"Silk Road Treasures" | 6-Day Cultural Journey Through
It all begins with an idea.
Day 1: First Glimpse of Kashgar – The Journey Begins
Arrival in Kashgar | Airport Pickup
"If you haven’t been to Kashgar, you haven’t truly been to Xinjiang."
Kashgar, anciently known as Shule, was one of the major kingdoms of the Western Regions’ Thirty-Six States. Bordered by the Taklamakan Desert to the east, Tajikistan to the west, and Afghanistan and Pakistan to the southwest, it has been a crossroads of civilizations for millennia.
Mentioned in The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions as "Shule, also called Qusha," its recorded history dates back to 200 BC.
In 128 BC, imperial envoy Zhang Qian visited during his expedition to the Western Regions.
By 60 BC, Shule came under Han Dynasty rule. 116 AD: Buddhism became the state religion.675 AD: The Tang Dynasty established the Anxi Protectorate here. 840 AD: The region fell under the Turkic Kara-Khanid Khanate, adopting the name Kashgar.
960 AD: Islam became the state religion.
Accommodation: Kashgar
Day 2: The Desert’s Call & Silk Road Melodies
Kashgar → Maigaiti N39 Desert (3h drive)
Morning:Attend the Kashgar Old City Opening Ceremony (10:30 AM), tracing its history from the Han Dynasty to the legend of the Fragrant Concubine.
Sip tea in a traditional Uyghur teahouse, listening to live performances of the dutar, rawap, qanun, and daf.
Visit a master craftsman of Uyghur musical instruments (5th-generation inheritor).
Afternoon:
Journey into the Taklamakan Desert—China’s largest desert and the world’s 10th-largest.
Camel ride across golden dunes, then meet a desert rally driver for thrilling stories.
Accommodation: Desert Camp
Day 3: Kashgar’s Van Gogh & Immersive Theater
Maigaiti Desert → Kashgar (3h drive)
Morning:
Explore the Id Kah Mosque, Central Asia’s largest mosque, blending Islamic and Uyghur architecture.
Afternoon:
Meet "Kashgar’s Van Gogh"—a local artist—and paint your vision of the ancient city.
Evening:
Watch Meet Kashgar, an immersive theater spectacle combining digital projections, music, and dance to recount the Silk Road’s legacy.
Accommodation: Kashgar
Day 4: Tiffany-Blue Lakes & Guardians of the Frontier
Kashgar → Karakoram Highway → White Sand Lake → Tashkurgan (5.5h total drive)
Morning:
Drive the Karakoram Highway (world’s highest-elevation international road) to White Sand Lake, its milky-blue waters mirroring snow-capped peaks.
Afternoon:
Continue to Tashkurgan and visit Tajik border guards, who’ve patrolled these remote frontiers for generations.
Accommodation: Tashkurgan
Day 5: Ancient Stone Fortress & the "Father of Glaciers"
Tashkurgan → Stone Fortress → Muztagh Ata Glacier → Kashgar (5h total drive)
Morning:
Explore the Stone Fortress, ruins of the ancient Puli Kingdom, one of China’s last surviving stone cities.
Wander Golden Grass Wetlands, where nomads once roamed.
Afternoon:
Visit Muztagh Ata Glacier Park, nicknamed "Father of Glaciers" for its eternal snows.
Return to Kashgar.
Day 6: Farewell, Southern Xinjiang
Airport Transfer | Departure End of Journey