The saiga, with its bizarre bulbous nose, survives in remote Xinjiang borderlands. Learn its biology, near-collapse, and how to see it responsibly via reserves and museums.
China’s only wild beavers live along the Burqin, Habahe, Irtysh and Ulungur rivers. This self-drive guide covers the best season, a river loop, and how to watch them from a respectful distance.
Glasses are cheap and fast to replace in any Xinjiang city; the desert glare is not. A practical guide to opticians, contact care and protecting your eyes on the road.
From the apollo butterflies of the Pamir to the fritillaries of the Ili meadows, Xinjiang is a lepidopterist’s frontier. When and where to see its mountain butterflies.
Urumqi basements throb with muqam fusion, Kashgar’s night bazaar sizzles past midnight and Yining pours craft beer. A traveller’s guide to Xinjiang after sunset.
High-clearance 4x4s open sand tracks the highways never reach. A practical guide to Xinjiang’s off-road trails, permits, recovery gear, tyre pressure and fuel planning.
A two-hump ride from a Kumtagh dune camp or a multi-day Taklamakan crossing with a Kazakh guide: how camel trekking works, what it costs and how to book it safely.
Thick, faintly salty and faintly sour, shubat (fermented camel milk) is a desert staple from the Kazakh camps of the north to the Bactrian herds of the south. A full guide.
From the sun-roasted cobs of the Tarim to yopka corn pancakes and cornmeal noodles of the north, maize is everywhere in Xinjiang. A traveller’s edible map of the crop.
Smaller than manti and softer than jiaozi, ququ are Uyghur hat-shaped dumplings bobbing in a tomato-and-herb broth. A deep dive into one of Xinjiang’s comfort dishes.
