Top 20 Places to Visit in Xinjiang

Introduction

1.1 Explore Xinjiang

Xinjiang is China's largest provincial-level administrative region, covering roughly one-sixth of the country's total land area.It boasts a unique landscape known as "three mountain ranges sandwiching two basins" : the Altai Mountains, the Tianshan Mountains, and the Kunlun Mountains; the Junggar Basin and the Tarim Basin. A land of striking contrasts: ice-capped peaks stand alongside fiery oases, while vast deserts neighbor fertile, green oases. Xinjiang is divided into northern and southern parts, each with its own distinct charm, and we will list our top 20 must-visit attractions across the region in the following pages.

Northern Xinjiang is renowned for its natural scenery: snow-capped mountains, lakes, grasslands, and forests.

Southern Xinjiang is famous for its rich history and culture: ancient cities, deserts, grottoes, and ethnic customs.

• Popular attractions in Xinjiang Uygur

Sayram Lake

Nalati Grassland

Kanas Lake

Kashgar Old Town

Idkah Mosque

Kuqa Grand Canyon

Xinjiang – A Landscape Gifted by the Nature

Northern Xinjiang: A Visual Feast of Snow Mountains and Grasslands

Altay Prefecture

• Kanas Lake, known as the "Earthly Paradise", is located in Burqin County, Altay Prefecture, hidden deep within the forests and mountains of the Altai range. In autumn, golden birches interweave with evergreen pines, while winter transforms the area into a blue-and-white wonderland. The lake is also home to the legend of a mysterious lake monster. Its famous attractions include Fish Pavilion, Fairy Bay, Moon Bay, and Sleeping Dragon Bay.

• Hemu Village is known as one of China's most beautiful snow villages. It's an ancient settlement of the Mongolian Tuvinian people, and a scenic spot where photographers come to capture sunrise amidst the morning mist. The village is also one of the birthplaces of human skiing—the craftsmanship of fur snowboards has been passed down to this day.

• Baihaba is known as the First Village in Northwest China. It's a tranquil village along the China-Kazakhstan border, where golden birch forests and border guard posts greet visitors in autumn.

• Ulungur Lake is the largest permanent freshwater lake in Northern Xinjiang, located in Fuhai County. It features a unique landscape where half is water and half is yardang landform. The lake is also a key stop on the West Asia-East Africa migratory bird route, home to nearly 300 bird species.

• Koktokay is a blue wonderland deep in Northern Xinjiang and a national geopark. Mount Shenzhong rises as a giant granite peak resembling an inverted bell stalactite, standing about 365 meters high. The Irtysh Grand Canyon is a geological imprint of the Hercynian movement from 250 million years ago. There is also the historic No. 3 Mine Pit, a "natural geological museum" that made significant contributions to the nation.

Ili Prefecture

• Nalati Grassland is a classic example of an alpine meadow, located in the Ili River Valley. It serves as a summer pasture for Kazakh herders. In summer, herds of cattle and sheep roam among blooming wildflowers, creating a scene like a living oil painting.

• The Ili River Valley is known as "Jiangnan Beyond the Great Wall". It's home to the lavender fields of Huocheng, often called the Provence of the East, as well as Zhaosun's rapeseed flower seas and the homeland of the heavenly horse.

• Guozigou Bridge is Xinjiang's first cable-stayed bridge, a magnificent structure spanning a deep canyon. It also serves as the best vantage point for overlooking Sayram Lake.

Bortala Mongolian Autonomous PrefectureSayram Lake

• Sayram Lake is known as "The Last Tear of the Atlantic" and is located in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture. In summer, wildflowers bloom along the shore, while winter brings spectacular blue ice. The lake shimmers in countless shades of blue as the light shifts—a color often called "Sayram Lake Blue". As Sa Beining once said, "If you haven't been to Sayram Lake, you've lived your life in vain".

A scenic highway that cuts through the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, linking Dushanzi in northern Xinjiang to Kuche in the south

• Duku Highway is one of China's most scenic roads. On this route from Dushanzi in northern Xinjiang to Kuqa in the south, you can experience four seasons in a single day, with weather changing every ten miles.

Southern Xinjiang: The Millennium Echo of the Silk Road

Kashgar Prefecture

• Kashgar Old City is often called a living ancient city of a thousand years—as the saying goes, "Visit Kashgar, and you've truly seen Xinjiang". It serves as a living fossil for the study of ancient Western Regions cities. Over 2,000 years old, the city is filled with winding streets and quiet hidden paths.

• The Pamir Plateau was once known as Congling, often called "the ancestor of all mountains" and "the starting point of the Roof of the World." It lies at the junction of the Tianshan, Kunlun, and Karakoram mountain ranges, with an average altitude between 3,200 and 4,500 meters. Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions, Faxian's westward pilgrimage, and Xuanzang's journey for Buddhist scriptures all passed through this place.

• Panlong Ancient Road is located in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, stretching 36 kilometers in total. With over 600 S-shaped bends, a maximum altitude of 4,200 meters, and an elevation drop of 1,000 meters, it's known for the saying: "Today you walk all the winding roads; from now on life will be smooth all the way."

• The Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar is the largest mosque in Xinjiang. First built in the mid‑15th century, it covers about 16,800 square meters and can accommodate 4,000 worshippers. Visitors must strictly abide by religious etiquette and opening hours.

• Taxkorgan(Stone city) was a strategic throat on the ancient Silk Road. The main sites include the Stone City Ruins and the Golden Grassland. Today, it is a small border city bordering three countries.

China's largest and the world's second-largest shifting desert

• The Taklamakan Desert is the largest desert in China, often called the "Sea of Death". It's home to the Hotan–Ruoqiang Railway, the world's first desert railway loop, as well as a crossing journey along the desert highway. Visitors come for the populus euphratica forests and the desert sunrises and sunsets.

Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture

• Baisha Lake is a pearl on the Pamir Plateau, sitting at an elevation of around 3,300 meters. It offers a unique landscape of half white sand, half azure lake, with waters that shimmer in an almost unreal Tiffany blue.

• The Artux Heavenly Gate is recognized as the world’s tallest natural stone arch. Shaped like an inverted "U", it measures approximately 100 meters across and stands 500 meters high. In 2005, ADVENTURE magazine named it one of the top 20 new adventure routes in the world. Southern Xinjiang’s first detachable gondola for high-altitude sightseeing has also been opened here, taking visitors to the core viewing area in just five minutes.

• Muztagh Ata stands 7,546 meters above sea level and is known as the "Father of Icebergs".At its foot lies Karakul Lake, the largest natural lake on the eastern Pamir Plateau; its name in Kyrgyz means "Black Lake". Together, the three peaks—Kongur Tagh, Kongur Tiube, and Muztagh Ata—rise majestically in the surrounding landscape.

Aksu Prefecture

• Kuqa was anciently known as Qiuci, one of the 36 kingdoms of the Western Regions. The area is home to the Kizil Caves, one of China's earliest and largest cave temple complexes. The Subashi Buddhist Temple Ruins are a World Heritage Site as part of the Silk Roads, while the Kizilgaha Beacon stands as the earliest and best‑preserved ancient beacon tower in Xinjiang.

Welcome to Xinjiang

The photos are beautiful, but being there is something else entirely.

Welcome to Xinjiang. We're right here, waiting for you!!!