Xinjiang Attractions

Livestock on the road is the real wildlife hazard in Xinjiang; bears and wolves are rare but real. How to drive, camp and react safely around animals on a road trip.

Sayram, Kanas and Bosten reward paddlers with calm, cold, absurdly blue water. How to bring or rent a kayak or paddleboard and combine it with a Xinjiang self-drive loop.

Yutian, once called Keriya, is the last real town before the Taklamakan swallows the road. A self-drive guide to its oasis farms, crafts, and the track that runs toward the desert’s heart.

Shaya County guards the northern edge of the Taklamakan, where poplar groves and canal-fed fields push back the sand. A self-drive route through one of Xinjiang’s oldest oasis towns.

Baicheng sits where the Tarim meets the Tianshan, home to the ancient Kizil Buddhist caves and the road to Tomur, the range’s highest peak. A self-drive guide to this quiet corner.

Every October the poplars along the Tarim River turn the desert gold. Luntai County protects the largest wild populus euphratica forest in the world. Here is how to drive it.

Carved over a billion years and opened to drivers only recently, Dushanzi Grand Canyon is the dramatic prologue to the Duku Highway. Here is how to visit it by car, with distances, fees and timing.

Bazaars, livestock markets and tea houses are Xinjiang’s best photo subjects. A respectful, practical guide to street photography, permissions and the most photogenic spots.

See Xinjiang from above: hot-air balloon rides over Bayinbuluke, paragliding off Tianshan ridges, and where to book aerial adventures during the short summer season.

Kalpin County in Aksu Prefecture is folded red rock with almost no tourist infrastructure. Covers the drive from Aksu, dawn light on the ridges, fossil rules, heat and water discipline, and simple county lamb food.