@greggioro: Roadtripping across Xinjiang has been a real revelation. We’ve now covered the entire length from Tashkurgan by the Pakistani border to the regional capital, Ürümqi, by road. On the way, we’ve not only met Uyghurs, but also Uzbeks in Kashgar, Kyrgyz in Kizilsu, Pamiri-Tajiks in Tashkurgan, Mongols in Bayanbulak (Bayingolin Prefecture), and Kazakhs in Nalati (Ili Prefecture)—each with their own language, custom, and cuisine. Sometimes the languages—like Uyghur and Uzbek—are mutually intelligible. Other times, different ethnic groups will switch to using Mandarin as a lingua franca. One of my main interests in visiting China was to get to know its ethnic diversity, and this region indeed feels like a continent in and of itself! And while I expected Xinjiang to be arid, the snow-capped peaks and emerald forests took me by complete surprise and showed me a side of this land I never even knew existed, and the Duku Highway is one of the most beautiful stretches of road I’ve had the pleasure of traveling on. Another thing also took us by surprise: while foreigners do not need a special permit to visit Xinjiang apart from a valid passport and Chinese visa, there are caveats. We found out the hard way when checking into our hotel at Bayanbulak at 10 in the evening. Due to the presence of a base, it is not possible to overnight as a tourist in the town of Bayanbulak, and we were forced to drive to Nalati—4.5 hours away. During the day, it would have been a 2-hour drive, but the fastest road was closed at night. It was a pothole- and fog-ridden ride in the dark through several mountain passes and we ended up arriving at Nalati a little past 3 in the morning; quite the adventure! . . . #xinjiang #china #centralasia #nalati #visitchina

Greg

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Tuesday 09 June 2026 18:01:21 GMT