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Silk Road China: Xi'an to Kashgar in 11 Days

The Hexi Corridor, the Mogao Caves and the oasis towns of Xinjiang, ending in Kashgar — long distances, few crowds, real Silk Road history.

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Layered desert ridges in ochre and dusty rose beneath a banded sky, suggesting the oasis route west

Overview

The Silk Road is not one road, and this itinerary does not pretend otherwise. It follows the northern route west — Xi’an, Dunhuang, Turpan, Urumqi, Kashgar — five places that were the trading spine of the route for a thousand years, and it stops at Kashgar because that is where the road leaves China.

Distance is the reality of this trip. Xi’an to Dunhuang is a 2.5 hour flight against a punishing rail journey; Dunhuang to Turpan is an overnight train because there is no fast line across the Hexi Corridor; Urumqi to Kashgar is 12–20 hours by rail and about two by air. We fly where the train would eat a day and sleep on it where the sleeper genuinely saves one. That mix is why eleven days covers ground that would otherwise take three weeks of consecutive travel.

The pace is active: several early starts, two internal flights, one overnight on the rails, and long days on foot at the caves and the ruins. Prices are indicative starting points per person and exclude international flights. May to early October is the working window; July and August are hot enough in Turpan that we reshuffle the days around the heat rather than pretending it is not there.

Why this direction

Starting in Xi’an means starting where the caravans actually began, at the Tang capital, and following them west. It also front-loads the two most famous sites — the Terracotta Army and the Mogao Caves — while everyone is still fresh, and it ends in Kashgar, which is the most atmospheric place on the route and the one worth remembering last.

Reversing it works, but you would open with two flights and an overnight train rather than with the terracotta pits, which is a worse first impression. If your flights land you in Urumqi, tell us and we will turn the itinerary around.

What we deliberately left out

Beijing is left out because it is not on the Silk Road and because it is easy to add separately: 4 h 10 m by high-speed rail to Xi’an, and worth three or four days of its own. Folding it into this itinerary would make the trip a fortnight without making it better.

The Pamir Highway, Karakul Lake and Tashkurgan are left out for a different reason. They need an extra permit, two to three more days and a tolerance for very long drives, and a few border-adjacent areas in Xinjiang are periodically closed to foreigners. If you want that section, raise it at the planning stage rather than on the ground, because it cannot be organised in a day.

Booking notes

One item has a hard deadline: the Mogao Caves, which must be booked up to 30 days ahead and are tied to your passport. Dunhuang is a small city with one great attraction, and the caves set the shape of your dates rather than the other way round.

The rest is logistics we can arrange quickly — internal flights, second-class rail seats, and the soft-sleeper berth on the Dunhuang to Turpan train, which is worth booking early into the May and September windows. Everything is booked against your passport, and that physical passport is your ticket at every station gate and your identification at every hotel.

Trip highlights

  • Follow the Silk Road west from its eastern terminus, from the Tang-era capital at Xi'an to the bazaars of Kashgar
  • See the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang, which have to be booked up to 30 days ahead, then watch the sun drop over Crescent Lake and the Singing Sand Dunes
  • Walk the abandoned Silk Road city of Jiaohe above Turpan, and the Karez wells that made the oasis possible in the first place
  • Take a day out of Urumqi to Tian Shan Tianchi, the alpine lake below the snow line, with the Xinjiang Regional Museum the afternoon before
  • Finish in Kashgar at the old town, the Id Kah Mosque and, if your dates align, the Sunday livestock market

Day-by-day itinerary

  1. Day 1

    Arrive in Xi'an

    Land in Xi'an and transfer from Xianyang airport, 45–60 minutes from the city by shuttle or taxi. Depending on arrival time, a first evening on the Ming city wall or in the Muslim Quarter, which is where the city eats after dark. The trip starts here rather than in Beijing because this is the Silk Road's eastern terminus: the caravans went west from this city for a thousand years.

    Meals: NoneOvernight: Xi'an

  2. Day 2

    The Terracotta Army and the city wall

    Morning at the Terracotta Army, about 40 km east of the city; be at the gate for opening at 08:30 with the ticket pre-booked. Pit 1 first, then the smaller pits and the bronze chariots most visitors walk past. The afternoon is the Ming city wall — 14 km around, cycled or partly walked — and dinner in the Muslim Quarter, where the grills and noodle shops run late.

    Meals: Breakfast, lunchOvernight: Xi'an

  3. Day 3

    Xi'an to Dunhuang

    Morning at the Shaanxi History Museum or the Great Mosque, both worth a couple of hours and neither needing a whole day. Afternoon flight to Dunhuang, about 2.5 hours; the rail alternative is a very long haul, so this is one of the few legs on the route where flying is clearly right. Evening in the night market if you still have the energy.

    Meals: BreakfastOvernight: Dunhuang

  4. Day 4

    The Mogao Caves and the Singing Sand Dunes

    The Mogao Caves are the reason Dunhuang exists, and they have to be booked up to 30 days ahead. Allow most of the morning for the caves and the site museum. In the late afternoon, Crescent Lake and the Singing Sand Dunes sit just outside town, and the ridge above the lake is worth the climb for sunset.

    Meals: Breakfast, lunchOvernight: Dunhuang

  5. Day 5

    Dunhuang and the overnight train west

    A slow morning in Dunhuang: the museum, or the desert edge again if you missed the sunset. The evening train west through the Hexi Corridor is an overnight service in a soft-sleeper berth — not luxurious, but it turns a long day of nothing into a night of sleep and puts you into Turpan in the morning.

    Meals: BreakfastOvernight: Overnight train

  6. Day 6

    Turpan: Jiaohe and the Karez wells

    Arrive in Turpan in the morning and start at Jiaohe, the ruins of a Silk Road city that was abandoned whole and still stands above the river valley. The afternoon covers the Karez wells, the underground irrigation channels that made this oasis work at all, and the Grape Valley, which runs green between bare ridges. Turpan is one of the hottest places in China, so the outdoor sites are front-loaded and the middle of the day is kept shaded.

    Meals: Breakfast, lunchOvernight: Turpan

  7. Day 7

    Turpan to Urumqi

    A short morning train to Urumqi, about an hour. The afternoon is the Xinjiang Regional Museum, which is the best single explanation of the region's mix of peoples and makes sense of everything you have seen so far. Urumqi itself is a modern city and a transport hub rather than a sight; treat it as the base it is.

    Meals: Breakfast, lunchOvernight: Urumqi

  8. Day 8

    Tian Shan Tianchi

    A full day out to Tian Shan Tianchi, the alpine lake below the snow line, which is a drive from Urumqi rather than a walk. Take the boat across the lake or follow the shore path; either way the spruce forest and the altitude make it the coolest day of the trip. Back in Urumqi for the evening.

    Meals: Breakfast, lunchOvernight: Urumqi

  9. Day 9

    Fly to Kashgar

    Fly Urumqi to Kashgar, about two hours. The rail alternative takes 12 to 20 hours, and there is nothing on that stretch worth the trade. The afternoon is Kashgar Old Town, which is lived in rather than staged, and the Id Kah Mosque on the square at its edge.

    Meals: BreakfastOvernight: Kashgar

  10. Day 10

    Kashgar and the Sunday livestock market

    If your dates land on a Sunday, the livestock market outside the city is the thing to see: cattle, sheep, horses and a great deal of negotiation, with very little of it aimed at visitors. If they do not, the old town, the handicraft streets and the tea houses fill a day easily — the market runs on Sundays only and cannot be rearranged. Either way, keep the afternoon free for the old town lanes.

    Meals: Breakfast, lunchOvernight: Kashgar

  11. Day 11

    Depart Kashgar

    Transfer to Kashgar airport for the flight out, which normally routes through Urumqi. Urumqi connects onward to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Xi'an, while Kashgar's own international connections are limited — so allow a night in a hub city if your onward flight is early.

    Meals: BreakfastOvernight: —

What is included

  • Nine nights in 4-star hotels, twin share, breakfast included, plus one night in a soft-sleeper berth on the train west from Dunhuang
  • Second-class seats on the Turpan to Urumqi rail sector
  • Internal flights from Xi'an to Dunhuang and from Urumqi to Kashgar
  • Private English-speaking guide and driver on sightseeing days, including at the Mogao Caves
  • All entrance fees listed in the itinerary, including the Mogao Caves, Jiaohe, Tianchi and the Id Kah Mosque
  • Airport and railway station transfers throughout, plus 24-hour phone support in English during the trip

Not included

  • International flights to and from China
  • China visa fees, if your nationality requires one
  • Lunches and dinners not listed as included
  • Travel insurance
  • Personal spending, and any permits or transport needed for extensions beyond this route, such as the Pamir Highway towards Tashkurgan

Good to know

  • This route is built on long distances. Urumqi to Kashgar is a 12–20 hour rail haul but about two hours by air — we fly it, and that is not a shortcut so much as the only sensible option.
  • The Mogao Caves must be booked up to 30 days ahead, and tickets are tied to your passport. Tell us your dates early so we can hold a slot.
  • Carry your passport at all times in Xinjiang. It is checked at hotels, at transport hubs and at some sites, and a photocopy is a backup rather than a substitute.
  • Some border-adjacent areas need extra permits and a few are closed to foreigners. That does not affect this itinerary, but it does affect the Pamir Highway and Tashkurgan, so ask before you plan an extension.
  • May to early October is the workable window. Turpan in July and August is punishing, so outdoor sites are scheduled early and the middle of the day is kept out of the sun.

Questions about this route

Is Xinjiang straightforward to travel in as a foreigner?

For an organised itinerary like this one, yes. The practical friction is distance and documentation rather than anything more dramatic: internal flights matter, your passport is checked more often than elsewhere in China, and some areas near borders need permits or are closed. We handle the paperwork for the sites on this route and tell you plainly if any part of it is restricted at the time you travel.

Why does the route stop at Kashgar rather than continuing to the Pamir?

Because the Pamir Highway and Karakul Lake towards Tashkurgan need an additional permit and two to three more days, and because a few border-adjacent areas are periodically closed to foreigners. It is a superb extension, but it is a separate decision with its own lead time, and we would rather build it deliberately than squeeze it into the last 48 hours.

Can I combine this with Beijing?

Yes, and it is the natural pairing. Beijing to Xi'an is about 4 h 10 m by high-speed rail, so three or four days in Beijing slot in front of this itinerary without another flight. Many travellers do Beijing, then the Silk Road, and fly home from Urumqi or Kashgar.

How much of this trip is spent on trains?

Less than you would expect. There are three short rail legs plus one genuine overnight, from Dunhuang west through the Hexi Corridor. The two long hops, Xi'an to Dunhuang and Urumqi to Kashgar, are flights, because on both the train costs a full day or more and gains you nothing.

What does the price exclude?

International flights, visa fees if your nationality requires one, travel insurance, most dinners and personal spending, plus any permits or transport for extensions beyond Kashgar. Prices are indicative starting points per person and exclude international flights.

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