Bikepacking China: Kashgar and the Karakorum Highway to Tajikistan
The Karakorum Highway between China and Pakistan is on the top of any bikepacker's checklist. As the highest highway in the world reaching 4,714m elevation, it's one of the main routes to traverse from Central to South and South East Asia.
For us though, cycling the Karakorum Highway wasn't originally part of our plans. Until recently, it's been a bit more difficult to get a visa for China. However, in July 2024, Chinese immigration introduced a 15 day visa on arrival for Australians.
The Chairman Mao statue in Kashgar, China.
This meant that travelling through China was a spontaneous decision! With only 15 days allowed, it meant we could only explore a small fraction of China by bike. For us, this meant we could “detour” into the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China from the neighbouring Kyrgyzstan from where we currently located.
Bordering Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Pakistan, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region is massive.
It's a region of tumultuous history, for sure, but if you're willing, it can be an interesting and eye opening experience.
Although there are multiple border crossing points to choose from, the two border crossing points we cycled were the Irkeshtam pass (Kyrgyzstan to China) and the Qolma pass (China to Tajikistan), as this detour was part of our route along the Pamir Highway from Osh (Kyrgyzstan) to Dushanbe (Tajikistan).
This guide takes you through our route, some tips on police and border checks, accessing the internet, stealth camping and more. Scroll down to read more!
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Our route
Police and border checkpoints
Irkeshtam Pass
Ulugchat to Kashgar
Qolma (Kulma) Pass
Visas
Technology
Sim Cards
Access the internet with a VPN
Payments with AliPay and WeChat
Maps
Language
Food
Timezone
Roads
Camping and Accommodation
Getting around Kashgar
Sightseeing Kashgar
The ancient city of Kashgar
The “old” city of Kashgar
The Id Kah Mosque
The round up
Our route
Most cycle travellers are heading through Xinjiang to somewhere else, usually Pakistan via the Karakorum Highway.
We decided to modify our original route to do the Pamir Highway and “detour” via Kashgar through the Irkeshtam and Qolma (or Kulma) passes. This would take us from Kyrgyzstan, through Xinjiang in China, and back to Tajikistan to continue the Pamir Highway. (The yellow route on the map below; image credit to Caravanistan). Most people continue heading south to Pakistan, but we headed west.
We only had a 15 day visa, so whilst we might have liked to explore more of Xinjiang, we were a bit pressed for time. It took us:
3 days from Irkeshtam pass (border between Kyrgyzstan and China) or 4 days from Sary Tash (Kyrgyzstan) to Kashgar (China)
4 days in Kashgar
5 days from Kashgar to the Qolma pass to Tajikistan
Note that the maps below cover a bit more of the overall route we travelled.
Police and border checks
Irkeshtam Pass
We were able to cycle from Irkeshtam to Kangsu, even though, when we did our research, it looked like the Chinese border police might put us in a taxi. It might depend on the day and the police officer though 🤷♀️
We recommend reading the Irkeshtam Pass Caravanistan blog on the opening hours of the border crossing. It's worthwhile timing your arrival just before their lunch break so you don't have to wait around.
Note that you will need the name and address of a hotel where you plan to stay. Don't make the same mistake as us and choose a Western- sounding hotel! You will need the name and address of the hotel, translated into Chinese characters and if you tell them you're staying at the Radisson Blu hotel in Kashgar, they will look very confused!
Ulugchat to Kashgar
Whilst the main city we aimed to reach in Xinjiang was Kashgar, we passed through a slightly larger town called Ulugchat about 100km before Kashgar. In this section, we encountered a lot of police checks. In fact, we were stopped nine times! Generally, the police were friendly and broadly, the passport checks varied between a wave through to a phone call to a 20-30 minute wait.
Qolma (Kulma) Pass
The Chinese border police asked us if we wanted to cycle or take a taxi to the Tajik border 15km away up a 600m increase in elevation. We opted to take a taxi only to realise our mistake when the taxi got a flat tire and took as long as cycling would have 🤣
Note that the Chinese will confiscate any fresh fruit and vegetables, as you leave China.
Again, it's worthwhile reading the Qolma Pass Caravanistan blog for details on opening hours.
Visas
On July 1st 2024, the 15 day visa on arrival was introduced for Australians and New Zealanders. This builds on the visa program already in place for European nations, but if you're British or American, then you will need to apply for a visa.
One American we met had applied for a month visa, only to get offered and have to pay for a 10 year multiple entry visa!
Technology
Get yourself sorted BEFORE you enter China!
SIM cards
If you can, try to get an eSim card that works in China. This will negate the need to get a physical Sim card. Unfortunately, we tried to use Airalo, but we found that it didn't work once we entered China!
If you need to get a physical SIM card, here's one key tip: get it in a city like Kashgar. (And not Ulugchat).
We got our physical SIM card in Ulugchat and it was a two hour long fiasco! However, a friend of ours got theirs in Kashgar and it was a maximum 20 minute affair. Remember to take your passport with you as you'll need it!
Access the internet with a VPN
China is well known for its control over the internet, so if you want to continue to use Google and other related apps, you will need to download a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
🚴 The recommended VPN to use is called LetsVPN.
Do NOT use TurboVPN as it has a policy that it does not operate in mainland China.. We also found that ExpressVPN did not consistently work.
Payments with AliPay and WeChat
China is a predominantly mobile payments country and most people don't carry cash, so you'll need to sign up to AliPay or WeChat if you can!
Get AliPay as the bare minimum, as you will need to be invited to WeChat by someone who's already been on WeChat for more than 6 months.
AliPay is pretty easy to use - you will need to link your credit card before you can pay though!
To pay, there are two options:
You can scan the vendors QR code and put in the amount you're paying.
The vendor can scan your QR code.
Either way, it's a super easy way to pay. Just keep an eye out for the AliPay QR code sign on the cashier!
You can also use WeChat in the same way.
In saying that, you might have the following hiccups which mean that it's a good idea to have some cash just in case:
The vendor doesn't accept VISA or MasterCard, only mainland Chinese cards and banks..
The vendor only accepts WeChat (and you only have AliPay)
Hopefully between AliPay, WeChat and cash, you'll be sorted and have something to pay with!
Maps
We used MAPS.me since Google Maps didn't work! You can try Baidu but everything is in Chinese so unless you can read Chinese, it might not be the best way to go.
Language
As we have done for elsewhere on our trip, we downloaded the local language onto Google Translate. We tried Chinese (simplified) but found it really wasn't helpful!
Luckily, either we found someone who spoke English and helped us order dinner or the locals had a great translator device.
Food
The Uyghur and Han Chinese food throughout Xinjiang is a big departure from central Asian food.
Think big bowls of noodles, greens in soy sauce and chicken cashew peanut dishes. It's heaven!
The food is like night and day with central Asia (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). Even though it's only 50km away, in the first town we stopped in, there was a plethora of fresh produce and amazing food. We couldn't believe our eyes! It only got better as we got closer to Kashgar. It was amazing having big bowls of noodles for lunch and dinner!
Timezone
Xinjiang is on the same time as the rest of China! This means the sun rises after 8am and sets after 10pm, which can take a little getting used to. Set your watch to Beijing time!
⏰ The time in China is two hours ahead of Kyrgyzstan or three hours ahead of Tajikistan.
Roads
The roads in China are impeccable👌 even in Xinjiang! Prepare yourself for perfect tarmac all the way to and from the borders into the cities. If you have smaller tires, you'll be able to get some speed!
Camping and accommodation
China has a very different approach to camping compared to its neighbours - stealth camping prevails here.
This means that you'll need to hide out of sight from the road!
If you're seen, it's likely that police will move you on. We were super lucky as we didn't have this happen to us at all.
Note that, in Oytak (south of Kashgar), there is a free camping site where you can pitch your tent, but this was the only one we stayed at in the region. Do NOT go to the hotel! It's super expensive and the camping area is next to the toilet block on the left side of the hotel and the tourist centre.
In Kashgar, we stayed at the Good Morning Hostel, which we definitely recommend.
Whilst it was a bit difficult to find at first, we loved our stay there.
Getting around Kashgar
Mopeds are your key to getting around Kashgar: they're fun and speedy! Kashgar is a pretty big city with approximately 2 million people, so a lot of the sights are spread out.
If you already have AliPay downloaded, it's not too hard to link your account so you can use the mopeds.
Sightseeing Kashgar
Depending on how much time you have in Kashgar, you might like to check out the following sights.
The ancient city of Kashgar
You can view the ancient city from a viewpoint, but it's not accessible as it's pretty decrepit and crumbling!
The “old” city of Kashgar
The old city is one of the main tourist hotspots in Kashgar, which is worth a visit. Interestingly, the old city was excavated and reconstructed over the last 10 years, making the new “old” city feel a bit like a Disneyland amusement park. It's a bit odd but it can be beautiful at night to visit during the night markets.
Id Kah Mosque
At one side of the new old city is the Id Kah Mosque, a central location in the tumultuous history of the Uyghurs and peoples in the Xinjiang region.
The round up
We loved China! Xinjiang is a massive region and we were only able to visit a fraction of it, but we enjoyed the food and culture immensely. It was the tip of the iceberg for us and we look forward to visiting again soon!
