7-Day Xinjiang Silk Road Cultural and Historical Tour
Route: Kashgar – Yarkent – Hotan – Urumqi – Turpan – Urumqi
Activities: This tour suitable to those who are visiting Xinjiang Silk Road for the first time and what to do more in a limited time. This tour includes must see cities and selected attractions for in depth understanding the Southern Silk Road in a limited time.
Day 01
Place & Transport: Arrival to Kashgar
Day’s Activities: Kashgar Airport Pick Up
Place to Stay: Kashgar
You fly in kashgar with connected flight from Beijing or Shanghai via Urumqi
We will meet you at Kashgar Airport then transfer to Hotel
Day 02
Place & Transport: Kashgar City tour
Day’s Activities: Apak Hoja Tomb, Sunday Market, Old Town, Id Kah Mosque, Handicraft Street
Place to Stay: Kashgar
We will begin our tour of Kashgar City by visiting the Apak Hoja tomb also called fragrant concubine tomb (Xiangfei in Chinese). This is a very tranquil place and a beautiful example of Uyghur Islamic architecture. Next we will head to the Infamous lively Sunday market renowned as the biggest market in Central Asia. It is said you can buy anything you want from the Sunday market except chicken milk and Cow eggs.
We will then enjoy lunch in a typical Uyghur restaurant. After lunch we will wander through the narrow winding streets of the historic Old town brushing shoulders with the friendly Uyghur residents. Located at the spiritual heart of old town is Id Kah Mosque, the largest mosque in China. We will go inside and have the chance to understand a bit more about the Islamic life of the Uyghur people. We will pass down Handicraft Street where we can view pots being hammered, wood craftsmen at work and traditional musical instrument workshops.
Note: For entering the Mosque visitors should dress respectfully, no shorts or short sleeved shirts and women should cover their heads with a scarf.
Day 03
Place & Transport: Kashgar to Hotan (540KM)
Day’s Activities: Yegisar Knife Factory, Yarkant Golden Graveyard, Tomb of Aman Nisahan,Yarkent Old Town
Place to Stay: Hotan
We will leave for Hotan after breakfast. On our way to Hotan we will make a stop in the county of Yegisar. Yegisar is the most famous region in Xinjiang for making traditional Uyghur knives. We will have the chance to visit one of the many knife factories here and view the production process and purchase souvenirs. Next stop, a further two hours down the road is Yarkent (shache in Chinese). In Yarkand we will first visit the Golden Graveyard. This graveyard dates from the 17th Century and is the burial place of Royal family members of the Yarkand Uyghur Kingdom. Next to this is the Tomb of Aman Nisahan, the wife of the second King of the Yarkand Kingdom. Aman Nisahan is a famous Uyghur poet, musician and composer. She is most renowned for her transcription of the Twelve Mukam of famous traditional Uyghur music. We will enjoy a traditional lunch of corn noodles, pumpkin dumplings and kebab in a local Yarkand teahouse. After lunch we will continue our journey to Hotan (around four and a half hours)
Day 04
Place & Transport: Hotan Tour then Evening Flight to Urumqi
Day’s Activities: Taklimakan Desert, Local Silk, Carpet, Jade Workshops, White Jade River
Place to Stay: Urumqi
After breakfast we will drive to Taklamakan desert, the second largest sand desert in the world. Hotan Local Market is an authentic market similar to the Sunday market in Kashgar, both Kashgar and Hotan markets are called Sunday market but they are active every day except the animal section which is only on Sundays. Hotan is particularly famous for its high quality Jade products; the best Jade in China is found in the White Jade River. We will visit the river and try to find some Jade for ourselves and watch the locals at work digging and sifting for the precious rock. We will also visit the white Jade factory to see how the Jade is processed and made into jewelry and ornaments. Hotan is also renowned for its high quality wool carpets. We will visit a carpet workshop to see the weaving process. After dinner we will take the evening flight to Urumqi.
Day 05
Place & Transport: Urumqi to Turpan then Turpan Tour (180KM)
Day’s Activities: Kariz Underground Water System, Jiaohe Ancient City, Emin Minaret
Place to Stay: Turpan
The drive from Urumqi to Turpan is about 3 hours. On the way we can see the largest wind powered station in China (da ban cheng). After arrival and check-in, we begin our tour of Turpan. Kariz underground water system is the China’s third most important ancient engineering feat with a total length of 3100 miles and dating back more than 2000 years. Jiaohe Ancient City is the oldest, largest, highest ancient city built of mud in the World. Many cultural relics were unearthed, such as antefix of the Tang Dynasty and Buddhist scriptures at the Ancient City of Jiaohe. Emin Minaret was built in 1777, it is the largest extant old tower in Xinjiang and it is the only Islamic tower among the hundred famous towers in China).
Day 06
Place & Transport: Drive from Turpan to Urumqi (180Km)
Day’s Activities: Gaochang Ancient City, Astana Ancient Tombs, Tuyuk Village
Place to Stay: Urumqi
After breakfast we drive to Gaochang Ancient City, 47 km east of Turpan. The city was built in the first century B.C; it was a key point on the ancient Silk Road. Then we head to Astana Ancient tombs, the capital tombs and underground museum of Xinjiang where many important writings, paintings and mummies have been discovered. Next we will have a traditional Uygher lunch in Tuyuk Valley. We will visit the Tuyuk Village where we can see traditional Uyghur life. Villagers live in traditional homes made of mud. After lunch we will drive from Turpan to Urumqi.
Day 07
Place & Transport: Urumqi Tour then Transfer to Urumqi Airport
Day’s Activities: Xinjiang Museum
After breakfast we will visit the extensive Xinjiang Museum. It is a large integrated museum, holding all key artifacts and cultural relics central to the Xinjiang region and the Silk Road. The museum is famous for its rich collections of silk artifacts dating from many periods throughout history. The museum also contains several mummies, some of them dating back 4000 years, which can easily rival those found in Egypt. After lunch we will take you to the airport for your respective onward journeys. We will help you to check in your flight home.
