11-Day Xinjiang Scenery And Culture Tours

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Daily Tour 11 day
Kashgar

Tour Highlights

  • Visit Karez underground irrigation channels one of the three Great Projects in China.
  • Explore the ancient city of Jiaohe, which was built by digging down from the ground.
  • Admire the beauty of nature with life of Kazak people on one of the four largest grassland Narat in the World.
  • Enjoy the biggest white swan protected lake in China.
  • Admire the natural sceneries, lakes and the great mountains along the KKH.
  • Explore the culture, history and see the real life of Kashgar in the Old City.
  • Enjoy one of the earliest and biggest prosperous Buddhism center of Subash ancient city.
  • Admire the earliest Buddha paintings of Kizil thousand caves in China.
Day 1, Arrive Kashgar

Activities: pick you from Kashgar airport and transfer to your hotel
Details:Our professional tour guide and driver will welcome you at Kashgar airport and transfer to your Hotel. Have a good rest after a long flight.
Kashgar, an oasis city in Xinjiang, is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the borders of Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. It has a history of over 2,000 years and served as a trading post and strategically important city on the Silk Road between China, the Middle East and Europe.

Day 2, Kashgar to Tashkorgan

Activities: Drive along the KKH, Stop at Opal Village, Oytagh Kunlunshan Colorful mountain range, Gaz Valley and check point, Bulungkol Valley (white sand mountain), Karakul lake
Details:We set out along the Sino – Pakistan Karakorum Highway, on the Pamir plateau (the roof of the world)visit Karakul Lake (3600m above sea level). The lake sits at the foot of the notorious, Muztagh Ata (7546m) and Gongur (7719m) mountains. ‘Muztagh Ata’ means Father of the Ice Mountain and is one of the most beautiful and mysterious mountains in the world.
Lunch will be at the lake side restaurant as your like.
You can stop along the way on good spots for photos as much as you like, hiking around Karakul lake for a few hours. Our driver and guide never mind for your many stops or spend time for hiking
Arrive Tashkorgan in the late afternoon and stay overnight.

Day 3, Tashkorgan to Kashgar

Activities: Visit Stone Fort, Tajik village, Hike on the Grassland and drive back to Kashgar after lunch
Details:Tashkurgan Tajik autonomous county was once an important hub on the old Silk Road. The area borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan  via the Kunjerab Pass and Wahan Corridor.
After breakfast, you’ll have an opportunity to see the town’s ancient Stone Fort – still standing after 2200 years! ‘Tashkurgan’ is a translation of ‘Stone Fort.’ Later Hike on the grassland next to the Stone Fort.
After lunch, drive back to Kashgar and you can make stops along the way if you like.

Day 4, Explore Kashgar City

Activities: Visit Grand mosque, Apak Hoja tomb (which is also called Fragrant Concubine Tomb), livestock market, Sunday market and dinner at a local Uighur family countryside of Kashgar.
Details:Explore the rich, endless culture of the Uighurs in Kashgar. First stop is livestock market which happens on every Sunday and people bring their horses, sheep, goats, camels and other livestocks to the market for sale. It provides a great opportunity to take photos of the faces of local people, study traditional local market culture, test-drive a donkey or horse or even make its shoes. Like opening a window, today is a real glimpse into a time lost in the annals of the Silk Road’s past and an opportunity not to be missed.
Later move on to Sunday market main Bazaar which is considered one of the largest market in Central Asia. From fluffy sheepskin hats to rugged camel-hide boots, not to mention beads, buttons and buckets of locals. Everything – including plenty of kitchen sinks – is for sale at this fairytale bazaar. It is the best chance to practice your bargaining skills.
After lunch spend some time by the Id Kah mosque, the largest mosque in China and marvel at the intricate architecture of Kashgar’s historic Apak Hoja Tomb which is also known as Fragrant concubine tomb).

Day 5, Kashgar To Kucha By Train

Activities: Visit old city and take train to Kucha afer lunch
Details:After breakfast at the hotel, spend some time in the Kashgar Old Town and have some walking tours through some ancient historical parts; Stop at century-old tea house for a short break and taste local medicinal teas such as those containing rose, saffron, honey and other ingredients.
After lunch take soft sleeper train to Kucha which is about 8-9 hours train journey
Once arrive Kucha in the late evening, our local driver will pick up you and transfer to your hotel. He also helps you to check in.

Day 6, Kucha For Whole Day

Activities: Visit Kizil Thousand Buddha caves, Kucha grand mosque, old city, Bazaars, Subash Ancient Ruins and Kizil Kagha Beacon.
Details:Whole day sightseeing in Kucha,visit the famous Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves (5th and 6th century AD), which lie 75km (46miles) from Kucha and formed one of the earliest treasure troves of Buddhist art in China as well as one of the four largest cave systems in China. The caves were once hewn high on the cliffs of the Northern Bank of the Muzat River during the early 3rd to 8th Centuries of the first Millennium AD. Today there are 236 coded caves, divided into west and inner valley and rear mountain areas extending over 3 kilometers (1.86 miles). It takes about 2 hours to see the caves and learn about local Buddhist culture.
After lunch at a restuarant near Caves, we drive to ancient city of Subash (2nd-3rd century A.D.) as well as the Ancient Kizil Kagha Beacon tower which is an ancient military outpost.
Before dinner we’ll return to Kucha to spend some time in the old town area , local bazaars and visit Kucha grand mosque which was built in 17th century and roof of the mosque was constructed with 300,000 eggs, cement and bricks. We’ll end our day with a dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 7, Kuqa to Bayinbulak Grassland

Activities: Drive through Tianshan mountain, visit Grand Canyon, big and small dragon lakes on the way.
Details:Drive along the 217 highway and first stop at Tianshan Mysterious Canyon which is about an hours drive from Kucha city. It is attractive not only for its colors but also for the various shapes of the mountains there. Today, Tianshan Great Canyon is regarded as one of the ten most beautiful Canyons in China.
Then keep driving on the highway which is quite adventurous mountain road, the scenery is very beautiful. Visit small Dragan lake and big dragon lake on top of the mountain where you would stop for lunch.
Once arrive in Bayinbulak, visit swan lake which is made of a group of small lakes and ponds as opposed to one massive body of water.
We highly suggest you to stay till sunset and snap photos on a hill that overlooks the river. The numerous bends in the river, especially against the backdrop of a sunset makes incredible scenery.
Stay in Bayinbulak

Day 8, Bayinbulak to Narat Grassland/Urumqi

Activities: Drive to Narat Grassland and spend time on the grassland before take flight to Urumqi
Details:Begin with Bayinbulak after breakfast, we`ll arrive Narat Grassland by lunch time.
Narat is regarded as one of the most beautiful parks of Xinjiang. It is a hotspot of culture in Xinjiang and in here you’ll learn the traditions and lives of the Kazak people in Xinjiang
After lunch you can walk around the Kazak villages, experience horse riding across the grasslands or simply trekking through the incredible scenery around.
Note:There are more exciting grasslands on the top of the mountain, if you want to visit there you can take shuttle bus or rent horse to go up there on your own expense.

Day 9, Urumqi to Turpan

Activities: Drive to Turpan after breakfast and visit Idikut (Gaochang) ancient city, Toyuq village and Flaming Mountains.
Details:After breakfast, drive on the first-class highway to Turpan for about 2:30-3:00 hours. Once you arrive Turpan first check into the hotel, then we start our wonderful day in Turpan with a visit to the ancient city of Idikut (Gaochang). The city was built in the first Century BC and later became capital of the Idikut (Gaochang) Uighur Kingdom in the 8th Century.

We enjoy seeing this ancient city for about 40 minutes and then drive to Toyuq village, an old, beautiful and timeless village with a friendly Uighur community. Here we visit several local families and have tea with a local family in their home. This could be the highlight of your tour today.

On the way back to the hotel we will stop on the roadside for photos of Flaming Mountain which people claimed to be the hottest and driest along the silk road that “flying birds even a thousand miles away dare not to come”.

Day 10, Tour Turpan and drive back to Urumqi

Activities: Visit Yargul (Jiaohe) Ancient city, Karez underground Irrigations system, Emin Minaret and drive back Urumqi
Details:After breakfast, drive to Toyuq village, an old, beautiful and timeless village with a friendly Uighur community. Here we visit several local families and have lunch with a local family in their home. This could be the highlight of your tour today.
After lunch , visit Yargul (Jiaohe) Ancient City which is one of the best preserved ancient cities in China. The ruins of the buildings are divided into temples, civilian dwellings and government offices. Workshops, residential houses and the streets are still visible and time there is a time spent in a long lost world. 
After an hour of touring the ancient city, we’ll drive on to see the world famous Karez Underground Irrigation System, unique to this part of the world. The system is considered as one of the three great projects in China with the other two being the Great Wall and the Grand Canal.
Then visit Emin Suliman minaret which is a magnificent combination of ancient Uighur and Islamic architecture. It is the tallest ancient tower in Xinjiang and the only Islamic ancient minaret in the country. Localscall it “pure tower”.
In later afternoon drive to Urumqi

Day 11, Urumqi To Your Destination

Activities: See you off at Urumqi airport
Details:Today is the last day of your tour with us, so we hope this tour shouldn’t be the last. We strive to make every day of your time with us the one that you’ll always remember and if you’d like to book some other tours please Contact us for more information.

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