight of Dunhuang before you, Shazhou Night Market just takes you into the down-to-earth life of the local. Do you feel a pull from the strong perfume emitting from the stalls bathed in the dim lights and speed up towards the hawkers and carefully avoid the busy crowds? For sure, you will find the special vitality of this northwest city remoting from the country center during your leisure strolling.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Dunhuang

   

7. Day 7: Dunhuang Tour (B, L)
   Mogao Grottoes, Crescent Spring and Echo Sand Mountain

   In the morning, you will head to the amazing Mogao Grottoes. As the existing anthology of Buddhist art with biggest scale and the best preservation in the world, Mogao Caves wins a fame of “the pearls of oriental art”. It keeps 735verns, about45,000 square kilometers frescoes, 2,415 painted sculpture, more than 4,000 flying Apsaras (the beautiful Bodhisattva in the Buddhism who has fair scent and does well in dancing and music), and 5 wooden constructions of Tang and Song Dynasty as well as thousands of Stone pillars and flagstones with lotus carving on them.

   In the afternoon when it is not too hot, continue your visit to Crescent Spring and Echo Sand Mountain. Echo Sand Mountain and Crescent Spring are harmonious mates of miracle created by natural, glittering like a pearl along the Silk Road for thousands of years. The incredible co-existence between spring water and sand mountains always amazes visitors at their first sight here: the sand mountains meanders like a huge dragon and roars when wings blowing while the Crescent Spring, like a gentle maiden, is embraced in arms of mountains without being smudging. A life-time experience provided here as optional activity is camel ride at Echo Sand Mountain.

   Friendly tip: There is camel ride available in the Echo Sand Mountain, if you would like to try it, please pay in cash on your own (around CNY100 /pax ). Of course your tour guide will help to purchase tickets.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Dunhuang  

    

   

8. Day 8: Dunhuang Departure (B)

   The 8 days amazing trip will end by today. We will arrange airport transfer for you and wish you a pleasant journey home! If you want to visit more places in China, please feel free to contact us. We will be very happy to be helpful for you.

   Accommodation : N/A