Travel Guide

A five-day eastern Xinjiang itinerary linking Hami, Barkol and Yiwu: the route we drove, where we slept, what it cost and the mistakes worth avoiding.

Xinjiang winter travel means planning around closures: which passes, parks, hotels and border crossings shut December-March, and what stays open to see.

Eating on Xinjiang trains: what to bring, buy and skip, plus how to eat well on long rail journeys across the region, with useful tips and what to avoid.

There is no November silk festival in Hotan. Here is the real Atlas silk calendar, the cocoon year behind it, and what an off-season Jiya visit is like.

Urumqi to Kashgar train guide: the 11.5-hour direct sleeper, the slower daytime trains, the 2026 track works and what each stretch of the line looks like.

Xinjiang bicycle rental works differently than the rest of China. Here is how to find a pedal bike, where shared e-bikes actually run, and what rules apply.

Xinjiang industrial heritage: oil towns, rare-metal pits and coal fields a road trip can actually visit, from Dushanzi to Koktokay and the coal corridor.

A traveller’s guide to the Xinjiang bathhouse: how a session runs, what it costs, the strict gender schedule, and the last Russian banyas of the north.

A road-tripper’s guide to the Xinjiang desert-control shelterbelts: what the green strips are, where the Taklamakan belt shows itself, and when to go.

A field guide to Xinjiang livestock on the road: how to handle sheep, camels, cattle and horses on the highway, the seasons they cross, and what to do when a herd is in front of you.