10 Days Eastern Xinjiang Photography Tour

International Bazaar

Our nice guide will meet you at the airport and then start your Xinjiang Adventure. City sightseeing in Urumqi.
Visit Xinjiang Museum, Erdaoqiao Market & International Bazaar,
Xinjiang Museum,the museum is the main institution to collect and investigate the unearthed cultural relics and specimens in Xinjiang. There are more than 50 thousand pieces of various kinds of cultural relics stored in the museum, among them, the ancient mummies represented by ‘the Loulan Beauty', manuscripts in Chinese, Kharosthi, Qiuci, Yanji, Tibetan, Uigurian and other characters prevailed in ancient Westen Regions, the silk ,wool, cotton and hemp fabrics and folk rainment, etc., are unusual tidbits in the world.
Erdaoqiao Market & International Bazaar The Erdaoqiao Bazaar is the largest in Urumqi. You'll find a bustling market filled with fruit, clothing, crafts, knives, carpets and almost anything that you can imagine. On Sunday, there are more stalls and more goods to buy than any other day. The old streets around the bazaar are really worth seeing.Here is the most welcomed place by tourist especialy by ladies where they can buy some traditional Uygur make up cosmetic.

Day 2

Urumqi Five-colored park (250kms, 2.5-3hrs driving)

The Terracotta Warriors

Drive some 250km northwards to Five-colored Park, and pass by the Kalamali Wild animal protection Reserve. where you can see the wild ass, wild horses, wild camels if you are luckily enough. And take the photo, focus on the Colored Yardan landform in the sunset. Throughout the long period of wind erosion，it has formed many various conformations like pavilions，castles，palaces，towers，and some eerily lifelike things，such as tigers，lions，camels，fungus，and so on；there are also fanciful scenery of wispy lakes，forests，cars，and so onIn the evening enjoy the hot spring in the vast gobi desert.

Day 3

Five Colored ParkQitai

Jiangbulak Scenic Spot

Today we will arrive Jiangbulak Prairie in the afternoon, experience the present nomadic Kazaks in the modern society. There is a strange waterfall that the water flow from the downside to the upside. Located 60 km south of Qitai County.
Jiangbulak Scenic Spot is a vast grassland in the eastern part of Tianshan Mountain. Its unique location endows it with beautiful landscapes, without any extreme weathers in the summer or winter.?
Jiangbulak means the "source of holy water" in the Kazakh language. The spot boasts amazing natural scenes. The best season to visit Jiangbulak is June or July. Various flowers in different colors, massive barley fields, crystal lakes, and multi-peaked mountains abound.

Day 4

Qitai  Mori Diversifilor Poplar Park (240kms, 3hrs driving)

Mori Diversifilor Poplar Park

In the morning drive to Mulei where are the diversiform-leaved poplar in the vast desert. The forest has the long history, with different mix of the style. And focus on the poplar in the vast desert in the sunset. A forest of diversiform-leaved poplars, a tenacious ancient species, can be found at the south edge of Junggar Basin, 150 km away from Mori County, covering an area of 35 square kilometers. With a history of 65 million years, the forest is the oldest primeval forest of diversiform-leaved poplars in the world, and is known as a "living fossil".
Faced with broiling heat and droughts, the forest stills stand in the desert, brimming with energy and life. The trees are described as "having the ability to grow erect for a thousand years, live for a thousand years after falling, and the life remain undying after death for another thousand years."
Far away from urban and rural areas, the forest contains about 30,000 diversiform-leaved poplars with an average age of 200-400 years. The oldest tree, known as the "ancestor tree," has lived there for over 1,000 years, with its trunk measuring 3.1 meters in diameter.

Day 5

Mori  Balikun Paririe

Balikun Grassland

head to Balikun county—one of the famous stop in the ancient silk road. Focus on the Balikun Lake and the picturesque ingenious prairie.
Balikun Grassland is the second largest grassland in Xinjiang which is famous for its major eight sceneries including "Snow-covered Pines in Tianshan", "Vast Turtle City" and "Crystal Spring". It is an ideal resort place for visiting with fat and lively flocks and herds, green and lush grasses, and clean air. Pure traditions of Kazak nationality are kept here. If you visit the yurt of Kazak, the friendly host will treat you with hot buttered tea, mellow horse milk and meat. On the annual grand meeting, traditional horse racing, girls' chase, wrestling, and playing and singing are regularly held. The style of Balikun Grassland is always passionate and unrestrained.Balikun Grassland is different from that of Mongolia, which is no end in your sight. The grassland of Balikun is in the basin where you can see successive mountains connected with blue sky in distant places. There is perennial ice and snow on top of the mountains and evergreen forest in the midd.

Barkol singing sand dune

After breakfast head to White Stone park and focus on the view of the East Tianshan prairie. And in the afternoon head to Barkol singing sand?dune and tonight you will overnight in the local Kazak's Yurt
Barkol singing sand dune is surrounded by green in Hami prefecture in China’s Xinjiang Uygur region on August 5, 2011.The dune is said to “sing” as it emits sound that may be caused by wind passing over the dune or by people walking on the sand. Barkol dune is a natural wonder of the region and attracts large groups of tourists from around the world. The thunder-like sound produced when sliding down along the sands is tremenous. Surrounded by the Echoing-Sand Hill, the Crescent Spring can be called a natural wonder in the Gobi Desert. Having been lying among these sand dunes for thousands of years, although given many attacks by sandstorms, Crescent Spring still gurgles clear, and still remains worthy as the first spring in the desert.

Day 7

Balikun  Hami

The Terracotta Warriors

In the morning take the nice photo of the Kazaks lifestyle and then have lunch upon arrival in Hami, and in the afternoon focus on the ghost city Hami Ghost Castle lies in the southwest Gobi．about 30 kilometers away from Wubao village of Hami．Yadan spectacle in Hami emerged from the black sand wave．Therefore，it is like a mysterious city in the black sea．It has been developed into Yadan ecological garden．Centered at one of the old station.

Day 8

Hami  Shanshan

Kumtag

In the morning head to Shanshan County which is about 6okms from Turpan and enjoy the photography in the desert.Kumtag means "sand hill" in the Uygur language. As its name suggests, it overhangs a small oasis in Dunhuang, which has nurtured ancient cultures dating back to AD336 in the arid region.Because of its remoteness, Kumtag is still a mysterious place waiting to be explored. The converging winds have brought about clusters of sand hills in the shape of pyramids, unique feather-shaped dunes and canyons.The place has also been developed as a tourist resort where visitors can have a full view of the magnificence of the desert in northwest China.
 

Day 9

Shanshan  Turpan

Tuyoq Valley

In the morning head to Tuyoq Village and experience the local Uyger’s life style. And after lunch visit the Bezklik Grottoes. 
Tuyoq Valley The caves lies 65 kilometers to the east of the city of Turfan and are constructed or dug in eastern and western cliffs in Tuyoq valley . Among more than 40 caves, there are 10 preserving murals. They are considered to be the earliest caves in Turfan, Murals are mostly damaged, but unique in style.
Bezklik GrottoesIt is located 50 kilometers to the east of Turfan City. “Bezeklik”means “a place with beautiful decoration”. There are 83 numbered caves; among them 40 preserved murals totaling 1200 square meters. These caves are first excavated in Qu`s Gaochang period. The exising caves were reconstructed or newly extended by Uighurian people. In some caves one can find that Buddhish murals are painted on Manichean murals. Themes of the murals are mainly the stories about causes.

Day 10

Turpan  Urumqi

Karez Irrigation System

Visit Jiaohe Ruined city, Karez Irrigation System ,Turpan Minority Souvenir and Carpet Shop and in the afternoon back to Urumqi
Sugong Minaret Locatedin Mura Village 2 kilometers to the east of the city of Turfa, theTower was built in the 41st year of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty,It is an embodiment of the ancient architectural arts of the Uygur nationality. The tower is 37 meters high and 10 meters in diameter at the base. The body of the tower is cylindroid in shape, built with bricks arranged in various symmetrical patterns on the outer wall. The tower has 14 windows and a spiral stairs inside it leading to the top.
Karez Irrigation SystemThe Karez System is a unique irrigation system in Turfan, which, taking advantage of the slopes, draws the underground water to flow by itself to irrigate farmland. It consists of four parts: vertical wells, underground channels, ground canals and small reservois.

Day 11

Urumqi  Your Destination

You will be transferred to the airport and take the flight back to your destination based on your flight schedule.