Xinjiang's Best for First-Timers
7-Day Xinjiang Highlights Tour
As China's largest province and the western end of China's Silk Road, Xinjiang is the homeland of enthusiastic Uyghurs and several other minorities. Xinjiang offers diverse landscapes, a mix of cultures, fascinating music, joyful dance, and sweet fruits for you to discover and enjoy.
This is a recommended Xinjiang tour for first-time visitors. You will have the opportunity to enjoy the marvelous landscapes, learn about Xinjiang's history and its significance on the Silk Road, and interact with the locals.
Urumqi-Turpan-Kashgar Tour Map

Tour 'Wow' Points
Fall in Love with Heavenly Mountain and Heavenly Lake Colors
The blue lake, green grassland, dark green forest, and white peaks of Tianshan (the 'Heavenly Mountains') create a lovely landscape of picture-perfect Xinjiang.


Explore the Cultural Relics of the Silk Road
Wander around the peculiar ancient clifftop city of Jiaohe. Visit the oldest Uyghur village with a history of 1,700 years.


Have Fun in Kumtag Desert
Appreciate the beautiful curves of the sand dunes. Enjoy camel rides, sand sliding, desert trekking, or desert off-road vehicle experiences.


Chat with Uyghur People in Their Courtyard
Visit a local Uyghur family. Enjoy the sweet grapes they grow. Feel their optimism and their love of their homeland.


Catch a Glimpse of the Great Pamirs
Drive along the China-Pakistan Highway. View the impressive Baisha ('White Sand') Lake and Karakul ('Black Lake'). Snow-capped Muztag Ata and other very tall mountains look like a row of strong guards protecting this land.


Experience Exotic Charm in the Westernmost City of China
Experience the region's religion in Xinjiang's biggest mosque. Visit the tomb of a great Uyghur poet with few tourists. Enjoy the beauty of Islamic architecture in a quiet atmosphere.


Enjoy a Xinjiang Afternoon Tea with Some Locals
Experience the typical social life of the town as you listen to folk music played by the Uyghur seniors.


Why Choose Us

Your Wellbeing is Our Priority.
- 1-to-1 travel expert
- Vaccinated guides
- Private Rides

Your Trip is Perfectly Planned.
- Less crowded
- Exclusive Exciting Experiences

Your Booking is Risk-Free.
- No cancellation fee (up to 22 days before departure)
- Free changes
Finish Your Booking in as Quick as 1 Day
1. Tell us your dream travel idea
2. Work out your unique plan with 1 to 1 expert advice
China Highlights, Asia Highlights, and Global Highlights collaborate to provide families and couples with personalized and stress-free experiences in diverse destinations.


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Magical Adventure
Wow this tour was honestly the best tourI have ever taken! Our guide Simon Yao was simply superb! His English was excellent and he was very easy to talk to. He was personable and friendly but not overpowering or overbearing. Very knowledgeable about history. Thankfully the weather was good so we were not super hot !Finally at the wall we were amazed by it's beauty and grandeur. It really is something and pictures don't do it justice. more
Nov 2023,
Annika M
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Excellent two day visit to Great Wall
Our guide ‘Mark’ was incredible. So friendly, knowledgable and funny. The itinerary was perfect, we got to see two different parts of the Great Wall (one of which at night which was magical) and our hotel stay in Gubei was wonderful. Highly recommend to anybody visiting Beijing more
Nov 2023,
James_Wolstenholme
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Great day out with Mark, thanks China Highlights!
We did a 1 day private tour with China Highlights to see Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Communication was great throughout - from trip planning/booking with Roger and from our guide Mark who contacted us the day before to confirm meet up time/location. Avoided a lot of the queues and definitely learned quite a bit of history from our guide Mark…thanks again! No language barriers/issues…highly recommended. more
Nov 2023,
ykeezy
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China Three (3) Cities Tours
To the tour guides, Ethan, Jason and Tony, you guys have made my visit an awesome and memorable experience. All the tour guides spoke english and communicated very effectively. They are knowledgeable about all the sites visited including, Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, Panda Breeding and Research Center, Leshan Giant Buddha, Hallelujah Mountains, Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and Glass Bridge, and Tianmen Mountain. The tour guides ensured I got the most out of my time I stayed in the various cities Beijing, Chengdu and Zhangjiajie. more
Nov 2023,
Kadar
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13 days in China
We booked a 13 day’s tour of China with China Highlights. Our travel advisor, Ms Leah Zhou organised an itinerary that suited what we wanted. She was really helpful and patient will all our needs. Leah helped us organised our 30th Wedding Anniversary Dinner and my 60th Birthday celebration?? in Beijing. For this to be possible, she had to liaise with our guide in Beijing. The flowers and cake were a real surprise. My husband and I, were really touched at the good service provided by China Highlights and Ms Leah Zhou. Thank you China Highlights and Ms Leah Zhou for your constant care of your customers. I will certainly recommend China Highlights to my friends. more
Nov 2023,
Eda Adams
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Perfect Beijing experience
Covering all major sights our exploration of Beijing and surroundings was flawless guided by Lily, along with her knowledgeable and balanced information on Chinas culture and history. In particular, Lily was able to adjust the tour according to personal preferences, e.g. focus on photography, as well as suggesting additional activities like an impressive authentic artistic show. I highly recommend China Highlights as China tour operator and Lily Liu as excellent guide regarding the Beijing area. more
Nov 2023,
Perfect Beijing experience
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Anne and Bob’s tour of Beijing
We did the China Highlights tour of Beijing with our excellent guide Mark and his driver. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Beijing highlights including the Lama Temple, the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Lama Temple. The Summer Palace with the boat ride and the Garden of Virtue and Harmony were memorable also and the Mutianyu Great Wall was a highlight. We were impressed with Mark as a guide. He knew his history and he was kind and thoughtful. He took us to some excellent restaurants and we were introduced to some beautiful food. We enjoyed his company and will always remember him. more
Nov 2023,
BendigoBob
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Amazing Beijing Tour with Risa!
Risa gave us a wonderful tour of the city! She thoroughly explained the cultuaral importance of each exhibit while also educating us on the Chinese culture. Appreciated having this wonderful Beijing trip with Risa:) more
Nov 2023,
Angelica M.
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Amazing Beijing Tour With Risa!
We were very kindly received in Beijing by our tour guide Risa. She gave us a very thorough tour of the city and showed us wonderful places, while also explaining the important history/culture of China! Very beautiful city filled with many things to do and full of culture! This was very well planned and made it very easy for us to visit the city and foreigners:) Thank you Risa! more
Nov 2023,
Angelica M
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Do Beijing like a local
They organised my trip very quickly and efficiently. On the day, Anna was very friendly to me, my mum and my baby. Very accommodating to our needs. The car was immaculately clean and very comfortable. We visited everything we initially wanted and more. Also, Anna took us to the best meal we had in China. It makes a difference to have a local choosing the dishes! more
Nov 2023,
Natali A
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China Highlights - Great Wall Mutianyu
I arranged a private tour with China Highlights to see the Great Wall, as I had a few hours to spare near Beijing. I was promptly collected, taken to the wall via comfortable car and escorted all the way by my allocated tour guide Jack. The day was highly memorable and thoroughly enjoyable, we walked 20 watchtowers across the Wall and then took the luge back down. The knowledge and history of the Great Wall was shared and Jack’s English was great. Fantastic day, thanks for your great hospitality, Jack! more
Nov 2023,
Daniel White
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Amazing experience in Beijing
Spent 3 days in Beijing under China Highlights! Our tour guide Jennifer spoke excellent English and was very knowledgeable in Chinese history. Not only was she friendly, she was always on hand to help me with my heavy luggage. She also recommended us very good chinese restaurants for lunch and dinner. She went beyond her call of duties to make sure we had a enjoyable time in Beijing. China highlights also surprised me with a birthday cake on my birthday. Kimi Huang who was my consultant was ever ready to answer all my queries promptly. Thank you for making our trip a memorable one. more
Nov 2023,
Delltravellor
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Memorable Beijing & Gubei with China Highlights
Jack as the tour guide is a good story teller. He is inquisitive. He knows when to leave us alone exploring the sights and pick out interest again with the historical facts and stories.Then, we explored Jinshanling that provides a balanced view between reconstructed and ruined walls. Finally, we explored the Forbidden City and The Summer Palace. In between, we enjoyed authentic Chinese cuisines which were delicious. more
Nov 2023,
Dian W
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Beijing 2 day tour
Spent 2 days in Beijing with Ethan as my guide and had a fantastic experience. Ethan is very knowledgeable, easy company and takes excellent photographs. The organisation was excellent as well including the driver for the tour as well the airport pick up. more
Nov 2023,
Tam
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My very first trip to Beijing
My guide Jack was excellent- very knowledgeable, organised, kind, helpful, and great English speaker. So I learned a lot about the fascinating history of China while enjoying breathtaking sceneries and monuments. more
Nov 2023,
Amanda Barbosa
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Thank you Mark and China Highlights for an amazing trip!!
Mark was the first sight that we had after getting off the plane and what a beautiful site he was! We felt very safe having him as our first tour guide! We sure appreciate having him guide us through Beijing wouldn’t replace him with anyone!! Thanks Mark for all of your hard work and preparation! more
Nov 2023,
adyn h
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10 stars for Mark and China Highlights for making our trip unforgettable!!!
Mark was an amazing tour guide he was honest, hard working, punctual, thoughtful, anticipated all of our needs, and took care of everything. It was a worry free experience and we couldn’t have done it without him. Thanks to Mark and China Highlights we had an unforgettable trip! Highly recommend! more
Nov 2023,
Jamie H
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Excellent Two Weeks Across China
We used Asia Highlights (China Highlights in China) to help plan two weeks across China: Beijing, Xian, Guilin, a Yangtze cruise and Shanghai. Albee helped put it all together and was a huge help. She was very responsive and all the guides in each city were excellent! The hotels were perfect. We would definitely use the company once again for other trips to Asia. more
Oct 2023,
Charles
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Great Experience with China Highlights
Over at Beijing, Angela met us at the train station and ensured we were well settled in our hotel. We spent 2 days with her as our Guide. Angela is well informed and also adapted the itinerary to cover areas we wanted to take advantage off, e.g. apple picking at the orchard! The driver we had on both legs were good and friendly. more
Oct 2023,
Edwin
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China Round Trip in October 2023 Family FT & G Braun from Germany
Here in Beijing we got Jack as a tour guide who is very knowledgeable and supportive as well as flexible when there is a change in the program needed. Communication with him is easy as he is fluent in English. It is difficult to say which attraction is the greatest as all are outstanding being it the Forbidden City, the Great Wall or the Summer Palace as well as the Temple of Heaven. The driver, Mr. Hu needs also to be mentioned very positively as he politely took special care of us and his driving style was safe and patient with all the heavy traffic situations. more
Oct 2023,
Franz-Theo Braun
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Itinerary Quick Look
Here is a suggested itinerary. We are happy to customize a tour according to your interests.
When you land in Urumqi, your personal tour guide will be waiting for you in the arrivals area and will be ready to transfer you to your hotel.
Drive from Urumqi to Turpan. Visit Tuyugou Village in the morning. It is a place where you can experience the traditional lifestyle of the Uyghurs.You will have a chance here to visit a local Uyghur family. Chat with them in their courtyard, enjoying some fruit and snacks.
Have fun in Kumtag Desert in the afternoon. Enjoy the beautiful curves of the sand dunes. You can also enjoy camel rides, sand sliding, desert trekking, or desert off-road vehicle experiences.
Note: The activities in the desert are optional. The cost will need to be paid by you at the time according to what you do.
Visit Emin Minaret in the morning. A beautiful shadow is cast across the walls in the morning sunlight.
Then, you will visit the ruins of the ancient city of Jiaohe. This city was built by digging down instead of building up from the ground. After lunch, you will venture underground to explore the Karez Well System and experience the wisdom behind this ancient irrigation system.
Drive back to Urumqi in the afternoon
After breakfast, visit Heavenly Lake at the Tianshan Mountains . The mountain lake lies at 1,980 meters above sea level and features picturesque scenery that includes snowcapped peaks. It is nice to walk along the plank path to enjoy the scenery around the Lake. See the magical colors reflected on the surface of the lake and listen to many beautiful myths and legends.
Fly to Kashgar in the evening.
Have a relaxing walk in Kashgar Old City where you can see green lianas climbing on mud buildings and children chasing each other. Visit the biggest mosque in Xinjiang and appreciate the beauty of Islamic architecture in a quiet tomb of a great Uyghur poet.
Later, go to the Kashgar Grand Bazaar, which is famous throughout Asia. This ancient market attracts locals and merchants from all over Xinjiang and nearby countries, such as Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan.
If you go there on a Sunday, you will have the opportunity to see the livestock market, which is where people take their livestock for trade and shearing.
Walk from the old city to the Handicrafts Street. Go into the shops, touch the semi-finished handicrafts, and test the timbre of exotic musical instruments.
Have a break at the ancient teahouse, which has a history of over 100 years. Many locals gather there to chat, enjoy a tea break, play music, and dance, spending a whole afternoon there.
Drive along the China-Pakistan Highway. Enjoy the seldom-seen scenery of the westernmost point of China.
See one of the best-kept secrets in China: Karakul Lake, a sparkling glacial lake. During the 3-hour drive, you may want to ask the driver to stop so that you can take photos as the scenery is breathtaking. The scenery and lake will draw out your inner photographer.
Snow-capped Muztag Ata and other very tall mountains look like a row of strong guards protecting this land.
Your guide and driver will take you to Kashgar Airport to catch a flight, and will make sure that your check-in goes smoothly.
Hotel Selection
—the Icing on the Cake
Boutique hotels are recommended to enrich your travel experience.

Price Includes:
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