15 Days Xinjiang New Orient Express Train Tour in September

Day 1: Urumqi Arrival

Fly to Urumqi, airport to hotel transfer

Check into 5 star hotel . Urumqi Hilton hotel or similar

Day 2: Urumqi- the heavenly lake- New Orient Express train to Beitun(BLD）

After breakfast, drive to the famous alpine lake, a landmark tourist attraction in Xinjiang and a national tourist scenic spot  The heavenly lake which covers an area of approximately 4.9 square kilometers and the deepest point of the lake is 105 meters. Viewed from the top of the mountain, it looks like a bright mirror, nestled in a pine forest canyon with an altitude of more than 1,900 meters.

Return to Urumqi in the afternoon and visit the national first-level museum Xinjiang Museum, which is called "Recovering the Past Glory of the Western Regions - Xinjiang Historical Relics" with more than 37,000 cultural relics and specimens of various types, including 381 national first-class cultural relics.

Next stop would be the famous Erdaoqiao International Grand Bazaar. The dazzling array of ethnic specialties and handicrafts here will definitely make you addicted. After dinner, board the New Oriental Express to Beitun and officially start your journey on the New Oriental Express! 

Day 3: Beitun- Burqin- Kanas(BLD)

Arrive by New Orient Express in Beitun in the morning and drive to Kanas Scenic Area. Kanas means "beautiful, rich, mysterious" in Mongolian.Its beauty can be described as overwhelming. Take the shuttle bus into the scenic area, passing through: Tuojing Bay, Rowan Valley, Birch Forest, Wolong Bay, Moon Bay, Shenxian Bay,

Yaze Lake, its beautiful scenery and its name will be engraved in your mind. It is quiet and beautiful, and it is a paradise on earth that can purify people's soul.

Next we will go to Fish Pavilion , take a bus to the middle of the mountain, walk up the 1068 steps, and climb

Go to the top of the mountain and overlook the panoramic view of Kanas. After the tour, drive to Beitun City and check into the hotel after dinner

Day 4: Kanas-Hemu- Jiadengyu(BLD)

After breakfast, drive to Hemu Village. It is the largest of the Tuva villages and has the reputation of "China's No. 1 Village". The residents are basically nomadic, the houses here are all built of logs, which not only fills the village with an original flavor, but also keeps the ancient hemp trees mysterious.

Hemu's small river, wooden houses, cooking smoke, birch forests and people grazing on the bridge combine to form beautiful landscape paintings. Hemu Bridge is the symbol of Hemu Village.

This ancient wooden bridge has a history of more than 100 years. In the past 100 years, it has withstood the impact of the Kanas Glacier several times. The locals can recall it when they see the Hemu Bridge.

Check into the hotel after dinner

Day 5: Jiadengyu- Chonghuerha Kazak Family visit- Five Color Pond- Beitun(BLD)

Enjoy a leisure morning at beautiful Hemu Village. About noon time, we will go to Hezilhaying Village, Chonghur Town Kazakh Home Visit, and taste delicious and authentic Kazakh family food in an authentic Kazakh house.

While enjoying the beautiful and melodious Kazakh national music. In the afternoon, visit Five Color pond to see its unique Yadan landform: undulating valleys and dressing-like slopes.

It is even more beautiful under the setting sun. After dinner, Board New Orient Express train to Beitun

Day 6: Syram lake – Yining(BLD)

Morning time, we will reach Jinghe station by New Orient Express train and drive about 1.5 hr to reach Syram lake . Syram lake was the largest cold water lake with highest elevation in Xinjiang, it is referred to be the last tear drop from the West Atlantic ocean with flowers of colors spreading around the lake in the spring under blue sky and the sun light shining on the lake surface, make it breathtakingly beautiful.

After visit of Syram lake, we will head toward Yining and on the way shall pass by Guoziguo Bridge– the first pass to Yili. Guoziguo acts as the door keeper of Yili , cost 2.4 billion to complete the constructions with a total length of 700m, the height is of 200m.

When we reach Yining, we will make a visit to the reputed Liuxing Street (about 1 hr visit) which is full of northern Xinjiang Folk culture and handicrafts 

Day 7 Yining-Naraty-Duku Road- Bayanbulak（BLD）

After breakfast, we will head towards to Naraty Grassland, one of the four largest alpine valley grasslands in the world, also known as "Gongnaisi" grassland. In Turkic language, it means "White Yang Slope" since ancient times.

It has been a famous ranch ever since. Under the majestic snow-capped mountains, wild lilies, tulips, red poppies, and purple sage bloom from the foot of the mountain to the top.At the top, the overwhelming posture turned the entire grassland into a dream paradise. Snow kisses the blue sky, fog surrounds the pine forest, the mountains are stacked, the green grass is refreshing, the birds are flying and the butterflies are dancing.The cattle and sheep are leisurely, carrying the clear springs of the river as jade pendants, and wearing snow-capped spruce as neon clothes. The artistic conception of truth, goodness and beauty, and the shock deep in the soul, are unforgettable.

Then we will change to a 7-seater vehicle to set off and take the famous Duku Highway to the small town of Bayanbulak town

Note: Bayanbulak is not open to foreign passport holders but Hongkong/Macau/Taiwanese are allowed

For foreign passport holders, after 5 hrs experience of Duku Highway, we will drive to Kuqa for overnight stay.

Day 8: Bayanbulak- Duku road- Kuqa(BLD)

After breakfast, we will visit the famous , Bayinbulak Grassland, located in the northwest of Hejing County, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. in the middle of the Tianshan Mountains, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, with an altitude of about 2,500 meters and an area of 23,835 square kilometers, it is the second largest grassland in China, second only to the Erdos grassland of Inner Mongolia. Bayinbulak means "rich spring" in Mongolian. Experience the southern section of Duku Highway, enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way, and visit [Big and Small Dragon Ponds] on the way. Arrive in Kuqa in the evening and arrange to check into the hotel.

Note: Bayanbulak Grassland is not open to foreign passport holders, we will visit Kuqa Grand Canyon National Geopark and Kangcun Scenic Area in Age Township. But Hongkong/Macau/Taiwanese are allowed

Xinjiang Kuqa Grand Canyon National Geopark is located in Kuqa City, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It consists of the Grand Canyon Scenic Area and the Big and Small Dragon Pond Scenic Area, with a total area of 108 square kilometers. It is characterized by canyons developed in the Cenozoic red sandstone. There are Quaternary glacial relics, Yadan landforms and other landscapes

Kangcun Scenic Area in Age Township, The village is also known as the first village in Duku. Although it is located near Age Township in the Kucha section of the Duku Highway, if you don’t find the introduction board in the picture below in time, you may miss this small beautiful village

Day 9: Kuqa- Tianshan Grand Canyon-Kuqa Palace- Restan old street- New Orient Express to Kashgar(BLD)

After breakfast,drive to the ending point of Duku road, here will the stunning view of Tianshan Grand Canyon. Tianshan Grand Canyon is referred to be one of ten most beautiful canyon in China. In Ughur language , Tianshan Grand Canyon means “ Red Cliff”. It located in deep valley surround by sand but with clean and clear spring running inside which is kind of miracle of nature. We shall spend 2 hrs time to explore this grand canyon

Next visit will be Kuqa Palace  which covers an area of 40,000 square meters and displays the architectural features of Han culture, Uyghur and Islamic styles in the Central Plains. Here you can feel. Come to the splendor of the Qianlong period and experience the long history of more than 190 years with 12 generations of hereditary "Kings of Kuqa". The Kuqa Palace includes the Palace Exhibition Area, Kucha Museum Exhibition Area,

Then we will visit Restan Old Street: Restan means shopping mall or market in Uyghur. This has always been the most prosperous business center in Kuqa and is a popular spot on Kuqa’s internet. Random shops, various buildings with mottled textures, time-honored shops and authentic snack bars...the scenery on the old street Here you can feel the living conditions of Western Region civilization

Day 10 Kashgar- White sand lake- Karakul lake- Taxkorgan（BLD）

Morning time reach Kashgar, we shall arrive in Kashgar and drive along the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway to the roof of the world - Pamir Plateau. Along the way, you can enjoy the Gezi Canyon, Gezi Station, Liusha River, Red Mountain, etc. famous landscape, arrive at Karakul Lake (visit time: 40 minutes).  Karakul means "Black Sea", with an altitude of 3600 meters, a lake depth of 30 meters, and a total area of 10 square kilometers. It is a rare plateau lake in the world. It is surrounded by ice peaks and snow ridges. You can see the world-famous peaks above 7000m above sea level - Kunlun Mountains up close, such as: Gonggeer Peak (7719m), Gonggeer Jiubie Peak (7530m), Muztage Peak (7546m). Three mountains stand tall, like jade pillars supporting the sky, standing tall in the sky. The Pamir Plateau is very spectacular, and then we will go to Taxkorgan county, where we will have authentic Taxkorgan yak hot pot for dinner, and then check into the hotel.

We will make a visit to the Tajik family before reaching Taxkorgan to experience life style and culture of Tajik family.

Day 11 : Stone fotress--Golden grassland- -Kashgar(BLD)

After breakfast, drive to Stone Fortress (Visit time: 1 hour). Stone Fotress is located on the north side of Taxkorgan Autonomous County and is a famous site on the ancient Silk Road. With an altitude of 3,700 meters, it occupies an important position and is majestic. From the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, expansion and garrisoning continued, and the highest point of the city wall reached more than 20 meters. There are many buildings outside the city. The city walls are intermittent or continuous, the stone mounds overlap between the partition walls, and the rocks are piled up, forming a unique stone city scenery. In the early Yuan Dynasty, stone city underwent extensive construction and expansion. The old Stone City has a new look. In the 28th year of Guangxu's reign, the Qing government established Puli Hall here and repaired the castle. Then go to see  Golden Grassland (visit time : 1 hour). Take photos and take a break. .

Afterwards, we drove back to Kashgar and visited White Sand lake and White Sand mountain (referred to as Baisha Lake,visit time:40 minutes), which is characterized by blue sky, white clouds, snow. The original ecological picture of 3,300 meters above sea level formed by mountains, sand lakes and sand mountains is also a must-see when visiting Kashgar. Check into the hotel after dinner.

Day 12 Kashgar – New Orient Express to Turpan(BLD)

After breakfast, we will visit Kashgar old town(visit time: 1.5hrs) to watch the opening ceremony of the city and visit Idk Mosque (visit time: 1hr). After lunch visit Xiangfei Tomb, also called Abakh Hoja Tomb(visit time : 2hrs).  The scenic spot is located in the eastern suburbs of Kashgar City. Xiangfei Garden is named after "Xiangfei". In 1988, it was rated as a national key cultural relics protection unit. Construction and upgrading began in 2014, and the basic renovation was completed in August 2020. After the renovation, the area covers an area from 70 acres to 300 acres. The architectural style highlights the integration of traditional architecture and modern elements. It tells the story of Xiang Fei’s life from three aspects: hometown, former residence and old friends. From birth to death, from Kashgar to Beijing, from a noble princess to a legendary story with thousands of favorites;

Then we will board New Orient Express for Turpan at about 22:00

Day 13  Turpan- The flaming mountain -Karez Well – Grape Valley- Urumqi(BLD)

Arrive in Turpan in the morning, drive to the Flaming Mountain, where Journey to the West was filmed, and feel the enthusiasm of Fire Island! The Flaming Mountain has heavy mountains and bare ridges.No grass grows; in midsummer, when the sun is red in the sky, the earth is steaming, and the flame clouds are swirling around. It looks like a flying fire dragon, which is very spectacular. The reason why the Flame Mountain got its name is becauseIts mountain is composed of red sandstone and conglomerate. Every year in midsummer, when the blazing sun shines on this red mountain, the entire mountain range looks like a line.

The blazing flames licked the sky. The sight is truly breathtaking. Next we will visit the Karez well, one of the three major water conservancy projects in ancient China. The principle of the Karez is to use the natural slope of the mountain to penetrate into the ground in spring and summer. A large amount of rain, glacier and snowmelt water is introduced to the surface for irrigation.With a total length of more than 5,000 kilometers, the karez is a great engineering achievement that embodies the wisdom and creativity displayed by human beings in their struggle with the natural environment.

Creativity.Then we will visit Grape Valley] enjoy Uyghur ethnic songs and dances, and taste the famous fruits

Day 14 Urumqi departure(B)

Hotel to airport transfer and end up the service