About China
I have travelled through China seven times now and visited the major cities and the heartland. I was stunned by world wonders and remains of ancient times. I enjoyed rice terraces, lakes and mountains as well as the friendliness of the people and feeling of safe travel.
Nowadays we can also add the technological and structural miracles that China is accomplishing, with giant bridges, deep tunnels, superfast trains and energy works plus AI, self-driving cars and robots to sightseeing destinations, experiences and attractions. There really is a lot to see and do in China!
This blog describes my latest visit to Western China in Sommer 2026, a part that is different from the rest of China for many reasons. We spent another 4 weeks in this colourful region. You will still find high-speed trains and Chinese food, but also a lot of desert, high altitude and people of different religions speaking different languages.
We arrived in Urumqi by flight from Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
About Western China
Western China covers four provinces: Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai and Xizang (better known as Tibet). This is all quite remote with long distances between destinations and requires proper planning.
The fast and comfortable trains are running here as well (with exception of Tibet) and can be booked online easily. Depending on the season and crowds, that should not be a problem and easy to do. Most of the attractions are on the ancient Silk Road.
Travelling through Western China independently as a foreigner is certainly doable, but you need time and patience. Many travellers prefer a group tour to deal with the language, connections and find accommodation and attractions. Tour Guides can have good recommendations about places to eat. This applies especially to China where things can be complicated for non-Chinese.
Travel in the Xinjiang Province
Xinjiang is the most Western and largest province in China. Urumqi is the capital and as close to mountains as it is to the desert. So everything is close? Not really. This is the city with the longest distance in the world to any sea! You need to travel at least 2500 km in any direction to find the next major water. To Beijing it is even slightly further.
Urumqi is a big Chinese city with tall modern buildings. Of course we visited the Grand Bazaar in the city centre with lots of markets, but used the city more as a stop-over. We even skipped the Tianshan Mountains that are approx. 90 minutes away by bus, because we have seen many mountains elsewhere and had a full schedule.
We did take a 2 hour fast train to Turpan, a city surrounded by desert.
Online we had booked a hotel close to the station, which was a very bad decision. There is absolutely nothing to do around the station. Fortunately we could cancel on trip.com without any cost and moved to the nice Atour-hotel in the city, where the action was and we could find something to eat.
Turpan City features attractions like an ancient earthen city and an irrigation system. This area can be really hot and dry. The only thing that really grows here, are grapes. These fruits are not really for wine, but for raisins, and you can find vines and dry-rooms everywhere. The Grape Valley is nearby.
With help of the hotel staff we organised a full-day tour with private driver, so we could discover the area more. A stop at the “Flaming Mountains” was a highlight. This is one of the hottest places on earth, where normal temperatures in summer are 48° C, with extremes even reaching 80° C (like a sauna). Ancient Tuyok Village was also interesting. Another nice, but very windy spot were the high sand-dunes at sunset, but we would see more sand dunes later on.
Kashgar could be a 3rd stop in Xinjiang, but it is a long way out (1500 km south-west of Urumqi). This was a very important city and trading post on the Silk Road for thousands of years. Unfortunately the city did not survive modernisation. The Chinese authorities demolished and re-built a large part of the old city, “for safety reasons”. It certainly is still worth visiting, but don’t expect an intact city with Uyghur culture and many original, earthen structures.
In Xinjiang we met Uyghur people who are majority Muslim and speak, write & sing Uyghur. They are unlike Han Chinese (90% of the Chinese population) and proud of it.
Travel in the Gansu Province
By 8-hour train we continued to Dunhuang.
This city is known for two things that we really enjoyed. My wife is practicing Buddhist and for her the beautiful Mogao Caves were significant. Buddhism spread from India/Nepal to China/Japan via the Silk Road. We had planned going here for quite some time. Approx. 400 caves contain Buddha statues, murals, paintings and inscriptions. Unlike other caves, these are mainly intact. Some caves were robbed clean in the past by Europeans. You must buy tickets well in advance and then a local guide will show you eight (random) caves. Taking photos is strictly prohibited, but perfect replicas of 6 caves at the entrance allow for this. Highly recommended.
The other big attraction in Dunhuang is the tall “singing sand-dunes” with Crescent Lake. Super-soft sand and lots of camels make this an amazing experience. The Lake is an important AAAAA tourist attraction in China, because of its beautiful shape and the fact that it always contains water. Sunset on top of the dunes can be crowded, but is certainly worth it. Excellent views!
Zhangye, the next city in Gansu Province, features the Dafo Temple, with the largest wooden frame Buddha in the world. It is a nice, small temple area, well worth visiting. The city is well known for the rocks, mountains and canyons in the surrounding area. We spent a day discovering this. In the morning we visited the Pingshanhu Grand Canyon, east of the city. I won’t forget a long walk and many vertical steps with hot temperatures in this Canyon any time soon. In the afternoon we took the bus to the colourful Zhangye Danxia Rainbow Mountains, a geological park just west of the city. Colorful rocks make this landscape quite dramatic. If the sun shines, the red really comes out brightly. With clouds, it turns out orange and is still amazing.
Travel in the Qinghai Province
We continued by train to Xining, capital of the province Qinghai.
This city has two major attractions. First of all there is the 500 year old Ta’Er Monastery (aka. Kumbum Monastery in Tibetan Language). This is a large, colorful complex where Tibetan Monks have found a home to protect Tibetan Culture and Art. Currently there are still 300-400 monks living and praying here in 50 different temples.
Second attraction is the Qinghai Lake (aka. Koko Nor), approx. 2.5 hours one-way from Xining by car or bus. This is the largest salt-water lake in China. You would say, if it is that big, there would be lots to see? Unfortunately the bus takes you to the Erlangjian Scenic Area and no further. This is a fully developed, small tourist zone with restaurants, boats and souvenirs. I could be a national park, but isn’t.
From Lake Qinghai it is 150 km to Chaka Salt Lake, what is known as the “mirror of the sky”, thanks to reflections. To do both lakes in one day is doable, but only on a very long day with private transportation. The better solution could be to stay over somewhere.
For us, Xining was an important city. It is not only nice to visit, with pleasant markets and a beautiful mosque, but it is also situated at an altitude of 2300 m. This altitude is pleasant and almost unnoticeable, but for us it was important to acclimatize before our trip to Tibet. All trains to Tibet leave in, or pass through Xining.
The Train to Tibet
The train to Tibet is special and a tourist attraction by itself. It takes 21 hours to cover the 1900 km from Xining, via Golmud to Lhasa, and a very interesting ride. Most of the time you will be over 4000 m altitude and a highest point just over 5000 m. This is the highest train ride in the world!
All trains in China are easy to book online. We used trip.com a lot. Tickets for the train Xining to Lhasa become available exactly 2 weeks before departure, exactly at noon. Most of them are sold-out in no-time. Depending on the season, you have to be really lucky. I knew this and tried to book exactly at that time, while we were still in Kashgar, Uzbekistan. At noon 16 seats appeared available in the soft-sleeper class (4 passengers per cabin). But when I tried to book this at trip.com, the system asked me for more than my passport, documents that I did not have. And while the time was ticking and I was looking for a solution, the tickets were sold out!
I switched to chinaticketonline.com, a travel platform where I could actually make a booking without extra documents, but now in the hard-sleeper class (6 passengers per cabin). This was confirmed a few hours later. We had a middle and top bunk bed. I had mixed feelings that we did not get my desired cabin type, but happy that we did get something.
Foreign tourists going to Tibet need a travel permit on top of their China Visa. Only a Tibetan travel agent can apply for this, as part of a tour package. We had booked our 10-day Tibet Tour from Singapore and now forwarded the online train ticket to the agent. With this info, they were able to obtain the permit and send it (the original paper document) per express to our hotel in Xining. One day before our train left, we got it. Pfff.
We took the train from Xining to Lhasa late at night. Our travel permit and passports were checked a few times before getting on the train. All OK! And the hard-sleeper that I was a bit afraid of, turned out to be okay as well. Climbing to my bed on the top, was a bit of an exercise, but not scary or tight and even quite comfortable. There was even space for our luggage. The advantage of hard-sleeper is access to the hall, with simple seats, but great views and that was why we took the train.
After a good sleep, we enjoyed the train ride and did see the vast Tibetan plateau with snow and lots of yaks. Along the train tracks there were sometimes little huts for security personnel, who saluted when the train passed. We chatted and laughed with other people on-board even though we did not speak the same language. A highlight was the Tanggula Mountain Pass, at 5072m. For those who needed it, there was oxygen readily available. We arrived on-time in Lhasa and our travel agent Tibet Vista picked us up at the train station and took us to our hotel.
Long time ago, long before the train existed, I already travelled from Golmud to Lhasa once, but then by (uncomfortable) public bus. That was quite an adventure and only very few people travelled that way. You could do this independently and a simple stamp in your passport was all you needed to visit Tibet on your own. Those days are gone. It is now all regulated.
Travel in Tibet Province
Lhasa is the capital of Tibet at 3650 m altitude. Because we arrived by train, the thin air was not a problem and never needed extra oxygen. People who flew in from Chengdu or Chongqing had more issues. Lhasa is now mostly Chinese, but still has some spots where the Tibetan people can practise their culture and Buddhist religion.
We visited Lhasa with a local guide as part of our tour. The most famous building in Lhasa is the Pottala Palace, where the Dalai Lama used to live, before he fled Tibet to India in 1959. It was a political and religious centre for the Tibetans, now it is more a large tourist spot. To enter the Palace you need a ticket that must be purchased in advance.
In front of the Palace there used to be a large lake, but now there is a large square. Similar to Tianmen Square in Beijing there is a flagpole with a Chinese flag and large pictures of all the Chinese presidents incl. Xi, just to remind everyone that Tibet is Chinese. In Europe there are sometimes demonstrations to “Free Tibet”. Well, that is not going to happen.
The 7th century Jokhang Temple in the old city centre and the Drepung Monastery on the hill are likely the most important religious buildings in Lhasa. They are both very colourful. The Jokhang is very important for the Tibetans (young and older) and can be the end-point for their pilgrimage. They practise full-body prostrations, chanting, and walked around the temple while spinning prayer wheels as part of their religion. I was really impressed and showed my respect.
Next stop on our tour in Tibet was Shigatse, the 2nd largest city in Tibet. Along the way we passed the Yarlung Tsangpo River that leads to the Grand Canyon with the same name, the largest canyon in the world. It was on my wish list of things to see, even though the river was still very quiet where we saw it. Shigatse is home to the Panchen Lama.
From Shigatse we continued our tour to the Mt. Everest Base Camp. Unlike Nepal, where you’ll have to trek 1 or 2 weeks to see Everest, you can get there in 6-8 hours by comfortable bus from Shigatse. It takes you along a very windy road with 108 turns. On top of the pass, with nice weather, you may see Everest, Lhotse and three more 8000’ers from a distance. Amazing! We arrived at Everest Base Camp just before sunset and could not see the mountain because of thick fog. Naturally I was very disappointed and sad. But the next morning made up for it, with absolutely beautiful cloud-free views of the highest mountain in the world! It could not be better. Note that accommodation here is very basic and the altitude (5200m) can cause problems for quite a few, but extra oxygen is available everywhere.
After Everest we continued across the Tibetan Plateau with lots of yaks, goats and snowy mountains. Altitude was always between 4600m and 5100m, similar to Bolivia. Just crossing these highlands was an unforgettable experience. We continued to Namtso Lake, the highest big salt lake in the world at 4718m. When you realise that each and every one of the mountains around the lake is higher than the Alps, you feel really small and grateful that you are able to experience this.
It took one more day to get back to Lhasa, where we celebrated with new friends from Italy. Admiring the action at the Jokhang temple from a higher floor with a 3650 local beer in your hand, is not something you do every day.
Many people travel to Mt. Kailash, in the west of Tibet. This is a mysterious mountain important to several religions. Nobody in the world has ever climbed it all the way to the top. People who tried, suddenly got very old. Others have heard activity inside the mountain and link it to extra-terrestrial activity. There may even be a pyramid inside the mountain? Fact is, that Chinese authorities now restrict access to the mountain and trekking around it is the only thing that you can do. Especially around Vesakh day (the most important day on the Buddhist calendar) it can be really crowded and obtaining a special permit for Mt Kailash may be difficult. We did not go there.
Travelling through Tibet is an unforgettable experience even though you cannot go on your own but must join a local tour. The people, the nature, the clean air and the unique destinations will be with you forever. The only thing that is not nice, are the public toilets. They are absolutely horrible and make you think twice whether you really, really need to go.
Bye bye Tibet, going home
Our tour included a return to the airport or train station. We flew to Chengdu, in the Chinese province of Sichuan. We had been there 6 months earlier and did the things that we were not able to do earlier (e.g. People’s Park). Of course there are many more things to do in Chengdu and nearby Leshan, like the Giant Panda Research Centre, the Giant Buddha and Mt. Emei.
We flew back to Singapore (home) from Chengdu.
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