"Next Stop, Xinjiang": See the Far West on New 16-Day Train Tour

Occupying a full one-sixth of China’s total territory and offering an amazing variety of natural and cultural resources, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region never fails to intrigue tourists despite the mafan that's involved in actually getting there.

Due to ongoing political tensions, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for foreign passport holders to travel there on their own, and in general, planning a trip to the area can be stressful. But now, China Railway Travel Service (CRTS) is offering a 16-day package tour which includes a round trip by the special Y201 (westbound) and Y202 (eastbound) trains which shuttle between Beijing East Station and Turpan in Xinjiang and costs RMB 5,280 for adults, and RMB 2,680 for children. For those that want to explore the fascinating, far-western corner of China, and aren't short of time (or cash), this package tour looks to be quite a good option.

The first service of this new train journey departed Beijing on Jun 23, carrying some 500 passengers. Equipped with hard upper and bottom sleepers (four per carriage), it will follow a Southern Xinjiang route, and traverses seven regions and cities – Turpan, Hotan, Qira, Moyu, Kashgar, Korla, and Kumul before heading to Dunhuang and Zhangye in neighboring Gansu, stopping in each for an average of one-and-a-half-days. Tourists will be able to visit countless scenic spots along the route, including ancient mosques, natural wonders, minority villages, old temples, and the relic sites of the Silk Road along the route (although for unknown reasons, foreigners won’t be allowed to visit Luobu, an ancient village in Korla which is best-known for its rigorous religious practices and traditional lifestyle).

When it comes to booking the tour, CRTS handles everything. As a foreigner, you'll be asked to submit your passport details before getting official approval for the trip, a process that will take three to four days.

During the trip, tourists are expected to stick to the group traveling schedule, so if you want to work in any free travel time, you'll need to submit an application in advance. According to the staff we spoke to, the paperwork is very simple, but of course, there are no guarantees your application will be approved. 

Accommodation and food are included in the package fee, and tourists either spend the night at a local hotel or on the train itself, since the train sometimes runs during the night. The package fee does not include entrance ticket fees to sites visited during the trip, which vary between RMB 15 to RMB 100.

While the trip is presented as a 16-day journey, it must be noted that it is bookended by two 29 plus hour non-stop stretches while the train gets between Beijing and Zhangye, which are some 1,374km apart. So choose your traveling companions wisely, and bring a really good book (or three). 

The trip operates every sixteen days, with the next departures from Beijing scheduled for Jul 30, Aug 16, Sep 1, and Oct 12.

Click here or contact 5183 1886 (Chinese-speaking) to reserve tickets.

Prefer something a bit shorter? You can now get from Beijing to Qingdao in under 3 hours

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Photos: Mariam Soliman via Unsplash, Paul Piebinga (via Instagram)