The journey is a single grand circuit: rail out east through Hami, coach-and-rail through the Altay north, the Ili west, then rail south to Kashgar and the Pamir, and finally a long rail day home across the Tianshan. Hotels are five-star in the cities (Wanda Revel, Conrad, InterContinental, Indigo) and the best available lodges at Hemu and Kanas. The operator stages most days as a choice of two or three private excursion lines with dedicated small vehicles, so a family can split pace without splitting the group. 2027 dates were not yet published on the operator's page at the time of writing; the operator's plan points to two sailings in the late-May to June window, and channel-published fares start around RMB 109,999 per person, indicative until confirmed in writing.
| Day | Route & highlights | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive Xining (about 2,200 m); welcome ceremony, private transfer to hotel; dinner at the hotel | Xining hotel |
| 2 | Choice of three private routes: Tibetan Medicine & Culture Museum plus Kumbum Monastery; the plateau wildlife and natural museums (family line); or a thangka painter's workshop with a master (6 to 10 guests). Welcome dinner; board the train at night | On board |
| 3 | Hami: escorted 4x4 crossing of the Dahaidao yardang corridor (72 km of light no-man's land), sunset among the wind-carved formations | Hami hotel |
| 4 | Train to Urumqi; Xinjiang Regional Museum (the Loulan beauty, the "five stars rise in the east" brocade) and the Wild Horse Ecological Park; evening train toward Altay | On board |
| 5 | The Ahe scenic highway (240 km) into the Altai foothills; Hemu Tuva village, the river bridge and birch woods by evening | Hemu |
| 6 | Choice of two lines: a Kanas twin-lake cruise plus the Fish Watching Pavilion, or the border village of Baihaba via the Tie-Jia scenic road, then the pavilion | Kanas area |
| 7 | The Kanas Three Bays on foot (Moon Bay, Immortal Bay, Wolong Bay); drive to the station and board for Yining | On board |
| 8 | Choice of three Ili lines, each with two hotel nights: Sayram Lake plus Nalati; a Sayram slow stay at a lakeside lodge; or Nalati plus the middle Duku Highway plus Bayanbulak (mainland and Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan documents only; foreign passports pass through without entering the scenic area) | Per chosen line |
| 9 | Second day on the chosen line: Nalati's air grassland, a lakeside leisure day, or Bayanbulak's Swan Lake and the Nine-Curve-and-Eighteen-Bend river at sunset | Per chosen line |
| 10 | Morning free (second entry to Nalati or Sayram); return to Yining; Kazanqi old town by horse cart | Yining |
| 11 | Choice at Kuqa: the Kizil Caves (349 chambers, the earliest large grotto complex in China) or the Kuqa (Kiziliya) Grand Canyon with the Tang-era A-Ei grotto; evening train to Kashgar | On board |
| 12 | Choice at Kashgar: the N39 Makit desert with UTV dune runs, camels and an open-air Dolan muqam concert; or White Sand Lake and Karakul Lake (3,652 m) under Muztagh Ata on the Karakoram highway. Border permits required, arranged by the operator | Makit / Kashgar |
| 13 | Desert line: lazy morning, return to Kashgar, the "Meet in Kashgar" show. Pamir line: old-town photoshoot in traditional dress, then the show | Kashgar |
| 14 | Kashgar old town and craft lanes in the morning; board the eastbound train after lunch | On board |
| 15 | Full day aboard as the train crosses the Tianshan and the Kumtag desert margin back toward Qinghai | On board |
| 16 | Choice at Xining: Qinghai Lake's Erlangjian peninsula (UTV and cruise) or Kanbula National Forest Park's Yellow River danxia | Xining hotel |
| 17 | Departure transfer to the airport or station | — |
Formation and cabin figures are checked against the published references below. Last reviewed .
