Can Foreigners Travel to Xinjiang?

Xinjiang is a top tourist destination in China and attracts many travelers going there each year. Xinjiang has distinctive seasonal view that never bore the eyes of travelers for all 4 seasons. There is no wonder about the nature charms of Xinjiang, but its rich ethnic culture brings more dynamic into Xinjiang tours. Coming to Xinjiang, tasting of local food and local fruits must be on must to do things in Xinjiang as well.

As Xinjiang is in the remote part of China, it would be difficult for foreigners find reliable travel information to plan a visit to Xinjiang while surfing on line. As Xinjiang also borders Tibet, Pakistan, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, so when planning a visit to Xinjiang, need to be aware of Xinjiang Border pass permit if the visit area is close to the border. To save the hassles and smooth Xinjiang Travel, it would be a good idea to find a reliable travel agency for your China adventure.

Can foreigners travel to Xinjiang? 

Foreigners absolutely can travel to Xinjiang. To visit Xinjiang, tourists need to have Chinese visa applied first as Xinjiang is part of China, if tourists planning to visit places close to the border need to apply the border pass permit with travel agency in advance. However, not all parts of Xinjiang are open to foreign tourist, so when planning a travel to Xinjiang, it is advised to consult local China Travel agency first to avoid all obstacles.

However, when foreigners travel to Xinjiang need to be aware of the bellowing information

1. Respect local religion and local customs

In the Muslim quarter, they do not eat pork or pork fat and drink wine. When tourists are invited home, needs to be not talk about anything related to pork or pork fat and not drink alcohol as it will be considered very offensive. However, when you are not in Muslim quarter, it would be fine.

Entre mosque, it is not allowed to wear shorts or skirts.

2. Need support for Trekking in Xinjiang

Xinjiang is a less populated place except some big cities and towns. If tourists are planning Xinjiang trekking tours such as Xinjiang Wusun Trekking Trip, need to camp outside in the wild, must have very good logistic support to ensure a smooth journey.

3. Pay special attention to Xinjiang temperature

There is a saying that Xinjiang people wear T-shirts at noon and sit around at stove in the evening to enjoy watermelon wearing jacket. That is a funny way to tell how big the difference would be regarding to Xinjiang temperature for day time and night time. So planning a Xinjiang tour, it is recommend to pack clothes with layers.

4. Prepare for long distance drive when visiting Xinjiang

As Xinjiang is with large territory and each scenic place is far from each other so travelling Xinjiang usually involves long driving. Travelling in Xinjiang, you even need to take domestic flight or train to make your journey more relaxed for even for the sake of saving time.  Let’s look at the most classic 8 days tour from Urumqi to Kashgar, to make this trip a domestic flight from Kashgar to Urumqi or Urumqi to Kashgar must be arranged.

For some travelers, it would be a good idea to utilize the night time on the train for travelling and day time to do the visit, however sleeping on the train is not as comfortable as in hotel! Luckily now there is choice to make the train journey as comfortable as 5 star hotel. It is Xinjiang New Orient Express Train. Golden suite room is the most luxury room but sold out fast, so people normally book one year ahead to ensure the availability. Xijiang New Orient Express timetable and price is already available to book, travelers interested, could contact chinaadventure.org to book now.

5. Xinjiang Food

Some travelers would really like Xinjiang food which mainly about mutton or beef, cheap and tasty, main food is about rice or noodles. Some western travelers might find food hard to digest. It is possible to find western restaurants in major cities. The most headache thing for most foreigners travelling in Xinjiang, it would be difficult for them to find good coffee. For travelers who must have a good couple of coffee to start a fresh day, it would be suggested to prepare some coffee from your home country.  However for travelers who love local food, we would recommend you try Xinjiang Pilaf , shish kebab, Xinjiang Dapan Chicken. Meanwhile do not visit the Famous Xinjiang local street food during your visit in Xinjiang.

6. Xinjiang Hotel

As Xinjiang is in the remote part of China. How remote? For example, most people buy thing online can get free delivery, however people from Xinjiang need to pay extra for delivery and shipping.  Thus, the construction also cost more and take a little bit slow compared to other parts of China.   So there are only few qualified 5 star hotel in Xinjiang, for most 3 , 4 or 5 star hotel, it is not of the same level of westerner standard. But hospitality of Xinjiang people is super 5 star, we think that could compensate the lost facilities and service

Conclusion

In a word, foreigners can travel to Xinjiang, but need to have good preparation or find a good local travel agency to make the Xinjiang smooth and enjoyable. Contact us to share your travel plan. Got any questions, feel free to contact us info@chinaadventure.org