After breakfast, drive along Flaming Mountain Grand Canyon to Tuyugou.
Flaming Mountain, China's hottest place, sees summer temperatures peak at 47.8°C, with sun-exposed surfaces reaching 82.3°C—hot enough to cook eggs in the sand. Named for its scorching climate and rust-red sandstone that glows like fire under desert sun, it's one of Turpan's most iconic landmarks. Its unique landscape, coupled with its role in
Journey to the West (where Tang Sanzang's pilgrimage is blocked here and Sun Wukong borrows the Banana Fan thrice), links it to legendary figures like Tang Monk, Sun Wukong, Princess Iron Fan, and the Bull Demon King, enhancing its mythical allure. Visitors can see "Tang Monk's Horse-Tying Stake"—a sky-reaching rock in Shengjinkou—along with a flat slope said to be his mounting stone, and "Pig Bajie Rock"—a peak resembling a long-snouted pig across the canyon.
Tuyugou Grand Canyon, at the southern foot of eastern Flaming Mountain, glows crimson from iron oxide, looking like burning flames under the sun. The most spectacular part of Flaming Mountain, it stretches 9 km from Subashi Village to Mazha Village, with an average width of 1 km and a maximum altitude of 831.7m, 13 km southwest of Gaochang Ancient City.
Winding up along Flaming Mountain's cliffs, reach
Mazha Village in Tuyugou—Xinjiang's oldest surviving Uyghur settlement, over 1,700 years old. Known as a "living fossil of folk culture," it preserves ancient Uyghur traditions and customs intact, with ancient adobe buildings still shining the light of "yellow clay culture."
Continue to
Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, perched on cliffs west of Mutougou Valley in central Flaming Mountain. First excavated in the 5th–6th centuries (Qu Shi Gaochang Kingdom, Northern and Southern Dynasties to Tang), it thrived during the Gaochang Uyghur period (9th–13th centuries), representing classic ancient Gaochang Buddhist art. The 83 existing caves—mostly rectangular vaulted caves, some central-pillar caves—are built in three tiers: upper stupa area, middle worship area, and lower living area. Among the 83 caves, over 40 have murals.
- Urumqi: Diwopu International Airport, Xinjiang's largest aviation hub and one of the key international airports in northwest China, handles domestic, international, and Central Asian routes. Besides, trains from Urumqi connect to multiple Chinese cities.
- Turpan: It has an airport and railway station for traveling to major Chinese cities. Turpan Jiaohe Airport, a 4E-level civil transport airport in Xinjiang, connects to cities like Beijing, Chengdu, Xi’an, and Guangzhou. You can also choose to take a train. Consult Intotravelchina’s advisors for more information.