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So all in all it was a dream of a trip. One that I had always wished to do but thought is was likely not to happen. The landscapes were beautiful and varied so much eve by the hour. The infrastructure that has been recently constructed to open up this area was next level. The growth and...

The last day before we flew back to Shenyang. More desert travel to Turpan and Flaming Mountain. Extremely hot. Over 40 degrees. Supposedly the hottest place in China. Incredible road and rail infrastructure and kilometer after kilometer of wind and solar which along with the transmission...

A visit to the local markets and parts of the city in Urumqi followed.

Returning to Urumqi by overnight trains we then travelled through the desert until we reached Bosten Lake. A huge wetland and the biggest non coastal lake in China.

On our second day in our return to Kashgar the rest of the group headed off to somewhere we were not allowed to visit. So for the whole tour we missed out on two places but were looked after very well and given a private guide of our own. I still have no idea whet we missed out on or why we...

More Kashgar.

More photos of our walk around Kashgar. Like most of the tour we were just dropped off and given a sufficient amount of time to have a good look around and then meet back at a pre arranged time and location. The tour guide kept in touch with others with WeChat whereas I just headed off on my own...

This area appeared to be original older buildings that were under preservation/restoration.

More of Kashgar. Only a facade of a mosque rather than a functioning one.

Today we spent time in what we were told was Kashgar Old Town. It was a re-creation of the older town but most of the buildings were not original. This is not uncommon in many of the old town areas of China. Regardless it was still a colourful area full of interest.

Our hotel in Kashgar. Excellent buffet diner and breakfast.

Afterwards we visited a local home for dinner and some folk dancing show. Then we were on our way back down the Hwy to Kashgar.

Sadly that was as far as we ventured along the Karakorum Hwy. It was one of the few disappointments of this tour. To come so far and not at least get to the Pakistan boarder. One day I would love to do the full trip but the odds are very low that it will ever happen. After breakfast at the...

Our overnight hotel on the Karakorum Highway was in Tashkurgan. We had reached a height of just over 4,000 mts along the route and then descended into a long green valley to the town. Tashkurgan was a significant stop on the old Silk Road and was named after the nearby fort that stood guard over...

From the lake we continued to climb further up into the mountains. There were a number of police checkpoints and surveillance posts, cameras etc along the way. We were quite close to the Afghani border at this stage.

Our first destination for the day. (from Wiki) Karakul Lake. At an altitude of 3,600 m, it is the highest lake of the Pamir plateau, near the junction of the Pamir, Tian Shan and Kunlun mountain ranges. Surrounded by mountains which remain snow-covered throughout the year, the three highest...

Climbing higher from the river valley in the mountains.

After and early lunch we reboarded our bus and headed off into the mountains. As I previously mentioned I knew little of the actual trip itinerary and I almost deliberately held back from inquiring about the specifics which would have required translation as the tour guides only spoke Mandarin...

From the station we headed off for another enjoyable local meal. Innovative child seat on a local scooter.

Breakfast on the train and then a few more hours that morning on board as we headed to our next destination. Kashgar. Photos of the station and the landscape approaching Kashgar. Arrival at Kashgar station. At each station the full train compliment splits up into their individual tour...