Desert Adventure

- The Xinjiang Museum (2 hours): The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum has collections of silver works of art, stone steles, coins and currency, ceramics, wooden articles, and paintings. One of the highlights is the well-preserved collection of 4,000-year-old corpses, unearthed along the Silk Road . A modern-style building occupying 11,000 square meters, it is located on Xibei Road, 2 km north of People's (Renmin) Park
- Souvenir Shop of the Great Hall of the People: This factory manufactures and sells many kinds of jade articles, including Xinjiang Hetian jade, jade jewelry, and Xinjiang jade sculptures. There are also many woven rugs on sale with beautiful traditional designs.
Tel: 0991-4835598
Address: 45 North Youhao Road, Urumuqi, Xinjiang
- Orida Culture Restaurant: The restaurant is located near the Id Kah Mosque. It specializes in Moslem food. It is well decorated in a Uygur' style. Wine is not provided here.
- Id Kah Mosque (40 minutes): This 15th century mosque is one of the largest and busiest in China. As you stroll under the trees in the pleasant courtyards, you glimpse the strength and care of the local community. At midday on Fridays around 10,000 people will gather to pray and study the Koran, and prayer 5 times/day on other days. You'll be asked to remove your shoes before entering the Main Hall, which has traditional Islamic pillars,carvings and rugs strewn over the floors. Women are adviced to cover upper arms and legs, a scarf is not compulsory, but is seen as a mark of respect. This is a must visit place for tourist in Kashgar .

- Lake Karakuli (2 hours): Karakuli Lake is a sparking glacial lake located at the foot of “the Father of Glaciers” – Muztagata Mountains. A railway connnecting China with Pakistan goes by the lake. The lake is famous for its beautiful scenery and clarity. Colors of its water range from light to dark under reflection.
- Local Restaurant: The limited restaurant options mean that there is no choice available however our guide will organize the best available based on the season and the surroundings.

- Kashgar Old Town (1 hour): Explore the maze of narrow streets in this oldest residential area of Kashgar. Houses were originally built along a natural slope, and extended over the years with many streets either fully or half-covered. Traditional Uighur life continues here in time-honoured fashion. Visit local families, see potteries, bakeries, embroidery, and local skills. There's a local Folk Museum, and yes, souvenirs are for sale but these are not rich people, a purchase is better than a gift.
- Bazaar (2 hours): Famous throughout Asia, this ancient market attracts locals and merchants from all over Xinjiang and nearby countries such as Pakistan and Kirghizstan. There are wonderful, offerings of dried fruit and delicacies, clothes, shoes, leather, textiles, rugs and carpets as well as scarves, souvenirs and other goods in an eclectic mix that appeals to traveler and native alike. Open all week, Sunday's the big day when the farmers come to town, and those who still prefer to shop at the market rather than city shops. Bazaar especially Sunday Bazaar is a very interesting place so many foreigners'main purpose in Kashgar is to visit the Bazaar.
- Zhiren Street (1 hour): It is close to Id Kah Mosque, an old street with an amazing range of goods being crafted for sale by hand , from strictly utilitarian cookware to exotic musical instruments. There's not much light industry in Kashgar, so everything is hand-made or imported from a very distant place. Copper, metal, porcelain, woodwork, jewellery and other goods are seen to be made and you will marvel at incredible devices like the wooden objects that prevent babies from wetting the bed.
- Nuolan Restaurant: The restaurant is located near the Id Kah Mosque. It specializes in Moslem food. Dishes like raised chicken and lamb are recommended. It is well decorated in a Uygur’ style. Wine is not allowed here.

- Yarkant King: This city forms an oasis at the western end of the Taklimakan desert as a trade center. Mainly inhabited by Turkic-speaking Muslims, it has more than 120 mosques. Marco Polo visited the city in 1271 and in 1275; it was on the important Silk Road between China and Europe.
- Amannishahan (30 minutes): The Uygurs are excellent at dancing. The "12 Mukams" (opera) is an epic comprising more than 340 classic songs and folk dances. After liberation, this musical treasure, which was on the verge of being lost, was collected, studied and recorded by Amannisha who is the concubine of Yarkant King.She died aged 34.
- Mila Ti: A typical Xinjiang restaurant serving lamb chops, saute spicy chicken, rice soup and barbecue. On special occasions the staff may sing traditional songs.

- Mallikurwatur Ruins (30 minutes): Also known as Mallikurwatur Ruins, the ancient city lies 25 km southwest of Hetian, on the west bank of the Jade Dragon Kashgar River. Situated on a 1500 m long belt, it is believed to be the ancient city of Yutian Kingdom although disputes claim it used to be a monastery compound. From 1977, potsherds, ancient coins and other items have been excavated.
- Local Restaurant: The limited restaurant options mean that there is no choice available however our guide will organize the best available based on the season and the surroundings.

- Subash Anceint City (2 hours): Though it remains only as ruins, it was the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Guici. The city is believed to be even older than the ancient Harappan civilization, which dates back around 4,000 years.
- GuiCiLvZhouShengTaiYuan: Kuche is a small city on the Silk Road. Most people in this city are Chinese, so this restaurant is a typical Han Chinese restaurant. After you've have had enough lamb you might like to try something different like GongBao Chicken and MA Po Bean Curd

- Grand Kuqa Mosque: It is the second biggest mosque in Xinjiang, first built in the 17th century, but after the burnt down it was rebuilt in 1931. The great praying hall, which can accommodate 1000 prayers, is supported by 88 pillars, embellished with carved designs and in many colors, a fine example of Uygur architecture.
- Local Restaurant: The limited restaurant options mean that there is no choice available however our guide will organize the best available based on the season and the surroundings.

- The Karez Wells (40 minutes): This irrigation system of wells connected by underground channels is considered to be one of the three great ancient projects in China. The Karez Wells Folk Garden and Museum is located adjacent to Turpan, 3 kilometers east of the city center. The famous fruit and vineyards of these hot, dry desert communities owe their existence to the Karez wells, ancient underground irrigation channels fed by wells that tap into the snowmelt from surrounding mountains. These systems are still maintained and functioning today. A small museum provides an insight into their intriguing history and construction, and takes you below ground for a first-hand view.
- The Ruins of the Ancient City of Jiaohe (2 hours): The Jiaohe Ruins are the biggest, oldest and best-preserved city of its construction in the world. Jiaohe was built by the ancient Cheshi people in the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC) and the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). Located in the Yarnaz Valley, 8 km (5 mi) west of Turpan, it was dug out of and constructed from the yellow-gray parched ground of a narrow 30-meter-high, 1.5-km-long vertical sided island in a river. It is a good vantage point for seeing the surrounding landscape of vineyards and orchards followed by desert and mountains.
- Red Rose Restaurant: Red Rose Restaurant is located near the Turpan Museum. It is an authentic Uygur restaurant mainly providing Uygur cuisine in local. Dishes like Xinjiang rice and lamb chop are recommended.

- Pass through the Flaming Mountain (10 minutes): The Flaming Mountains, the hottest place in China, overshadow the cradle of the Turpan ancient civilization and oasis agriculture. They provide a spectacular backdrop to the oases and scenery of the Turpan area, and have given rise to many legends and stories, such as the classic "Journey to the West".
- Tuyoq Village and Tuyugou Canyon (1.5 hours): The Tuyugou Great Canyon is 46 kilometers away from Shanshan county in the east, 47 kilometers from Turpan city in the west and 13 kilometers from the Gaochang Ancient City in the southwest.Among the canyons in the Flame Mountain which extends nearly one hundred kilometers, the Tuyugou Great Canyon is the canyon with the longest culture and the most mighty and majestic natural landscapes.



Tuyoq is a traditional village of vineyards, orchards, narrow streets and irrigation channels tumbling between ancient mudbrick houses and shady trees against the backdrop of the bare, red Flaming Mountains. An easy and pretty walk takes you to a group of very ancient caves carved into the mountainside. You can stop and enjoy the surroundings, or climb the steep stairways to view some of the caves, parts of their frescoes still visible, with both Buddhist and Nestorian connections.
- Local Restaurant: The limited restaurant options mean that there is no choice available however our guide will organize the best available based on the season and the surroundings.