Silk Road & the Northwest Travel Guide 2026
Mogao caves, rainbow mountains, Uyghur Old City bazaars, and the western terminus of the ancient Silk Road.
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Quick Answer
What are the top destinations in Silk Road & the Northwest?
Xi'an, Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Zhangye, Turpan, Urumqi, Kashgar, Lanzhou, Xining, Xiahe (Labrang), Yan'an, The Silk Road (Xi'an → Dunhuang → Kashgar).
Source: NihaoVisit
Destinations in this region
- Xi'an
China's 3,100-year-old imperial capital — the Terracotta Army, the best-preserved city wall in China, and the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, layered with th…
- Dunhuang
Silk Road oasis. The Mogao Caves with their vast Buddhist murals, the singing sand dunes of Mingsha, and the Crescent Moon Spring — one of China's most atmosphe…
- Jiayuguan
The western end of the Ming Great Wall — Jiayuguan Fort stands where the wall meets the Gobi Desert and the Qilian Mountains, with the Overhanging Great Wall cl…
- Zhangye
Home to the Rainbow Danxia landforms — UNESCO-listed striped mountains of red, yellow, green, and blue — plus China's largest reclining Buddha and a deep Silk R…
- Turpan
China's hottest place and the second-lowest depression on Earth — an oasis city of grape trellises, ancient Silk Road ruins, and the ingenious Karez irrigation …
- Urumqi
Xinjiang's sprawling capital. The world's most inland major city, Heavenly Lake in the Tianshan Mountains, the Grand Bazaar, and Uyghur food culture unlike anyw…
- Kashgar
Xinjiang's westernmost city, a Silk Road crossroads where Uyghur culture, Central Asian bazaar life, and the edge of the Taklamakan Desert collide. The Sunday B…
- Lanzhou
Gansu's provincial capital on the Yellow River. Beef noodles, the Flying Horse of Gansu, and Silk Road history at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau.…
- Xining
Qinghai's high-altitude capital. Kumbum Monastery, the vast Qinghai Lake, Hui Muslim markets, and a Tibetan-Han cultural crossroads at 2,275 meters.…
- Xiahe (Labrang)
Gansu's Tibetan Buddhist heart — the golden-roofed Labrang Monastery, 3-kilometer prayer wheel corridors, and grasslands that stretch to the edge of the sky at …
- Yan'an
A key base of China's mid-20th-century history from 1935 to 1948 — cave dwellings, Pagoda Hill, the Loess Plateau, and a formative chapter of modern China, set …
- The Silk Road (Xi'an → Dunhuang → Kashgar)
The ancient overland route from central China through the desert to Central Asia. Xi'an, Dunhuang's Mogao Caves, Turpan's Uyghur culture, and Kashgar's Sunday m…