Discover Xinjiang
Hub & Historic Cities
Understanding Xinjiang through its central Eurasian hub and historical Silk Road gateways.
Altay
Follow the Irtysh through Altay's forests, pastures, villages and deep snow, from Kanas and Hemu to dombra music, seasonal migration, fur skis and the industrial memory of Koktokay.
Hotan: What an Oasis Leaves With You
A long-form journey through Hotan's streets, jade, living crafts and everyday life, asking what a traveller should carry away besides objects and photographs.
Kashgar
Read Kashgar through its oasis setting, lanes, workshops, teahouses, markets and the ordinary rhythms that continue beyond the Old City.
Kuqa
From the Tianshan oasis of ancient Kucha to Kizil's murals, music, Subash and the lived old town of modern Kuqa, explore how distant stories were translated, drawn, heard and reshaped.
The Pamirs
From ancient mountain passes to modern highways, tunnels and a high-plateau airport, explore how the Pamirs connect people, eras and distant worlds.
Turpan
From Jiaohe and Gaochang to Xuanzang, discover how real history became memory, literature and legend.
Urumqi: Where Distance Becomes Daily Life
An authentic destination reading through history, roads, markets, seasons, and residents' daily lives in Urumqi.
Yining & Ili Valley
Lush alpine meadows, Kazanchi blue courtyards, and Kazakh pastoral culture.
Legendary Highway Corridors
In Xinjiang, the highway itself is an essential destination across mountain passes and desert dunes.
Across the Taklamakan Corridor
A road-story across the Taklamakan Desert, where repetition, distance, roadside shelterbelts and long stretches without reference points turn a desert crossing into an experience of scale.
Duku Highway Corridor (G217)
The Duku Highway (G217) is a legendary Chinese scenic engineering marvel traversing the Tianshan mountain range, connecting Dushanzi to Kuqa.
G219: Straight Lines Belong to Maps. Curves Belong to the Kunlun Mountains
Beyond Yecheng, G219 enters the Kunlun Mountains and the clean line on a map begins to break into curves. A road story about terrain, scale, slopes, valleys, and why mountains decide how a road can move.
G314 Pamir Highway Corridor
A road-story from Kashgar into the Pamirs along G314, where oasis, gorge, pale plateau, Karakul Lake, Muztagh Ata and Tashkurgan turn a change in geography into the journey itself.
G331: A Long Road Across Xinjiang's Northern Rim
A long-road story across northern Xinjiang on G331, where towns become punctuation, landscapes shift between river valleys, grassland and mountain country, and the road only truly comes together on the second morning.
S101 Tianshan Geographic Gallery Corridor
A slower road-story along the S101 Tianshan Geographic Gallery, where Danxia, gorges, water, grassland and snow mountains unfold.
S21: When Far Away Takes Three and a Half Hours
The S21 Altay–Urumqi Expressway crosses the Gurbantünggüt Desert. It changes the geometry of the north, turning a multi-day journey into a three-and-a-half-hour drive.
Tianshan Shengli Tunnel Corridor
A road-story journey through the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, where darkness, daylight and twenty minutes redefine the meaning of distance across the Tianshan Mountains.
Yizhao Highway: A Road That Only Fully Exists in Summer
The Yizhao Highway connects Yining and Zhaosu, climbing over the Tianshan Mountains. It is a road that only fully exists in summer, crossing through distinct climate zones.
Natural Scenic Wonders & Landscape Essays
Alpine lakes, glacier valleys, yardang landforms, and Tuvan wooden cabin villages.
The Grasslands of Xinjiang — Where the Land Becomes Pasture
From Nalati and Kalajun to Zhaosu, Tangbula and Bayan Bulag, follow the slopes, pastures, village roads, river valleys and wetlands that make Xinjiang's grasslands lived-in landscapes rather than empty scenery.
Along the Northern Foothills of the Tianshan: From Jiangbulake to Beiting
A road journey along the northern Tianshan foothills from harvested wheat fields to a Han garrison, then west to a museum and the earthen remains of a vanished city.
The Lakes of Xinjiang — How Water Rewrites a Journey
A field story through Xinjiang’s lakes, from Sayram and Kanas to Tianchi, the Pamirs, Bosten and Barkol—where water changes the rhythm of a journey.
When the Land Becomes the Landscape
From Xiata Valley to the canyons of the Tianshan, and from the Flaming Mountains to the Taklimakan, gobi and yardang of Xinjiang, northwest China: a journey through the landforms shaped by water, wind and time.
Where Forest Meets Mountain — Why Trees Grow Here
From the southern mountains of Urumqi to the Western Tianshan, then on to Altay and the Eastern Tianshan in Xinjiang, northwest China, this essay follows tree lines, valleys, lakeshores and villages to understand why forests endure only in certain places.
Northern Xinjiang in Winter: Snow Changes More Than the View
Winter changes more than the color of Northern Xinjiang. It changes distance, time, and how a journey should unfold.
Southern Xinjiang in Winter: When the Scenery Steps Back
Winter does not make Southern Xinjiang a lesser version of itself. From Kashgar to the Pamirs, when grand scenery steps back, daily life steps forward.
Cultural Heritage & Living Traditions
From historic courtyard houses and luthier crafts to night market hearths.
There Is No Single August in Xinjiang
The same August calendar moves at completely different speeds between Altay, the Ili Valley, the Tianshan and Turpan.
A House Can Be Heritage — and Still Be Home
In Kuqa, historic houses are not frozen in time. People still unlock the door, cook meals, fix roofs, and live everyday lives inside them.
Kuqa: Where the Past Still Lives in the City
From ancient tombs beneath Youyi Road to the end of the Duku Highway and Subashi ruins, walking one more layer of time in Kuqa.
Shufu’s Instrument Village: How a Craft That Fed Families Still Lives Today
In Shufu County near Kashgar, wood slowly becomes sound. Beyond the label of intangible heritage, it is a living craft supporting families today.
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