Day 1 Arrival in Urumqi

Welcome to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province and a city of modern charm and rich culture. Your local guide and driver will be waiting for you at the exit area upon your arrival. You will be safely transferred to your hotel.

Tip: Xinjiang time is about 2 hours later than the Beijing time. Please confirm the pick up time for the next morning with your guide.

Day 2 Heavenly Lake

After breakfast, your guide and driver will take you to Heavenly Lake at the Tianshan Mountains. The 1.5-hour journey will reward you with the picturesque scenery, snowcapped peaks, flourishing trees, blooming flowers and crystal clear lakes. The pleasant weather, beautiful scenery, magical colors of the lake and relaxing atmosphere make the spot the best summer resort in Xinjiang. If you need any cane to climb the mountain, please advise early.




After the tour, you will be escorted back to the city and free on your own.






    

Day 3 Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum, Drive to Turpan (3hrs), Karez Well System

After breakfast, you will head for the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum where you will be exposed to a place intensively displaying the past of Xinjiang areas, including the history, culture, arts, crafts and so much more. You will have a deeper understanding of the unique Xinjiang culture after visiting the museum.

After lunch, you will head for Turpan and visit the Karez Well. The irrigation system is especially designed for the desert. If all of these underground channels were connected, the total length would reach more than 5000 km, so it is regarded as one of the three engineering miracles of ancient China, along with the Great Wall and the Jinghang Grand Canal.




After the tour, you will check in your Turpan hotel.






    

Day 4 Jiaohe Ancient City, Flaming Mountains, Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, Grape Valley

After breakfast, you will head for Jiaohe Ancient City on an island-shaped plateau situated at Yar Town. It is the largest, oldest and best preserved earth-structured city in the world, with a history of 2000-2300 years. At noon, your guide will recommend some Turpan local delicacies for you.

In the afternoon, you will set off to the Flaming Mountains and Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. The mountain are formed by the red stones stretching from west to east with absolutely nothing growing on. In summer, the soil vapor rises up around the mountain, making the mountain look like a giant fire dragon, hence the name of Flaming Mountains. The area is the hottest spot in China with a temperature of 47 centigrade under the mountain and 80 centigrade at the mountain top during Summer.

The next destination is the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. Located in the middle range of the Flaming Mountains, the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves are the best-preserved cave complex in Turpan that have the most caves and murals. It was constructed in late Southern and Northern Dynasties and served as the Buddhist center in Xinjiang areas. There are 83 caves here and 40 of them have exquisite murals inside, but only 9 are accessible for public.




Afterwards, you will have two options depending on your timing. If you finished early, your guide and driver will take you to Grape Valley where you will take leisure in a large scale of grape land. If you feel tired, they will end here and take you to your Turpan hotel.






    

Day 5 Emin Minaret, Fly to Kashgar

After breakfast, you will head for the Emin Minaret. Located in east of Turpan city, the Emin Minaret is the largest ancient pagoda in existence in Xinjiang. It was built in 1778 by the duke Emin Hezhuo to express his gratitude and devotion to Allah. You will appreciate the typical Islamic architecture here.




After lunch, you will head for the airport and fly to Kashgar. Upon your arrival, your Kashgar driver will be waiting for you and take you to check in the hotel.






    

Day 6 Abak Hoja Tomb, Id Kah Mosque, Kashgar Bazaar

After breakfast, your Kashgar day tour begins. The first sight is the Apak Hoja Tomb, a mausoleum complex burying 58 people. The tomb was named after a famous concubine of Emperor Qianlong. She was a one of the descendants of the master of this grand tomb, who was selected as a concubine for Emperor Qianlong. After her death from de-acclimatisation, it’s said people delivered her corpse back and buried it in this tomb. However, she was actually buried in mausoleum of Concubine Yu in the Ming tombs.

After lunch, you will proceed to Id Kah Mosque and Kashgar Bazaar. Id Kah Mosque plays an important role in the lives of Xinjiang people. Please follow your guide closely, do not speak loudly during the visit and abide by certain regulations that the mosque has imposed on you.

The next place you will visit is the Kashgar Bazaar where the ultimate local ethnic customs are revealed. You will see all kinds of specialties like Xinjiang costumes, oil, arts, crafts, instruments, china, local food, dried fruits and so much more.




At the end of the tour, you will be accompanied back to hotel.






    

Day 7 Karakul Lake

After breakfast, you will head for the Karakul Lake. Situated at the foot of Mustag Peak and surrounded by the mountains, the Karakul Lake is one of the few plateau lakes in the world. Nearby the lake, Kyrgyz sheep are scattered everywhere. In a clear day, you will see the the surrounding mountains being reflected on the clear lake, silver snow-capped peaks in the far, and herds browsing on green grassland. Everything is so perfect and peaceful. Every summer and autumn, the Karakul Lake will make a great place for mountaineers.




In the late afternoon, your guide and driver will take you back to hotel.






    

Day 8 Departure Kashgar

Your driver will pick you up 3 hours before your flight or train and take you to the airport or railway station.