19 Days Xinjiang China and Uzbekistan Tour

Welcome to Kashgar, the ancient city with special local cultural and ethnic characteristics along the Silk Road. Be transferred to the hotel. Relax and prepare for your Natural Wonder and Culture Adventure.

Today you will enjoy a full day excursion of Kashgar. Pay a visit to Id Kah Mosque, the largest Mosque in China and the most sacred mosque for the locals to practise their Islamic activities at 09:00. Continue the visiting to Old Town at 10:30 with the open ceremony of Maxilap show. Come and Join the exciting movement in this well-preserved Uighur residential area.Our speciality: Relaxing in the Hundred-years Tea house,taste the local rose tea and nang-bread!

After Lunch in the local Restaurant. Continue to visit the Handicraft street, it gathered hundreds of handicraft workshops, which has become a boutique exhibition for handicraft in Kashgar and Central Asia.

Then drive to Sunday Bazaar that is combined two section. The covered bazaar sells the clothing, nuts, household goods and many things out of your imagination. It is quite interesting to witness their typical methods of bargin.  Return to hotel for the night and have a good rest!

In the morning, enjoy your nice buffet breakfast. At 09:00 your guide and driver will meet you at hotel lobby to start the adventure. Driving on the China and Pakistan highway about 4hrs to enjoy the landscape of Pamirs Plateau. After about 40mins driving. we stop in the Opal village to visit the traditional bustling bazaar. Then continue to drive, we will visit the White Sand Lake, with Withe Sand Mountain on the way. No matter in sunny days or cloudy days, the lake is always in light blue and looks like a blue ribbon gently stroking the mountains besides it.

On the way, you can experience beautiful Karakul Lake where the herds of livestock around the lakeside are reflected in lake Kirghiz herdsmen usually settle down and graze their herds before shuttling you onward to Taxkorgan.

Stay one night and explore its peculiar folk customs of Tajik nationality. Taste snack and milk tea provided by local herdsman and spend your rest of day at leisure.

Driving back to Kashgar. On the way, you will visit the Stone Fortress. The city is oval in shape and the city walls were built with sun-dried bricks on stone foundation. It is 1285 meters in circumference outside. Walking around the pastureland to see Local Tajiks customs. There is a vast grassland just below the relics -- Golden Wetland. New wooden pathways have been built recently, so that you can stroll around the grassland and take the best panoramic photo of stone fortress.

Afternoon back to Kashgar and transfer to the train station to take the overnight train to Kuqa.

Our first stop is  Kizil Grottoes, located on the northern bank of the Muzat River 65 kilometers west of Kuqa and the earliest major Buddhist cave complex in China. Walk through the caves and enjoy Buddhist cultural feast across centuries. Pay avisit to the Tianshan Great Canyon, which is the excellent geological park all over the world. It recorded the whole process of crustal movement in Xinjiang during the past 400 million years.

Today there is an option to visit  Kizilgaha Beacon Tower. Locating 10 km outside Kuqa, the Kizilgaha Beacon Tower provide security for traveling caravans on the Silk Road and prevent enemy invasions. Round earth tower built with a wooden roof, it rises to the sky in the middle of the desert landscape as typical scenery of the region. 

Then continue your trip to Subash Ruins to experience an exotic sight more than one thousand years ago. Return to downtown and stroll around the Kuqa Old City to explore the local lifestyle.

Be transferred to the train station and take the overnight train to Urumqi.

Morning arrive in Urumqi. We will drive 1.5 hours to entrance of the Heavenly Lake about 08:30, following is the 40-minutes shuttle bus twisting through the picturesque Tianshan mountains to the edge of the Lake. Either Trek around the lake, enjoy the boating cruise, or even take the cable car to the explore the Maya Mountain for the incredible view of Bogoda Peak.

Lunch will be arranged in the Yurt of the local Kazakhs. Back to Urumqi and head to Xinjiang Regional Museum, where are many archaeological treasures of the Silk Road and Xinjiang's minority cultures. You will learn about the history of Xinjiang and its peculiar ethnic customs. If time allowed, you will visit Grand International Bazaar and have dinner there.

After breakfast, the good day begins. First we drive to Tuyoq Village which is an ancient oasis-village in the Taklamakan desert, 70 km east of Turpan in a lush valley cutting into the Flaming Mountains and famous for its seedless grapes and a number of ancient Buddhist meditation caves nearby containing frescos. Then we make our way to Bezekilik Thousand Buddha Caves which are a complex of Buddhist cave grottos dating from the 5th to 14th century between the cities of Turpan and Shanshan (Loulan) at the northeast of the Taklamakan Desert near the ancient ruins of Gaochang in the Mutou Valley. Finally our scenic bus will take you to Astana  Tombs, a complex of an ancient tomb where you can see many well- preserved aretifacts including mummies. 

Today you will have a full day to explore this fertile oasis. We will take you to visit Turpan Museum, to explore the local culture and history. Pay a visit to Karez Well irrigation system that produce the best melons and grapes in China. Following is the visiting to Sugong Minaret, a conduit for cultural exchange between different ethnic and religious groups.

Afterwards explore Jiaohe Ruins, resembles Pompeii, but 300 years older, where you can experience the way of life of the Uighur ancestors.

Say goodbye to Turpan and then 4 hours train ride to Liuyuan Station, Dunhuang. Drive another 2hours to the Echoing Sand Mountain & Crescent Lake, where you can ride the camels for 40mins to experience the beautiful dessert scenery. 

After an extraordinary day, freshen up and enjoy a good dinner, we continue to appreciate the bustling Shazhou Night Markets dotted with special commodities and souvenirs.

we will be visiting the Yumenguan Pass, it got the name because the famous Khotan jade entered the Dunhuang from here. Yumenguan pass and Yangguan pass were the two critical defensive passes protecting Dunhuang from invasion from the West about thousands of year ago. From here you can not only learn more history and culture about the ancient Silk Road, but also learn many famous poems of Tang Dynasty. 

Thereafter, we will travel to the amazing Yardan National Geological Park, also called "Yadan Ghost City", which is the largest one of Yadan Landform found so far. The park stretches twenty-five kilometers from north to south and about two kilometers from east to west. It features the unique and wonderful scenes and landscapes of Gobi desert.

Continue our silk road travel, today our professional tour guide will bring you to travel to Dunhuang, it is the best place where you can explore Chinese history and culture. Our first destination is Mogao Grottoes, also known as the Thousand Buddha Caves, this UNESCO World Heritage site is one of the great artistic and religious wonders of the world and it is famous for its exquisite murals and various sculptures inside the caves, which was built in different dynasties, spanning 1,000 years of Buddhist art. Then we will explore the Dunhuang Museum, to explore the local culture and history.

Afterwards, say goodbye to Dunhuang and you will be transferred to the train station of Liuyuan, then take high-speed train to Urumqi. Upon arrival, be transferred to the airport to catch you flight to Tashkent.

Today you will have a full day dedicated to a sightseeing tour in Tashkent. We will firstly visit Independence Square, which is the main square of the country and was erected as a symbol of victory over fascism in World War II. Then we will have a chance to walk along the local Broadway, a walking street between Independence Square and Amir Timur Square.

Afterwards, we will take a ride on the famous Tashkent Metro, among the most beautiful subways in the world. The first line was opened in 1977. Then you will visit the old part of the city, which includes Chorsu Bazaar, Kukaldash Madrasah, and the Hast Imam Complex, which consists of several madrasahs, mosques, and mausoleums. The highlight of its exhibits is the Othman Quran, which is the world’s oldest Quran copy, dating back to the 8th century. The Quran belonged to Othman Ibn Affan, the Third Caliph (of the four righteous Caliphs who succeeded the prophet Muhammad). Othman was killed by non-Muslims in the 8th century. His blood spread over the Quran that you can still see on its pages.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the railway station in Tashkent to catch the fast train to Samarkand. Samarkand is situated in the valley of the river Zerafshan. It is the second largest city in Uzbekistan and is of the same age as the cities of Babylon and Rome.

We will firstly pay a visit to its most outstanding sights, such as Registan Square, Shakhi-Zindeh, Mausoleum of Guri Emir and Bibi Khanum Mosque. Registan Square, a complex of three fascinating Madrasahs dating back to the 15th and 17th centuries, is the main highlight of Samarkand and no one can stop admiring its beauty and majesty. The architectural complex of Shakhi-Zindeh represents a large collection of mausoleums dating back to the 11th–15th centuries, being a part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After his successful campaign in India, Bibi Khanum Mosque was built in honor of her favorite, Tamerlane's wife.

Today we will continue exploring Samarkand city. We will visit the Afrasiab Museum to learn the history of Samarkand and ancient Silk Road. Then we'll visit the Tomb of Saint Daniel. On the shore of Siab, a small tributary of Zerafshan River, there is a sacred place, which keeps the relics of Daniel, the Old Testament Biblical Prophet. Another version says that there are the relics of Daniyol (or Danier), an associate of the Arab preacher Kussama ibn Abbas. But all versions agree that Danier is the Saint and pilgrims from all the three world religions come here to worship him.

In addition, you will visit a Carpet Factory, a unique handmade carpet factory where over 400 women sew carpets without using traditional techniques.

Today we will have a morning fast train to Bukhara to start our full-day city tour of this fascinating city! At first, we will visit the most ancient citadel in Bukhara, dating back to the 4th century, named Citadel Ark, which served as a palace for several dynasties of the Bukhara Empire. Then we will see the Samanids' Mausoleum, a real masterpiece of architecture of the 9th–10th century.

Afterwards, continue to visit Chashma Ayub, meaning Job's well, and Bolo-Hauz Mosque, also known as the mosque of forty columns, built in honor of Bukhara governor Abu-Fayud Khan. Then we will have a chance to walk along the shopping domes and visit one of the most famous madrasahs in Bukhara called Nodir Divan Begi, which is also a part of the Lyabi House Ensemble, the famous central sightseeing of Bukhara.

The tour will end with a visit to the Poi Kalon Complex, a unique example of the architectural art of Bukhara. It consists of three structures built in the 12th–16th centuries: the Kalon minaret, the Kalon mosque, and the Mir Arab Madrasah.

After enjoying your buffet breakfast in the hotel, we will start our sightseeing tour in the surrounding area of Bukhara. Our first stop is the Bahauddin Naqshbandi Complex, located a few kilometers from Bukhara. It is a memorial complex for a famous Sufi leader and philosopher and one of the Muslim pilgrimage places for all people of the Islamic world. Sheikh Bakhauddin Nakshbandi was one of the spiritual masters of Amir Timur. Today, the complex consists of the mosques of Kushbegi and Muzafarohana, a courtyard with a pool, a madrasah, and the burial vaults of Bukhara rulers and Dakhma, upon the tomb of Saint Bakhauddin Nakshbandi.

Then we will drive to see the country residence of the Bukhara Emirs, named the Sitorai Mohi Hossa Complex. The palace is a sample of the combination of various architectural styles. The Emir named the palace on behalf of his wife, who died young, "Star-like and Moon-like Palace". After excursions, we will transfer to Bukhara railway station to depart for Tashkent.

After breakfast, we will have a leisure time by strolling around the city. You can choose to visit Navoi Theater Square, Barak-Khan Madrasah and Kaffal-Shashi Mausoleum. Or just have a free time to walk around the city and go to local shops. Since your tour is about to the end, we strongly recommend you to enjoy your time by freely exploring the capital city of Uzbekistan and finding something interesting to buy as gift or souvenirs.

There are no activities planned for today. You will end your tour and say goodbye to Uzbekistan. We will arrange the airport transfer for you, wish you have a pleasant journey home! If you still want to travel to other places on the silk road, we will be very happy to help you for your next trip.