【2027 Silk Road Express】Golden Autumn Itinerary (Xining-Kashgar or Reverse)

【Morning】A guide walks you through ★Kumbum Monastery (38 km / approx. 45 min) — butter sculptures, murals and Thangka embroidery, with the monastery's golden roofs and red walls quiet above the valley.

【Afternoon】Board the Silk Road Express. Your cabin is ready, and the train begins to move west.

【Morning】The train runs west along the Qilian Mountains; the view keeps changing through the window.

【Afternoon】A convoy takes you into ★the Dahaidao (72 km / 1.5 hrs). The yardang ridges shift from ochre to deep blue as the sun drops, and the headlights come on for the drive back.

【Evening】A room is kept at the Hami Huakai International Hotel.

【Morning】From Hami Station the train continues west to Turpan, the Land of Fire, the Tianshan foothills moving past the window.

【Afternoon】A guide leads you down into ★the Karez wells (40 km / 60 mins) — the underground channels that have carried meltwater to this oasis for centuries — and then on to ★Jiaohe Ancient City (6 km / 10 min), an earthen ruin that has stood since the days of the Cheshi kingdom.

【Evening】Back on the train, dinner is served as it continues toward Luntai.

【Today】A small train carries you into ★the Tarim poplar forest (approx. 80 km / 100 min). The trees have turned gold, tea is set out among them, and the Tarim River runs through the woods.

【Evening】Return to the train for dinner; the night passes on the way to Kashgar.

【Morning】In ★Kashgar's old town the lanes are narrow and the courtyards quiet. There is time to sit down with a cup of tea and try pottery or block-printing with a craftsman.

【Afternoon】Change into traditional dress for a portrait in the old town, against the earthen walls and painted doors.

【Evening】Dinner is a Muqam banquet; the night is spent at the UrCove by Hyatt in the old town scenic area.

【Today】Wake at leisure; the driver will take you to the airport or station according to your schedule.

Special Reminder: As train schedules are not yet confirmed, all touring times above are for reference only; actual timing will apply.