Kashgar
This extraordinary natural rock arch (the rather prosaic Uyghur name means simply ‘mountain with a hole in it’) is one of the tallest on earth. The first…
Must-see attractions in Xinjiang
Kashgar
No visit to Kashgar is complete without a trip to the Livestock Market, which takes place once a week on Sunday. The day begins with Uyghur farmers and…
Xinjiang Autonomous Region Museum
Ürümqi
Xinjiang’s massive provincial museum is a must for Silk Road aficionados. The highlight is the locally famous ‘Loulan Beauty’, the first of half a dozen…
Turpan
Also called Yarkhoto, Jiaohe was established by the ancient Jushi kingdom as a garrison town in the 2nd century BC. It’s one of the world’s largest (6500…
Xinjiang
Hotan’s most popular attraction is its weekly Sunday market. The covered market bustles every day of the week, but on Sundays it swamps the northeast part…
Kashgar
Kashgar’s main bazaar is open every day but really kicks it up a gear on Sunday. Step through the jam-packed entrance and allow your five senses to guide…
Turpan
This cave complex, which dates from the 6th to 14th centuries, is located in a mesmerising desert landscape. Bezeklik means ‘Place of Paintings’ in Uyghur…
Xinjiang
This absolute wonder of nature is the first of the big plate-glass lakes you meet as you head up to Tashkurgan on the Karakoram Hwy. Backed by sublime…
Kashgar
The Old Town is the soul of Kashgar, and as such the government has spent much of the past two decades knocking it down block by block and building a…
Xinjiang
Stunning Kanas Lake (哈纳斯湖, Hānàsī Hú) is a long finger of water surrounded by soaring mountain peaks nestled in the southernmost reaches of the Siberian…
Xinjiang
Two thousand metres up in the Tian Shan range is Tian Chi, a small, long steely-blue lake nestled below the view-grabbing 5445m Peak of God (博格达峰, Bógédá…
Turpan
Built to honour Turpan general Emin Hoja, this splendid 44m-high mud-brick structure is the tallest minaret in China. Named Sūgōng Tǎ after Emin’s son…
Turpan
Set in a green valley fringed by the Flaming Mountains, this mud-brick village offers a fascinating glimpse of traditional Uyghur life and architecture…
Turpan
Near the Bezeklik Caves in Turpan are the Flaming Mountains, which appear at midday like multicoloured tongues of fire. The Flaming Mountains were…
Turpan
Xinjiang’s second-largest museum houses a rich collection of relics recovered from archaeological sites across the Turpan Basin, including a superb…
Xinjiang
Vast Sayram Lake, 120km north of Yining and 90km west of Bole, is an excellent spot to get a taste of the Tian Shan range (Tengri Tagh in Kazakh). The…
Xinjiang
The deserts around Hotan are peppered with the faint remains of abandoned cities. The most interesting are those of Melikawat, 25km south of town, a Tang…
Xinjiang
The chief reason to visit Hami is for this wonderfully serene complex of tombs containing the nine generations of Hami kings who ruled the region from…
Xinjiang
This 2600-year-old tomb contains 13 naturally mummified Mongol bodies, still sporting shreds of colourful clothing. What's particularly interesting here…
Kashgar
The yellow-tiled Id Kah Mosque, which dates from 1442, is the spiritual and physical heart of the city. Enormous (it's the largest mosque in Xinjiang),…
Xinjiang
Extraordinarily beautiful Karakul Lake sits below the soaring snowcapped peak of Muztagh Ata (7509m) and has a couple of small Kyrgyz settlements along…
Xinjiang
This gorgeous little Tuvan village is an alternative place to base yourself when you visit Kanas Lake. It's 70km southeast of the lake, but far less…
Kashgar
This 3-hectare mausoleum complex was built by the Khoja family, who ruled the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. Widely considered the holiest Muslim…
Xinjiang
This is the largest cave-art site in Xinjiang and the earliest major Buddhist cave complex in all of China. In its day, the site would have been…
Xinjiang
Subashi was a Buddhist complex that thrived from the 3rd to 13th centuries. It's less visited than other ancient cities in Xinjiang, but with its starkly…
Turpan
Dating from the 1st century, Gaochang rose to power during the Tang dynasty in the 7th century and became the Uyghur capital in AD 850. It was a major…
Xinjiang
If the summer heat of Hami is unbearable, take a day trip out to the cooler climes of Barkol Lake (Bālǐkūn Hú), on the north side of the Tian Shan. Kazakh…
Xinjiang
The main sight in Cherchen itself is this fine example of early-20th-century Kashgarian architecture, built in 1911 for a local warlord. The compound has…
Xinjiang
This 9m-tall ruin is the largest of the southern Silk Road Buddhist stupas yet discovered. Built between the 3rd and 5th centuries for a wealthy Khotanese…
Xinjiang
Hotan's museum is relatively small but well curated and has items labelled in English. The main attractions are a fine painted wooden coffin and two 1500…
Xinjiang
Kuqa's Great Mosque, rebuilt in 1932 on the site of a 16th-century original, is the second largest in Xīnjiāng. (The largest is the Id Kah Mosque in…
Xinjiang
To escape modern Yarkand's uninspiring grid system, take a walk in the Old Town to the east of the Altun Mosque, where craftsmen still work their wares…
Xinjiang
A few kilometres beyond the village of Jiya lies the tomb complex of Imam Asim (Tomb of Four Imams). It’s a popular pilgrimage site, particularly during…
Xinjiang
Northeast of Hotan is the small town of Jíyà (吉亚乡), a traditional centre for silk production. Visitors can wander the workshop (atlas karakhana in Uyghur)…
Hotan Foreign Trade Carpet Factory
Xinjiang
On the eastern bank of the Yurungkash River is this large factory (gilim karakhana in Uyghur). It’s primarily set up for group visits but it's perfectly…
Ürümqi
More of an amusement park than a natural wonder, Hongshan Park is nevertheless a great place to stroll and enjoy the good city views, particularly from…
Xinjiang
Yarkand’s main sights are clustered around its charming central 18th-century mosque. The surrounding sprawling cemetery is home to several other…
Xinjiang
The 1400-year-old stone (tash) fortifications (kurgan) of this fort give the town of Tashkurgan on the Karakorum Hwy its name. The ruins were one of the…
Xinjiang
A couple of blocks southeast of the People's Sq is the Uyghur Old Town and the impressive 260-year-old Shǎnxī Mosque, which looks far more like a piece of…
Kashgar
At the end of a 45km drive northeast of Kashgar are the ruins of Ha Noi, a Tang-dynasty town built in the 7th century and abandoned in the 12th century…
