The Tianshan Express is a new brand from China Railway Urumqi Group, launched in 2026. It represents the rebranded and upgraded Silver Diamond and Blue Diamond carriages from the New Orient Express fleet, giving these well-proven carriages a distinct identity and a focused mission: northern Xinjiang and the Yili valley, worked by private coach rather than by tour bus.
Most trains in this market move guests by coach. That works on a motorway and works badly on a mountain road. The Tianshan Express does the opposite: guests leave the train at Kuitun and travel the northern Xinjiang corridor in dedicated small vehicles, which can stop where the light is good and reach places a full-size coach cannot, before rejoining the train at Yining in the evening.
The corridor itself is the point. North of the range, the route runs from the Dushanzi canyons through the Tangbula grassland to Nalati, some of the finest alpine pasture in China, then down into the Yili valley. It is a landscape of river gorges, spruce forest and Kazakh summer pasture rather than desert.
The train was originally conceived around the Duku Highway, the 561 km mountain road across the Tianshan, and the corridor it follows uses the northern approaches to that road. The Bayanbulak section of the Duku Highway is not open to foreign passports (Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan documents travel the full route), so foreign-passport guests travel a substitute routing through northern Xinjiang and Yili, arranged by the operator.
The top-tier option. Spacious two-person suite with dedicated sitting area, en-suite bathroom with shower. Limited availability.
Premium two-person soft sleeper with private en-suite bathroom and shower. Ideal for couples seeking comfort at a mid-tier price point.
Two-person soft sleeper with en-suite bathroom and shower. The sweet spot of comfort and value from the upgraded New Orient Express Silver Diamond carriages.
Four-person soft sleeper with en-suite bathroom and shower. The most cost-effective option for groups and families, with no compromise on the private bathroom.
The centrepiece of every Tianshan Express journey. Leave the train at Kuitun, board your private vehicle and work north through the Dushanzi Grand Canyon and the Tangbula grassland to Nalati, then down into the Yili valley, rejoining the train at Yining in the evening. Overseas guests travel a substitute routing on this sector, arranged by the operator.
Dedicated lounge car for socialising, reading, and taking in the views. A separate music bar and dining car serves Xinjiang specialities throughout the journey.
A professional doctor travels with every departure, with an emergency medical kit and wheelchair access. All suite carriages have en-suite bathrooms and showers, no shared facilities.
The Tianshan Express follows the proven "depart evening, arrive morning" rhythm. Sleep while the train covers the vast distances; wake up at your next destination. No repeated packing, no hotel-hopping, one room follows you everywhere.
| Suite Type | Per Person (RMB) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Presidential Suite | 42,888 | Top tier. Very limited. |
| Executive Two-Person | 26,888 | Premium 2-person en-suite. |
| Silver Diamond Two-Person | 25,888 | 2-person en-suite. |
| Silver Diamond Four-Person | 17,888 | 4-person en-suite. Best value. |
| Four-Person Upper Bunk | 16,999 | Standard 4-person upper berth. |
| Four-Person Lower Bunk | 17,999 | Standard 4-person lower berth. |
All five stops sit on the northern Xinjiang and Yili corridor, and all are open to overseas visitors without restriction. The Bayanbulak section of the Duku Highway proper, which appears in some earlier descriptions of this train, is not open to foreign passports: the corridor below is what foreign-passport guests actually travel.
The dramatic gateway to the northern corridor. Sheer cliffs and layered red rock formations carved by millennia of river erosion. One of the most photographed landscapes in Xinjiang.
Known as the "Hundred-Mile Gallery", this stretch of the northern corridor runs through endless grasslands dotted with wildflowers, grazing horses and Kazakh yurts. Fairy Lake and the Mengkete Ancient Trail are hidden gems.
One of the world's four great alpine grasslands. Sky-meadow and river-valley grassland zones unfurl in sequence. A UNESCO-level landscape at 2,000 metres.
At 2,073 metres, the highest and largest alpine lake in Xinjiang, and the last place the Atlantic's moist air reaches before it fails: hence the Chinese nickname, "the last teardrop of the Atlantic". In June and July the shoreline meadows run blue and gold with wildflowers.
The descent into Yili. China's first twin-tower, twin-cable steel-truss cable-stayed road bridge, its deck slung some 200 metres above the gorge floor. Below it the Ili river valley opens out towards Yining: orchards, lavender fields and the green floor of northern Xinjiang's richest farmland.
The Tianshan Express runs June to September, when the northern grasslands are green and the Yili valley is in flower. Departures are limited, and early booking is essential.
Life onboard →