Overview of Xinjiang
The autonomus regions of Xinjiang, located in the western side of China, just next to Tibet has a mixed reputation...both good and bad.
Prior to 2025, it has never crossed my mind of visiting this place. The only reason I said "OK, let's do this" is when my daughter met a friend at Waseda University from the region. She told my girl that Xinjiang is incredible and that most Chinese would want to come here at least once in their life...that is over 1.4 billion of the population. After my visit, I must say that I have become an ambassador. So yes, you must absolutely, without a doubt, put Xinjiang in your bucket list and visit this at least once in your life!
Why? In my opinion, this is one of the few places in China that has good scenery, good sightseeing places, good hikes, and good food (and fruits). The region split into 2 - North and South, North Xinjiang is where one goes for gorgeous scenery a la Switzerland and snow mountains. South Xinjiang is part of the famed Silk Road where it consists of desert landscape but great for fruit orchard (due to irrigation) and steeped in history.
So, how does one go about visiting Xinjiang?
To travel both the North and South, one will need about 14-18 days. If you are rushed for time and for the more popular region, you would choose the North Xinjiang for about 8-12 days. And that's what we did. Since the travel distance is about 300-400km each day, we chose to hire a driver from a traval agency versus driving the car ourselves. We compared prices from several travel agencies and chose Silk Road Travel based in Urumqi. A very close alternative (in terms of prices, accommodation and sights) is Xian travel - yes, we chose them for our travels in Xi'an.
All we did is to book the return flights from Singapore to Urumqi (with a stop at Beijing). The driver will pick us up from the airport and the agency will settled the rest...easy!
Here is the itinerary:
- Day 1: Arrival in Urumqi + drop off at hotel for check-in and rest. If you are up for it, you can visit the Xinjiang Museum after dropping off the bags and then dinner.
- Day 2: drive from Urumqi to Fuyun. Visit the Heavenly Lake (feel and look like New Zealand's Milford Sound but at the highlands). Drive to Fuyun for the night.
- Day 3: drive to Altay. Visit a mine (yes, a real one that they found Be, Ta and many other metals) and visit a bell-shaped mountain. If you arrive early, you can do a really nice hike.
- Day 4: drive to Hemu. Visit the village of Hemu. You will need to prepare small bag for 1N sstay as only coaches are allowed into the village. This reminds me of Japan's Shirakawa-go (but with better food) and you can hike here to the hilltop where you can see the entire village.
- Day 5: drive to Kanas. Same procedure as Hemu. Kanas is another village where you will need to pack a bag for a 1N stay. And this is the one that looks like Switzerland - I have not been to Switzerland (yet) but that's what everyone says. But the village has great food and great scenery. Oh yes, if you wish to climb the Fish Pavilion, remember to bring good shoes.
- Day 6: spend tiem at the Kanas blue lake before drive to Burqin. Visit the 5-colored beach. This is similar to Oregon's Painted Hills where the hills are made of multi-layers of yellow, red and brown.
- Day 7: drive to Kuitun. Visit the Urho Ghost City - I would not be surprised if they told me this is the filing location for Tattooine (yes, Star Wars).
- Day 8: drive to Urumqi. Visit the Dushanzi Grand Canyon before heading to the capitol for some shopping (Grand Bazaar) and dinner.
- Day 9: flight home
Yes, knowing what I now know, I would still recommend visiting Xinjiang.
Do choose the North, and extend if possible for perhaps another 2 days to make it 10-11 days. We chose the 4-star pacakage and was very happy. But if money is not a big issue, do opt for the 5-star package. ...obviously, the rooms will be nicer and the food much better.
Oh yes, do not miss buying fruit - Xinjiang is one of the main agricultrual region in Chian and they grow grapes, plums, melons, etc. In fact, the flavor of the cantaloupe / honey melon actually comes a very close second to the ones from Japan...seriously!