16 days in Xinjiang, China

13-29 September, 2026

I've been to China a couple of times, but Xinjiang blew my mind. It's a freaking massive region about 1/6 of China's total size.

I think it's probably the most diverse part of China, in regards to the people and landscape. Its people include not just Uyghurs and Han Chinese, but there are other ethnicities such as Hui, Kazakhs etc...

Then there are

• alpine forests and glacier lakes (Kanas, photos 1-4)
• barren rocky wastelands (Karamay, photo 5)
• vast grasslands (Nalati, photo 6)
• surprisingly modern cities with good infrastructure (Kashgar, photos 7-13)
• Kashgar is amazeballs... I've heard stories about how the Chinese supposedly destroyed the "real" Old City, but I think they ended up with a good balance. They preserved/revamped a section of the Old City (kept the architecture and installed modern utilities and plumbing) while modernizing the rest of Kashgar. There is a modern downtown with highrise buildings just next to the Old City, with malls, offices, and residences.
• rugged snow-capped mountains (Karakoram Highway, photos 14-17)
• patchwork lands, because much of Xinjiang exists in a rain shadow. The landscape can change dramatically depending on the availability of water. There can be forests bordering rivers, and then a few miles out, they just peter out into wasteland (Five Colored Beach, photo 18)
• one of the largest deserts in the world (Taklamakan desert, photo 19)

I've heard from the locals that Kanas and Hemu Village get crazy crowded during late autumn and winter (for fall colors and cozy winter vibes).

Urumqi's airport is way better than Bangkok's or Ho Chi Minh's, which was a surprising observation.

I definitely want to go back and visit again.

Author: meluvyouwrongwrong