Some journeys change the scale by which you understand a country. Xinjiang is one of them.

The road leads across landscapes whose dimensions only become real when travelled slowly and personally. Along the edges of the Taklamakan Desert, through its immense interior, onwards to Kashgar and into the Pamir Mountains, the journey unfolds through salt lakes, dune fields, oasis towns, glacier fed lakes and mountain horizons shaped by Muztagh Ata, the Father of Icebergs.

We know this journey from the road. On our own scouting expedition, we crossed the Taklamakan Desert, stayed deep inside its vastness, travelled through Kashgar and continued towards Tashkurgan and China’s borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan. We explored the Pamir plateau, travelled beneath the glaciers of Muztagh Ata and continued through the wider landscapes of Xinjiang, from ancient Silk Road settlements to remote mountain formations and desert roads that seem to disappear into the horizon.

This experience matters. Xinjiang rewards careful planning, an understanding of great distances, altitude, access conditions and the quality of accommodation available along each route. It also rewards time. Time to stop at a roadside workshop in Kashgar. Time to watch the morning light move across a glacier lake. Time to follow a desert road towards a place that seemed to exist only as a name on the map.

A journey through Xinjiang with China Serendipity is designed around you. A shorter itinerary may focus on Kashgar and the Pamir Mountains. A longer expedition may include a crossing of the Taklamakan Desert, nights in its interior, Turpan, Shipton’s Arch and further stretches of the Silk Road.

Xinjiang is vast, remote and extraordinary. This example journey is an invitation to begin planning your own route through one of China’s most compelling landscapes.

Become inspired first. Let’s Plan Your Xinjiang Journey after.