The New Orient Express snow lotus trainset

2027 Routings · Day by Day

New Orient Express Itineraries

One train, four routings. The 2027 plan moves the Snow Lotus between a summer-autumn loop with the Duku Highway, a spring reverse routing, a southern Silk Road edition, and a Platinum-only northern short route. Every table below follows the operator's official 2027 sales plan (August 2026 edition) and its product sheets.

Which routing runs when

Routing	2027 departures	Direction	Duku Highway	Nights aboard
Summer-Autumn 14-day	Jun 2, 16, 30, Jul 14, 28, Aug 11, 30, Sep 13, 27	North first, then south	Southern section included	4
Spring 14-day	Apr 16, May 7, May 20	Reverse: south first, then north	Not included	5
Southern 11-day	Oct 15, 25 (Platinum Oct 13, 26)	Turpan → Ruoqang → Hotan → Kashgar → Kuqa	Not included	4
North 10-day (Platinum)	Aug 20	North loop via Kuytun	Northern section only	3

Duku Highway access for overseas travellers. The Duku Highway is open to mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan travel documents. The Bayanbulak section alone is not open to holders of foreign passports; where an itinerary includes that section, foreign-passport guests travel a substitute routing arranged by the operator. The August 20 short route uses the northern section only, which is open to all passports. Read the full Duku Highway guide.

New Orient Express Snow Lotus exterior — Third-generation Snow Lotus: deep purple and western gold livery

Supreme Gold Diamond suite: 12 m², double sofa, dry-wet bathroom

Entertainment carriage bar — Entertainment carriage: piano, bar, lounge seating

Routing 1 · Summer-Autumn North & South Xinjiang, 14 days

The full product: northern lakes and grasslands first, then the Duku Highway southern section down to Kashgar and the Pamir Plateau. 13 breakfasts and 24 lunches/dinners; hotels are 5-diamond in Urumqi, Yining, Nalati and Kashgar, with scenic-area stays at Kanas, Hemu and Bayanbulak.

Xinjiang scenery along the summer-autumn routing — Northern lakes first, then the south: the summer-autumn loop

Day	Route & highlights	Overnight
1	Arrive Urumqi; airport pickup, Grand Bazaar if time permits; hotel welcome dinner	Urumqi hotel
2	Heavenly Lake (boat cruise, about 4 hours) → board the train to Beitun	On board
3	Rainbow Beach (Wucaitan) → into the Kanas scenic area	Kanas
4	Kanas morning → Hemu Village (Tuva log cabins, Hemu river bridges)	Hemu
5	Hemu → the Ahe Highway (new Altay scenic road) → Altay → board the train at Jinghe South	On board
6	Sayram Lake (the "last tear of the Atlantic") → Six-Star Street, Yining	Yining
7	Nalati Grasslands (about 5 hours in the air-grassland)	Nalati
8	Bayanbulak Grassland — Swan Lake and the Nine-Curve-and-Eighteen-Bend river	Bayanbulak
9	The Duku Highway southern section → Tianshan Grand Canyon, Kuqa → board the train to Kashgar	On board
10	White Sand Lake on the Karakoram highway → Tashkurgan (Stone City, Golden Grassland)	Tashkurgan
11	Tajik family visit → Karakul Lake under Muztagh Ata → back to Kashgar	Kashgar
12	Kashgar old town (east and west zones), Id Kah Mosque, Gaotai residences → board the train to Turpan	On board
13	Karez wells → Flaming Mountain → Jiaohe ancient city → coach to Urumqi; farewell dinner	Urumqi hotel
14	Departure transfer	—

Routing 2 · Spring Reverse Routing, 14 days (no Duku)

The operator's spring plan runs the same province in the opposite order: the southern Silk Road first while the north is still cold, then the northern lakes as they thaw. No Duku Highway, no Bayanbulak; five nights aboard instead of four. 13 breakfasts and 25 lunches/dinners.

Xinjiang scenery along the spring routing — South first while the north is still cold: the spring reverse routing

Day	Route & highlights	Overnight
1	Arrive Urumqi; airport pickup; hotel buffet dinner (until 22:00)	Urumqi hotel
2	Heavenly Lake (boat cruise) → board the train south to Kuqa	On board
3	Tianshan Grand Canyon → Kuqa Big Noodle City (naan-making experience) → board the train to Kashgar	On board
4	White Sand Lake on the Karakoram highway → Tashkurgan: Golden Grassland, Stone City; yak hotpot dinner	Tashkurgan
5	Tajik family visit → Karakul Lake under Muztagh Ata → back to Kashgar	Kashgar
6	Kashgar old town, Id Kah Mosque, Gaotai residences → board the train to Turpan	On board
7	Karez wells → Flaming Mountain → board the train north to Beitun	On board
8	Hemu Village (about 4 hours in the valley; old-house performances, Hemu river)	Hemu
9	Kanas scenic area (three bays, lakeside boardwalks; Guanyu platform weather permitting)	Kanas
10	Kanas village morning → Beitun → board the train to Yining	On board
11	Nalati Grasslands	Nalati
12	Six-Star Street, Yining → Guozigou Bridge → Sayram Lake lakeside hotel	Sayram Lake
13	Sayram Lake morning (about 4 hours) → evening train to Urumqi	Urumqi hotel
14	Departure transfer	—

Routing 3 · Southern Xinjiang Silk Road, 11 days

October 15 and 25 on the flagship (Imperial RMB 38,999 / Supreme RMB 46,999; Platinum Oct 13 and 26 from RMB 21,888), and Oct 13 / Oct 27 on Xingyi. The poplar-season edition adds Ruoqang's Loulan heritage, Hotan jade country, the Yarkand Khanate palace and Luntai's 4,000-year-old poplar forest. 10 breakfasts and 18 lunches/dinners; hotels include the Wanda or Hilton in Urumqi, the Radisson in Kashgar and the Hilton Garden Inn in Kuqa.

Southern Xinjiang Silk Road scenery on the October routing — Poplar season along the southern Silk Road, October

Day	Route & highlights	Overnight
1	Arrive Urumqi; Grand Bazaar if time permits; hotel welcome dinner	Urumqi hotel
2	Jiaohe ancient city → Karez wells → grape estate; welcome reception in the lounge car → board the train to Ruoqang	On board
3	Milan ruins → Loulan museum and Loulan park → board the train to Hotan	On board
4	Hotan: Tuancheng old quarter → jade searching on the Yurungkash River → Yotkan ancient city	Hotan
5	Yarkand: Yarkand Khanate Palace, Amannisa Khan Mausoleum → on to Kashgar	Kashgar
6	Karakul Lake and White Sand Lake on the Karakoram highway (Muztagh Ata views) → Kashgar	Kashgar
7	Kashgar old town, Id Kah Mosque, Gaotai residences → board the train to Kuqa	On board
8	Tianshan Grand Canyon → Kuqa King's Palace → Qiuci old lanes	Kuqa
9	Luntai Tarim poplar forest → board the train to Urumqi	On board
10	Heavenly Lake (boat cruise); farewell dinner	Urumqi hotel
11	Departure transfer	—

Routing 4 · North Xinjiang Short Route, 10 days (Platinum)

One sailing, Aug 20, on the Platinum Gold Diamond set: RMB 21,888 four-berth / 27,888 two-berth per person. Northern scenery only — Kanas, Hemu, the Ahe Highway and the Ili valley — plus the Duku Highway's northern section, which is open to all passports. 8 breakfasts and 16 lunches/dinners; three nights aboard.

Lounge and social space aboard the Snow Lotus

Day	Route & highlights	Overnight
1	Arrive Urumqi	Urumqi hotel
2	Heavenly Lake (boat cruise) → board the train to Beitun	On board
3	Kazakh family visit → Rainbow Beach (Wucaitan) → Jiadengyu	Jiadengyu
4	Kanas scenic area day trip (three bays, boardwalks)	Jiadengyu
5	Hemu Village → the Ahe Highway → Altay → board the train to Kuytun	On board
6	The Duku Highway northern section → Nalati Grasslands	Nalati
7	Nalati air-grassland → on to Tekes (the eight-armed bagua town)	Tekes
8	Koksu Grand Canyon → Yining	Yining
9	Guozigou Bridge → Sayram Lake → board the train to Urumqi	On board
10	Departure transfer	—

Reading the tables

Meal counts are the operator's own — 13+24 on the summer-autumn loop, 13+25 in spring, 10+18 on the southern edition, 8+16 on the short route — and dining standards differ by tier: train breakfast 70 / dinner 150 RMB; Platinum ground meals run 60–100 against 80–120 on Imperial and Supreme.
Hotel levels differ by routing and tier. The flagship stays inside the Kanas and Hemu scenic areas; the Platinum sailings base at Jiadengyu and day-trip in. Urumqi, Yining, Nalati and Kashgar are 5-diamond on the flagship product sheets.
Sequence is the operator's, not ours. The tour director may adjust the order of visits for weather or road conditions without dropping listed sights; train times use 2026 reference schedules until the 2027 railway calendar is published.
Tashkurgan and the Pamir sit in a border-management area: the electronic border permit is arranged by the operator as part of the tour — travellers cannot apply for it online themselves. Bring your passport; a clear scan is needed at booking.
Fares by routing sit on the train page and the 2027 calendar; the onboard guide covers cabins and dining, and this guide the Duku Highway rules for overseas passports.

New Orient Express →2027 Dates & Fares Ask About a Departure

Evidence & updates

Sources and review date

Formation and cabin figures are checked against the published references below. Last reviewed 2 October 2026.

H1 2026 national railway passenger and tourism-train figures — State Council / China Railway reporting