Kashgar Tours Silk Road Tours Urumqi Tours Xinjiang Tours 9 Days Trip through Southern Xinjiang

After your arrival in kashgar, begin your walking tour of Kashgar, where you will visit the Id Kah Mosque and Kashgar’s Old City. Enjoy a taste of Kashgar hospitality at a local Uyghur home where you can have lunch and learn how to make some Uyghur dishes if you’d like.Then continue your exploration of Kashgar through the local alleyways, tea shop, and artisans. Finish the evening by visiting a Uyghur restaurant where you can enjoy local music and dancing.

This morning, your guide will meet you at your hotel to begin your tour of Kashgar. Visit the bustling Kashgar Sunday Livestock Market where trade has been going on for over 2,000 years. Then visit Apak Khoja Tomb and Kashgar Bazaar where you can see the beautifully designed carpets and other handicrafts that you will find in local homes.

After breakfast, pick up from hotel and begin drive from Kashgar to Hotan. Follow the Southern Silk Road as you pass through the southern oases of the Taklamakan Desert. After arrival, Check into your hotel and then enjoy a restful night after the long journey.

For over 2,000 years, the Kingdom of Hotan played a very prominent role in life along the southern Silk Road. Many famous traveler and monks like Marco Polo and Xuanzang traveled through this city. Hotan is also famous for its jade and was the principal supplier to the Chinese Emperor, who greatly cherished jade. Apart from jade, Hotan is very famous for its textiles such as silk and carpet weaving. Visit the local silk and carpet workshops found around Hotan and also a traditional paper-making family. Visit to the Ravak Stupa in the desert.

After breakfast at your hotel, continue your journey through the desert highway to Kucha, another important Silk Road city. Upon arrival in Kucha, check into your hotel and enjoy a relaxing evening. Today, Kucha is a small town in Xinjiang, but it was once home to the Kingdom of Qiuci and a very important center for trade and Indo-European culture. The famous Buddhist linguist and scholar, Kumarajiva, is from here and played a very important role in translating Buddhist transcripts from Sanskrit to Chinese and spreading Buddhism from Central Asia into China proper. Kucha music also heavily influence Chinese music and was often played at the court in Chang’an (Xi’an).

After breakfast, being your exploration of Kucha by visiting the ancient ruins from the capital of the Kingdom of Qiuci at Subashi Ancient City. This ancient city dates from the 3rdcen tury, but was sacked and burned in the 9th century, then eventually abandoned by the 13th century. Then visit the Kizil 1000 Buddha Caves which were built between the 3rd and 10th centuries. They are believed to predate and have influenced the more famous Mogao Caves at Dunhuang. The caves were a melting pot of the different cultures found during that time in Kucha with influences from India, Greece, Rome, and Persia. Sadly, many of the best-preserved sculptures and murals were taken back to Europe by the early European explorers but it still makes for a very interesting stop. After your visit to the caves, stop by the Beacon Tower, where fires were lit by soldiers from the Han Dynasty (over 2,000 years ago) to warn of any impeding attacks. Return back to Kucha at your leisure.

Today, enjoy a visit around the city of Kucha. Explore around the “old city” of Kuche where you can experience traditional Uyghur life. Visit the Grand Mosque, local markets, and the vestiges of the Old City wall and cemetery. Evening flight to Urumqi

The hotel is located at the airport, so we will just arrange for the hotel shuttle to take you from hotel airport.