Kokpar, Horse Racing and Steppe Games: Where Xinjiang’s Grasslands Compete
Kokpar, horse racing, and buzkashi: the steppe games that turn Xinjiang’s summer grasslands into arenas. When and where to watch, and how to be a good guest.
Author: Karl Huang
Karl Huang is the founder and lead writer of Xinjiang Solo Travel. He has driven more than 40,000 km across Xinjiang since 2016, covering the Tianshan corridor, Taklamakan Desert edge, Pamir Plateau, Ili Valley, and Altay Mountains. His guides combine firsthand driving experience with on-the-ground price and permit checks. When not on the road, he updates route conditions and answers reader questions through the site.
-
-
Yak Country: Eating and Driving Through Xinjiang’s Highland Livestock Culture
Yak butter tea at 3,000 meters, dried yak meat on a mountain pass, and the calm beasts that share Xinjiang’s high pastures. A traveler’s field guide to the region’s quiet engine.
-
Hitchhiking in Xinjiang: Rides, Trucks, and the Checkpoint Reality
Can you hitchhike Xinjiang? Sometimes. Our honest guide covers the generous trucker culture, where rides come easy, the permit checkpoints that limit it, and how to ride safely as a foreign traveler.
-
Xinjiang Intercity Buses: A No-Car Traveler’s Guide to the Long-Distance Coaches
You do not have to drive to see Xinjiang. Our guide to the long-distance bus network covers the hubs, fares, booking, the checkpoint stops, and where coaches beat a car on the northern and southern loops.
-
Xinjiang’s Dried Red Chili: The Braids, the Oil, and the Bazaar Buy
The dried red chili braids define Uyghur cooking. Our guide covers where Xinjiang’s peppers grow, how the chili oil is made, the best bazaar buys, and the autumn dates when the courtyards are strung with red.
-
Xinjiang Rose Jam and Rose Water: A Sweet Stop in Hotan and Yarkand
Xinjiang’s Hotan and Yarkand roses become gulab jam and rose water you rarely find abroad. Our food-culture guide covers the May bloom, the courtyard making, where to buy, and how to pack it home.
-
Staying Connected in Xinjiang: Internet, Roaming, and Offline Maps for Foreign Travelers
Inside Xinjiang Google, WhatsApp and many apps are blocked. Our legal guide for foreign travelers covers roaming eSIMs, a Chinese SIM, offline maps, power, and the checkpoint reality so you stay connected on the road.
-
Xinjiang Cotton Country: Driving the White Harvest of the Southern Tarim
In October Xinjiang’s cotton belt turns white. Our driving guide covers the Korla-Kuqa-Aksu corridor, the harvest machines, the Iron Gate Pass detour, and the dates that catch peak bloom on the southern loop.
-
Xinjiang Tomato Country: Driving the Red Harvest Fields and the Ketchup Belt
Xinjiang grows most of China’s processed tomatoes. Drive the northern oasis belt in August to see the red harvest, learn how the crop becomes paste, and taste it in laghman with our field-to-plate guide.
-
Xinjiang Mulberry Paper (Sangpi): Watching a 400-Year Craft in Moyu
Sangpi, Xinjiang mulberry-bark paper, is a UNESCO-listed craft still made by hand in Moyu near Hotan. Our road-trip guide covers the making, the workshops, buying tips, and the southern handicraft loop.