Xinjiang

Xinjiang is officially Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Located in the northwestern border region of China, in the Mongolian Uplands, Xinjiang, lauded variously as a land of song and dance, melons and fruits, precious stones, and carpets, is situated in the heart of the Eurasia Continent. Xinjiang was a key link on the Silk Road and a hub for east-west cultural exchanges in ancient times. The local folklore is rich and varied. The historical name of the region is East Turkestan.

The province is largely populated by 47 Mainland ethnic minority groups, such as the Mongols, Kazaks, Kyrgyzs and Uighurs, with the Uygur Minority Group having the largest population. The region has historically been populated by the Uighurs, a people more closely related to those in Central Asia than to the Han. Today the Han now form the majority of the population in the north while the west remains dominated by minority culture. Mandarin has become the primary language used in most major cities and Uyghur is still an official language in the region. The uyghur people are very honest, kind and open minded to outlanders. Kashgar, Khotan and Aksu are the three prefecture where the uyghurs mostly inhabittd areas.

Already Kashgar is feeling the effects of the railway line completed in 1997. This town at the center of the silkroad is seeing its winding mud brick streets becoming gradually flattened in favour of Chinese-style streets typical of any other city in China. Xinjiang was a major stop on the Ancient Silk Road and because of the trade has one of the most unique cultures in China.

Tours

8-day Xinjiang Silk Road Highlights

Dunhuang → Turpan → Urumqi → Kashgar

The 8 days Xinjiang Silk Road Tour covers Shazhou Night Market, Mogao Grottoes, Echoing-Sand Mountain, Crescent Moon Spring, Astana Tombs, Flaming Mountain, Bezeklik Grottoes, Local Uygur family visit, Jiaohe Ruined city, Sugong Minaret, Karez Irrigation system, Erdaoqiao Market, International Bazaar, Xinjiang Museum, Heavenly Lake, Karakul Lake, Sunday Bazaar, Id Kah Mosque, Handicraft street...

10-day Great Silk Road Tour

Xian → Dunhuang → Turpan → Urumqi → Kashgar → Beijing

The 10 days Great Silk Road Tour for tourist silk road culture and nature interests to visit Xi'an Ancient City Wall, Hecang Military Depot, Jiayuguan Pass, Mogao Grottoes, Echoing-Sand Mountain, Crescent Moon Lake, Karez Channels, Flaming Mountain, Mount Nan Pasture, Sunday Bazaar, Abakh Khoja Tomb, Karakul Lake...

16-day Xinjiang Gansu Yunnan Sichuan Tibet Tour

Urumqi → Turpan → Dunhuang → Jiayuguan → Lanzhou → Xian → Kunming → Dali → Lijiang → Lhasa → Emeishan → Leshan → Chengdu

16-day Xinjiang Gansu Yunnan Sichuan Tibet Tour tour to visit Urumqi, Turpan, Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Lanzhou, Xi'an Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Lhasa, Leshan, Chengdu in Northwest and Southwest China and more....

17-day Golden China & Silk Road Xinjiang Tour

Shanghai → Guilin → Xian → Lanzhou → Xiahe → Jiayuguan → Dunhuang → Turpan → Urumqi → Beijing

This golden China triangle Beijing Xian Shanghai Tour links the Silk Road travel attractions in Gansu Lanzhou Dunhuang, Xinjiang Turpan, Urumqi, Kashgar and more for adventure experience.

Attractions

Kashgar Bazaar

Located in the city east, Kashgar Grand Bazaar, Sunday Bazaar, Mal Bazaar or the livestock market on Sundays, daily Yengi Bazaar etc. show the glory of the largest international trade market or fair on ancient China Silk Road.

Tianchi Heavenly Lake

Located 110 kilometers east of Urumqi, Tianchi Lake occupies an area of almost 5 square kilometers. The name of the lake translates as "Heavenly lake". The Snow-fed lake is crescent-shaped and got its name from Tianshan Mountain, which feeds the lake.

Abakh Khoja Mausoleum

The Abakh Khoja Mausoleum, 5 km northeast of Kashgar, is a masterpiece of Uyghur architecture and the holiest Muslim site built in the early 17th century as the tomb of Muhammad Yusuf in Xinjiang China Silk Road.

Loulan Kingdom Ruins

In 1980, a 3,800-year-old female mummy (Loulan Beauty) was firstly discovered in Loulan known as the Tarim mummies. This opens an insight into the Loulan culture to the world. Loulan was an ancient kingdom based around an important oasis city along the Silk Road.

Gaotai Ancient Homes

In the old city district of Kashgar, Gaotai Ancient Homes is the most typical Uyghur dwelling house with a unique sight of heavy ethnic culture.

Urumqi Museum

Situated in Xibei Lu, in Urumqi City, the Xinjiang Regional Museum is a large integrated museum and centre for the collection and study of cultural relics discovered in the region.

Karez Underground Water System

The Karez underground irrigation channel in Turpan is one of China's three greatest feats of ancient engineering, along with the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. Construction began on this ancient irrigation system during the Han Dynasty and as the Silk Road developed, methods of construction found their way to Central Asia and Persia.

Pamir Mountains

The Great Silk Road crossed a number of Pamir Mountain ranges. Historically, the Pamir Mountains were considered a strategic trade route between Kashgar and Kokand on the Northern Silk Road.

Red Hill Park

Red Hill Park (Hongshan Park) stands out from forest Red Mountain and is an icon of Urumqi city. Red Mountain get its name from purple grit rock.

Jiaohe Ancient City

Located 10 kilometers west of Turpan in China’s Xinjiang Province, the Jiaohe Ruins is an archaeological site which was an important stop on the Ancient Silk Road. It is the largest, oldest, and best preserved earthen city on earth.

Dabancheng Town

Urumqi Dabancheng Town District well known for a folk song called Dabancheng Girls and large-scale Wind Power Station views.

Ancient Gaochang City Ruins

30 kilometers southeast of Turpan Xinjiang, the ancient Gaochang Ruins are all that is left of an ancient oasis city that was a major stopping point on the Ancient Silk Road.

The Flaming Mountains

Located in China Xinjiang, the Flaming Mountain is a barren, eroded, red sandstone mountain. The erosion of the sandstone rock has given the mountain an appearance of being on fire.

Altay Kanas Lake

The Kanas Lake is a magical and appealing place for all ages. Maybe the Kanas is an enchanting Mongolian name which means "a beautiful, abundant and mysterious lake in a gorge". The travelers called it as 'Switzerland in East or Camerists' Heaven'. .

The Karakol Lake

The Karakul Lake is a paradise of bonfire night parties for boy and girl khalkhas with tourists. The party is full of songs and dances, as well as good smell of roast lamb skewers.

Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves

The Bezeklik/Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves is famous for ancient muralsWith with exsiting 60 caves, and over 40 caves have ancient murals of 1200 square meters.

Nanshan Mountain Grasslands

Urumqi Nanshan Grasslands or Southern Pasture (Baiyang gou included) are a natural paradise, with scenery and surroundings such as natural spruce forest on snow mountain, wild animals such as snow leopard, wild goat, red deer and palm bear are running on the grasslands, beautiful birds are flying in the sky, which are similar to that at Heaven Lake.

Glacier No.1 of Tianshan Mountains

As the Headwaters of Urumqi River, the melting Tianshan Mountains No.1 Glacier sits in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is the closest glacier to an urban community in the world.

Urumqi Grand Bazaar

Located on the Ancient Silk Road, the city of Urumqi has had a huge bazaar for thousands of years. The bazaar is very unique and combines cultures and has stalls selling an incredible selection of items from the local Uyghur Ethnic Minority Group, Russia, and China.

Emin Minaret

The tallest minaret in China, the Emin Minaret is located 2 kilometers east of Turpan. Built during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the minaret is 44 meters tall and took 19 years to complete.

Id Kah Mosque

'Id Kah' means 'a place of praying and celebrating in festivals'. The Id Kah Mosque is located on the central square in Kashgar City, Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region. As the biggest mosque in China, it is a group of old Islamic constructions with strong ethnic style and religious features.

Xinjiang Uygur Regional Museum

Locted in Urumqi Xibei Road, the Xinjiang Regional Museum is a large integrated museum and centre for the collection and study of cultural relics in Xinjiang. The museum architecture built in 1953 with featured Uighur ethnic internal decor style and has an exhibition hall covering an area of about 7,800 square meters (approx. 9,328 square yards).

Kashgar Old Town

Located opposite the Id Kah Mosque is Kashgar Old Town District. It is the best place to see how the local Uyghur ethnic group has lived for centuries. The old town district has a history of over 2,000 years.

Turpan Museum

Turpan Museum is a museum in Turpan, Xinjiang, China. It has items from the Tang dynasty excavated from the Astana Graves which are located outside the town. Items include ancient silks, clothes and preserved corpses.

Turpan Desert Ecological Plant Park

The park is located southeast of Turpan Basin, the western sandy Cat Kale Township. Geographical coordinates: 40 ° 51'N, 89 ° 11'E, altitude -105 ~-76m.

Grape Valley

Xinjiang grape valley, lying on the western slopes of the Flaming Mountains in Turpan Depression, one can see nothing but glowing barren red sand. Only the Grape Valley, presenting a world of unique beauty, is a striking contrast with the hot, dry and barren outside.

Mor Buddhist Pagoda

Mor or Mo'er Pagoda is a buddhist pagoda ruins of ancient Shule Kingdom in the western China. The Pagoda was built in 7th century during the Tang dynasty and destroyed 12th century.

Sugong Pagoda

The Sugong Pagoda, known as Emin Minaret or the Turpan Pagoda among local residents is a Islamic building. A stone tablet at its entrance cites the reason for the pagoda's construction in Wei and Han characters.

Hotels

World Plaza Hotel Urumqi

With the advanced management and personalized professional service that the Hotel provides, your stay at Hotel World Plaza will undoubtedly be a pleasant experience.The magnificent lobby is richly decorated with Xinjiang flavor. The Chinese work of art honors the minority nationalities, picturing their act of singing and dancing that depicts the hospitality, generosity and high spirit of the region.

Grand Turpan Hotel

The Grand Turpan Hotel is a luxurious 3-star hotel that has become the Turpan Grand Hotel limited Company. The company shapes the hotel from all directions on the basis of the spirit, such as innovation, major, effective, excellent. It contains strong Silk Road culture as its characteristic, marketing all directions as its key project. At the same time, it also adjusts the scale, the project, standard, and running mode of the hotel to be a multi-levels and multi-functions three star modern hotel.

Tuha Petroleum Hotel Turpan

Tu Ha Petroleum Hotel Urumqi is a 4-star hotel opened in 1997, innovated in 2006, is a comprehensive international hotel located in the bustling city center of Turpan. The hotel has 13 storeys, 203 tastefully understated rooms. The hotel is an easy walking distance to Urumqi Railway Station, Urumqi International Convention and Exhibition Center. This Turpan hotel has various rooms and suites equipped with internet access, safes, air-conditioners and mini bars. Tu Ha Petroleum Hotel Urumqi accepts payment by cash and card. International card settlement makes convenience for guests all over the globe. For recreation and relaxation, fitness center, bowling alley, swimming pool, table tennis room, night club, chess and card room, sauna and massage are available. Other facilities in the hotel include business center, meeting room, wireless internet area, parking lot and store, etc. For dining, the restaurants serve all kinds of Chinese cuisines and western foods as well as local dishes. Chinese and western restaurants are available in the hotel providing guests with Sichuan, Cantonese cuisines. Tu Ha Petroleum Hotel Urumqi staff is superbly trained to ensure all guests’ requests receive the utmost care and attention.

Oasis Hotel Turpan

The Turpan Oasis Hotel is based on a traditional Islamic design, incorporating modern amenities to provide the comfort of home. The hotel is located on Youth Road, known as Turpan City's "Grape Street" and is surrounded by lush greenery. The restaurant is decorated in traditional style, where guests can taste the finest in Cantonese and wild northwest delicacies. The cafe offers delicious food, in Islamic -themed surroundings. Meeting rooms accommodating up to 250 delegates are also available onsite.

Bingtuan Grand Hotel

Bingtuan Grand Hotel is a luxury business hotel Opened in 1997 and renovated in 2011, located at the city center of Urumqi, adjacent to the People's Park and International Convention and Exhibition Center. Guests may enjoy leisure time at the gym, take a sauna, or play chess or cards with friends and more, appreciate the spectacular mountain views.

Sheraton Urumqi Hotel

The newest addition along the Silk Road, Sheraton Urumqi Hotel is the premier hotel in the Xinjiang capital region. It is an ideal home base for both business and leisure travelers.

Hoi Tak Hotel Urumqi

Hoi Tak Hotel is delicate decorated with ocean murals and fish tanks in order to improve the ambience of relaxing and contented feeling for hotel guest. Reaching up to 33-stories, this hotel provides guests with breathtaking views of Urumqi and the famous Mt. Tianshan. The atmosphere of the restaurants in the hotel no doubt strikes travelers and local customers as extremely remarkable.

Hotel Eden Kashkar

This locally-owned hotel is one of the most modern and impressive hotels in Kashgar and offers guests a comfortable stay in a central location. Set in unspoilt grounds the hotel is a short walk from the famous Old City.

Barony Tarim Petroleum Hotel Kashkar

The Barony Hotel Kashgar is located in Kashgar city which has great humanity history and is famous for its deep cultural reputation. It brings convenient traffic, comfortable atmosphere, beautiful sceneries and ancient national amorous feelings.

City Hotel Urumqi

Opened in 1996, City Hotel Urumqi provides privacy, safety and personalized service to attract travelers. It will help you customize the services to suit both lifestyle and budget.

Xinrong Hotel Urumqi

Xinrong Hotel is well-appointed with unique structure, modern and completely facilities. It is an ideal place for you to have an ease and comfortable stay here when travel in Xinjiang.

Seman Hotel Kashkar

A huge, rambling old complex in delightful, secluded gardens, the Seman Hotel is the most popular place in Kashi with Western tourists. The hotel is housed in the renovated former Russian consulate which was first built in 1890.

Xinjiang Grand Hotel

Here is where your Silk Road adventure starts. Urumqi, the capital of China's Northwest Xinjiang autonomous region, is a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds. Enjoy the city's unique architecture and the colorful tradition of its 13 minority groups. XinJiang Grand Hotel in Urumqi was opened in May 1992, it is offering accommodation and service of an international standard. Whether you are in Urumqi for business or pleasure, XinJiang Grand Hotel is a relaxing oasis, waiting to cater to your every need.

Yindu Hotel Urumqi

Yin Du Hotel Urumqi is a 5 star international standard hotel in Urumqi. It is owned by the China Telecom Communication and China Mobile. The hotel development and construction began in 1992. Yin Du Hotel committed to ensure quality services and total guest satisfaction.

Tips

Climate & Weather in Kashgar

Kashgar city travel climate & weather guide: average precipitation & monsoon, max & min temperature, current forecasts the best time to Kashgar...


	Name	Email(will not be published)
		Submit

Xinjiang

China Destinations Guide

Theme China Tours