China’s Northern Frontier Adventure

Ni Hao! Welcome to Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Your guide and driver will meet you at Urumqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) and take you straight to your hotel.

Urumqi holds the title of the world’s most landlocked major city, and its history as a Silk Road crossroads still shows, with Uyghur, Han, and Kazakh cultures all overlapping here, set against the backdrop of the Tianshan Mountains.

Free Time Ideas (Explore on Your Own)

• Xinjiang Regional Museum: a good primer on the region’s history, with Silk Road artefacts, traditional costumes, and the well-known “Loulan Beauty,” a 3,800-year-old mummy remarkably preserved.
• International Grand Bazaar: wander stalls selling carpets, jewellery, and spices under striking Islamic-inspired architecture. Worth trying the lamb kebabs, polu (pilaf), and hand-pulled laghman while you’re there.

Morning
Your guide and driver will pick you up for the roughly 70km (1–1.5 hour) drive to Heavenly Lake of Tianshan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site sitting at about 1,980 metres above sea level. The lake is ringed by forest and snow-capped peaks, and it comes with its share of legend. Locally, it’s said the Queen Mother of the West once hosted a banquet here for the Eight Immortals.

A 40-minute sightseeing bus ride through the mountains gets you close, followed by a short 10-minute walk down to the lake itself. Take your time strolling along the shore.

Optional Activities (additional fee)

• Boat Ride: cruise across the lake, with the mountains reflected in the water.
• Cableway Ride: head up to Mayashan for a wider view of Bogda Mountain.

Afternoon
Drive around 415km (about 5 hours) north to Fuyun County, watching the landscape shift into the Gobi Desert along the way. Part of the drive cuts through the Gurbandunggut Desert, home to wild asses, wild horses, and wild camels, keep an eye out.

Fuyun itself sits in the Altay Mountains, with the Irtysh River running through it. Take a walk along the riverside park if you have time before settling in for the night.

Morning
Drive about an hour (52km) to Keketuohai National Geological Park, a 788-square-kilometre stretch of canyons, mountains, and grassland backed by the Altay range.

A sightseeing bus takes you along the Erqisi River, where you’ll pass the Birch Forest which is a cluster of three river islands covered mostly in birch, with a few Siberian poplars mixed in.

Next, visit Kekesuli, a wetland fed by mountain snowmelt, known for its turquoise water and, in summer and autumn, large gatherings of red geese, white swans, and wild ducks.

You’ll also get views of Shenzhong Mountain (Amir Sala Peak) that is a granite spire rising 1,608 metres, shaped by centuries of frost weathering into its current bell-like form. The last stop here is the No. 3 Mine, the largest mine of its kind in the world, producing 86 of the 140-plus known useful minerals.

Afternoon
Drive on to Burqin (around 340km, 5–5.5 hours). In the late afternoon, visit Wucaitan (Five-Colored Beach), where wind and water erosion have shaped rock formations in vivid reds, yellows, greens, and purples along the Irtysh River. It’s sometimes called “Little Zhangye” for its resemblance to the famous Danxia formations further east.

Sunset tip: try to arrive 1–2 hours before sunset when the colors are at their best as the light softens.

Morning
Drive around 2–2.5 hours (122km) to Kanas Lake of which the name means “beautiful and mysterious lake” in Mongolian, and it’s easy to see why. As China’s deepest glacial moraine-dammed lake, it’s ringed by snow-capped peaks and dense forest, and it’s especially striking in autumn when the foliage turns gold against the turquoise water.

From the Jiadengyu Visitors’ Center, a sightseeing bus takes you to the lake. Your first stop is the Fish Pavilion, named after local reports of a lake monster sighting, with a wide view over the lake from above.

(Note: reaching the pavilion involves climbing around 1,068 steps, worth pacing yourself.)

Spend some time walking the lakeside plankway before taking a relaxed boat cruise across the water.

Afternoon
Continue to the Three Bays including Shenxian Bay, Moon Bay, and Wolong Bay. Shenxian Bay (“Immortal Bay”) often has a light mist over the water; Moon Bay is named for its crescent shape and deep blue colour; Wolong Bay (“Hidden Dragon Bay”) has a wooden walkway down to the shore and is especially colourful in autumn.

Transfer to Jiadengyu for the night.

Morning
Drive about an hour to Hemu Village, tucked into the Altai Mountains and often ranked among the most beautiful villages in China. Traditional wooden houses, open grassland, and birch forest give it a distinctly old-world feel, and it’s home to Kazakh and Tuvan communities who still keep to a semi-nomadic way of life.

(Photography note: summer brings lush greenery and wildflowers; autumn turns the hillsides gold, orange, and red.)

Afternoon
Take the sightseeing bus to the service center, then continue into the village itself. Spend the afternoon wandering at your own pace, trying local food, and photographing the wooden houses against the mountains. Stick around for sunset if you can — the light on the village and surrounding peaks is worth the wait.

Transfer to Burqin for the night (around 155km, 2–3 hours).

Morning/Afternoon
Drive around 5 hours (340km) to Karamay Urho Ghost Town, also known as Wuerhe Wind City that is ranked first among “China’s Three Most Beautiful Yardang Landforms” by National Geographic China.

The site gets its nickname from the sound wind makes moving through the rock formations that is a low, eerie whistle. It’s also a filming location from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A sightseeing bus takes you through the site, where you can walk among towering rock shapes that resemble castles, faces, and animals, all carved by centuries of wind and water erosion.

Continue to Kuitun for the night.

Morning/Afternoon
Drive about 3.5 hours (310km) to Sayram Lake, sitting at 2,071 metres in the Tian Shan Mountains. This oval lake covers 453 square kilometres and, being landlocked, has earned the nickname “The Last Tear of the Atlantic Ocean.”

Travel Tips

• Start at the East Gate for the easiest access and best initial views.
• The full loop around the lake is about 90km and takes 5–6 hours. Today’s visit will cover part of it.
• Sunset here is worth staying for, weather permitting.
• June–August is peak season, with the warmest weather and clearest skies.

Continue to Yining for the night.

Morning/Afternoon
Drive about 3 hours (252km) to Nalati Grassland, once a difficult mountain pass along the Silk Road and now recognised by National Geographic as one of the more striking landscapes in the world, shaped by generations of Kazakh herding traditions.

Explore the Sky Prairie Scenic Area by sightseeing bus, with stops at:

• Tianmutai: open grazing land where you can watch local herding in action.
• Nomad’s Choice: a stable where you can pick a horse for a ride across the grassland.
• Heavenly Terrace: a lookout point with good sunset views over the grassland and mountains.

Overnight near Nalati Grassland or in Xinyuan County.

Full Day
Today is largely a scenic drive, around 475km, roughly 7 hours in total. You’ll pass through Yining City, with a chance to take in its markets and local atmosphere along the way, before continuing through quieter countryside dotted with rivers and wildflower fields en route to Jinghe County.

Overnight in Jinghe.

Morning
Depart Jinghe and head back toward Urumqi, stopping at Dushanzi Grand Canyon along the way. South of Kuitun City, the canyon stretches over 30 kilometres and drops as deep as 400 metres, carved by the Dushanzi River over millions of years.

Optional Activities (additional fees apply)

• Duku Grand Glass Bridge(¥80): 150m high, 186m long, with a 9D effects experience and some of the best canyon views around.
• Canyon Zipline(¥58): a nearly 100m drop across the canyon, round trip.
• Rail-Mounted Coaster(¥70): 850m of track with eight turns, uphill and downhill.
• Canyon Water Slide(¥68): a 1,000m glass slide with an S-bend and two 360° turns, rafted down in a rubber boat.

Travel Tips

• The canyon is windy with strong UV exposure, sun protection is a good idea.
• Wear sturdy, comfortable shoes.
• Take care when photographing near the edges, some areas are steep.

Afternoon
Drive back to Urumqi (around 3.5–4 hours). Depending on your onward plans, you’ll be taken either to your hotel or directly to the airport for your departure flight.