Highlights: Urumqi Grand Bazaar.

After airport pickup and hotel check-in, dive into the ​Urumqi Grand Bazaar, a 10-story labyrinth of Uyghur, Kazakh, and Han cultures. Browse stalls selling Hotan jade, hand-forged pichak knives, and embroidered doppa hats. At the food court, sample dapanji (spicy chicken stew simmered with potatoes) and honey-drenched baklava. Ascend to the rooftop terrace for evening folk dances accompanied by the rawap (Uyghur lute).

Overnight: Urumqi

Highlights: Xinjiang Museum, Heavenly Lake (Tianchi).

Begin at the ​Xinjiang Museum, where the 3,800-year-old “Loulan Beauty” mummy—a Caucasian woman preserved by the Tarim Basin’s arid climate—offers clues to ancient Eurasian migrations. Drive to ​Heavenly Lake, boarding a cable car to lakeside trails. Hike the ​Wanglong Pavilion Trail, scanning for ibex and golden eagles. Local legend claims the lake was the bathing pool of the Queen Mother of the West.

Overnight: Urumqi

Highlights: Tuyuq Village, Flaming Mountains, Bezeklik Caves.

Drive through the Gobi to the ​Flaming Mountains, 100km of crimson sandstone ridges shaped by 100 million years of erosion. Pose beside the thermometer marking China’s highest recorded temperature (80°C). Continue to ​Tuyuq Village, a 1,700-year-old Uyghur oasis where cliffside Mazha Tombs overlook grape-drying houses. Sip rose tea with locals in vine-shaded courtyards. After lunch, explore ​Bezeklik Caves, where Tang Dynasty murals depict Sogdian merchants and Tocharian Buddhist donors.

Overnight: Turpan

Highlights: Jiaohe Ruins, Karez Wells, Emin Minaret.

Wander ​Jiaohe Ruins, a 2,300-year-old adobe city carved into a river island. Explore its Buddhist monastery’s underground meditation cells and necropolis with intact burial urns. Descend into ​Karez Wells, a 2,000-year-old underground irrigation system where tunnels channel Tianshan snowmelt to vineyards. Admire ​Emin Minaret’s 44m brick tower, its 14 geometric patterns symbolizing Quranic chapters. Evening transfer to Kuqa by train.

Overnight: Train

Highlights: Kezil Caves, Tianshan Grand Canyon, Kuqa Old Town.

Drive to ​Kezil Thousand Buddha Caves, a UNESCO site carved into Tianshan cliffs between the 3rd–8th centuries. Marvel at murals blending Hellenistic drapery and Indian Buddhist motifs. Hike ​Tianshan Grand Canyon’s 5km trail, passing the “Karma Rock”—a heart-shaped boulder balancing precariously. Evening stroll through ​Kuqa Old Town, sampling tonur kebab (clay-oven lamb) and browsing rosewood prayer beads at the bazaar.

Overnight: Kuqa

Highlights: Taklamakan Desert Highway.

Traverse the ​Taklamakan Desert Highway, a 550km engineering feat crossing shifting dunes and Populus euphratica forests. Learn how ancient caravans skirted the desert’s “Place of No Return,” leaving buried cities like Loulan beneath the sands. Stop at desert poplar groves to photograph gnarled trees surviving extreme aridity.

Overnight: Hotan

Highlights: Hotan Carpet Factory, Silk Workshop, Night Market.

Visit a ​Carpet Factory where artisans knot 1.2 million threads per carpet using indigo and walnut dyes. At a ​Silk Workshop, watch silkworms spin cocoons and threads hand-reeled into Uyghur ikat scarves. Evening exploration of ​Hotan Night Market—Xinjiang’s largest—featuring sangza (fried dough twists), pomegranate juice, and jade stalls lit by lanterns.

Overnight: Hotan

Highlights: Yarkand Amanisha Khan Tomb.

Drive through oasis villages flanked by cotton and pomegranate fields. Lunch in Yarkand, then visit ​Amanisha Khan Tomb, a hexagonal mausoleum with a 22m dome. Inscriptions of Persian poetry adorn its walls, honoring the 16th-century queen who ruled the Yarkand Khanate.

Overnight: Kashgar

Highlights: Livestock Market, Idkah Mosque, Apak Hoja Tomb, Old Town.

Start at ​Kashgar Livestock Market, where Uyghur herders barter sheep with secret hand signals. Drive to ​Apak Hoja Tomb, its turquoise domes and floral mosaics reflecting Persian-Uyghur artistry. After lunch, visit ​Idkah Mosque, China’s largest Islamic complex, to observe prayers under 140 poplar-wood columns. Wander ​Kashgar Old Town’s clay alleys, where coppersmiths hammer teapots and bakers pull nan bread from tandoor ovens.

Overnight: Kashgar

Highlights: Karakul Lake, Muztagh Ata, Opal Village.

Depart early along the ​Karakoram Highway, stopping at ​Opal Village to buy walnut-stuffed nan bread. Traverse ​Oytagh Valley’s rust-red cliffs, scanning for Bactrian camels. Arrive at ​Karakul Lake, where Muztagh Ata (7,546m) reflects in glacial waters. Share laghman noodles in a Kyrgyz yurt before sunset in Tashkorgan.

Overnight: Tashkorgan

Highlights: Stone City, Golden Grassland.

Explore ​Stone City, a Tang Dynasty fortress where soldiers lit beacon fires to warn of invaders. Scout for pottery shards along crumbling walls. Visit ​Golden Grassland, photographing amber-hued meadows (autumn) or summer yurt camps. Return to Kashgar via the Karakoram Highway.

Overnight: Kashgar

Transfer to Kashgar Airport. Optional last-minute shopping for camel-bone knives or silk scarves.