Border Crossing from Western Mongolia to Xinjiang, China?

I am not sure where you read a contradiction. There are no verified/confirmed reports of foreigners crossing the border at the points that I mentioned. These are local border crossings open only to local persons with proper permits. All reports of international travelers suggest that these crossings are not open to international travelers.

I don't think there are flights from Urumqi to western Mongolia.

There is a train from Urumqi to Almaty, Kazakhstan. There is a flight from Oksemen, Kazakhstan to Ulgit also called Olgii (Ust Kamenogorsk). You can obtain a Kazakh visa in Urumqi. Check with David B at stantour.com for information about the flight which is only once a week.

There is no border crossing in western China between China and Russia.

It would also be possible to travel from China to Kazakhstan to Russia to Mongolia and then across Mongolia and down to Beijing. The crossing from Russia to Mongolia is from Altai to Tsagaan Nuur in Bayan Ulgii province. There is no public transport across the border. There are no trains in this region.

The biggest potential problems with this plan would be obtaining the Russian visa and the Chinese visas. For a fee, the Russian visa can be obtained in Kazakhstan. Contact David B at stantour.com; he is based in Kazakhstan.

The Chinese visas will be more problematic. Currently China requires proof of transport into and out of the country which makes overland travel essentially impossible since train and bus tickets are almost impossible to obtain in advance.

Ruth

In response to the same question, ie. crossing from western Mongolia to Xinjiang 'mongolia expert' wrote;

Hi JGS,
Yes there is. You can either cross from Altai sum(village) in Gobi-Altai Province or Bulgan Sum in Hovd Province. These two border gates open from the 15th to the end of the month. But they don't open at same month. In other words, one opens in July while the other one is closed and next month the other closed one opens and so on....
Good luck
Amara

This was from Sept. 2007, was just wondering if anyone could verify it,

Thanks for the info though, will have to look at this again...

evayasin - mongoliaexpert is a Mongolian resident and with a travel company, Wilderness Adventures. These crossings do exist but they are only open to Mongolians and Chinese, not to international travelers. There are NO verifiable reports of international travelers crossing at these points. I would love to hear otherwise but seriously doubt that it is possible.

Ruth

Guess I should have asked for confirmation. What I referred to above was not long after we had started the Caravan Cafe. I was developing travel services. Can't remember if it was 2000, 2001 or 2002. The people in question were a father and son with Swiss-Brazilian citizenship. The son was an Olympic skier. They had a hired Landcruiser from Tibet and were traveling guided with one of the main, reputable travel work units in Kashgar. I've forgotten details, but had no doubts in my mind that they were well enough connected to make the crossing. I think even at the time I was familiar with the Altai area and that crossing into Mongolia there were not normal border crossing places. So, these people crossing may have been a one-time deal. I believe they did have some high-up diplomatic connections. Sometimes travelers come through Kashgar and you don't know who they are...