The Chinese part of the Silk Road
The Silk Road is the legendary trade network of ancient caravan routes that connected China to East Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. This journey takes you along the northern route from East to West where an array of highlights pass by, from unique colorful rock formations and singing dunes to historic forts and expressive murals. Trek through the most diverse landscapes and visit cities that still breathe the atmosphere of One Thousand and One Nights, of sultans and harems, mosques and madrassas, camels and caravans. Where the world can't find you...
Kashgar and Tashgurkan
Stroll through the ancient oasis city of Kashgar, with its lively "old" city with its mud houses, artisan workshops and noisy bazaars full of spices, fabrics and traditional handicrafts. Especially on Sundays, the city comes alive during the famous animal market. A trip to high-altitude Tashkurgan (4,000 m) takes you to the vast Pamir Plateau, where grasslands and snow-capped peaks dominate. The ancient Stone Fort was once an important stop on the Silk Road
Tips and tops from Touring the Northern Silk Road:
- Zhangye Danxia Geopark is known as one of the most enchanting landscapes China because of its colorful rock formations.
- In the Jiayuguan Pass , visit the Jiayu fortress that guarded the Han-China border during the Ming Dynasty , then the western terminus of the Great Wall
- The 1400 stone Weijin Tombs make up the world's single largest underground art gallery; the murals depict life at the time of the Wei and Jin dynasties
- Listen to Dunhuang's singing sand dunes
- Yueyaquan, also known as Crescent Lake, is a small, crescent-shaped natural lake in an oasis on the edge of the desert. Its wonder is that it has never been buried in sandstorms.
- The 1000-meter-long(!) Shazhou night market is famous for the most delectable snacks and local specialties.
- The Mogao Caves - or the Thousand Buddha Caves - are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Marvel at the beautiful murals and sculptures in the caves that were built by various dynasties spanning more than 1,000 years.
- Find the red dragon in the flaming mountains of Turpan on the northeastern edge of the "Furnace of China," the Taklamakan Desert
- At Muslim pilgrimage site Turpan, visit the Tuyoq Valley, an oasis and living museum of Uyghur history
- At an altitude of 3,600 m, Lake Karakul sparkles like a dark blue mirror among the mountain giants, grazing yaks and yurts
- Sleepy Tashgurkan breathes nomadic culture: yak herds graze along the road, and at night the steppe and surrounding mountains turn golden in the late sunlight
