At the beginning of the new year, outbound travel is on the agenda again for many, and for most people with limited vacations, it is much more cost-effective to go to a neighboring country than to fly to the other side of the world. Looking around the long national border, in addition to the hot Southeast Asia and the classic romantic Japan and South Korea, we actually have a close secret place that can be explored - Central Asia. Central Asia in the traditional sense refers to five countries – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Although Central Asia was once an important hub of the ancient Silk Road and has a rich and diverse culture, it is now home to some of the world's youngest countries. Such a complex history has made the five Central Asian countries a mysterious land, with a weak sense of existence and few people, and we have heard of those place names, but it is difficult to imagine what they look like. With increasingly convenient transportation and visa policies, the five Central Asian countries have actually become overseas destinations for Chinese tourists, whether it is a single country tour or a multi-country combination of routes, they will get a unique exotic experience - time stands still here, leaving only grasslands, snow-capped mountains, horses and ancient cities. We have prepared this collection of five "Stan" strategies to help you start your journey to the five Central Asian countries smoothly!
Crossing the border from the Khorgos border crossing in Xinjiang allows you to arrive visa-free in Kazakhstan, the world's largest landlocked country and one of the least densely populated countries in the world. "Kazakh" means "freedom of mind" in Turkic, which sounds very compatible with this people, who are known as the "nomadic god of war". As early as the Neolithic period, nomadism was born in this land, and it was in the steppes of Kazakhstan that humans first tamed horses six thousand years ago. Since then, horses and this nation have been inseparable. Norwegian anthropologist Erica Farrant explains in her book Travels in Central Asia: "In Kazakhstan, horse racing attracts thousands of spectators...... Unlike Turkmen, who never touch horse meat, Kazakhs are particularly fond of horse steak and horse sausages, and sour mare's milk is also a daily drink for the locals. ”
The skyline of Almaty with the Almaty Mountains in the background.
Almaty
Recommended attractions: Green Grand Bazaar, Panfilov Park, Ascension Cathedral, Cape Torbay
Central Mosque of Almaty.
In today's Kazakhstan, most people have long since abandoned their nomadic life and settled down to build the most prosperous country in Central Asia. From Khorgos, you can reach Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, by train or bus. Known as the "City of Apples", this old capital may be the most Europe-like modern city in Central Asia, but you can still experience the authentic Central Asia at the famous Green Market (Zelyony Bazar) in the heart of the city, from all kinds of fruits and spices to horse meat stalls and dried fruit shops.
Cathedral of the Ascension. © Rabbit Qiqi and Mr. Wang
The city's famous Zenkov Cathedral and Panfilov Park tell the story of religion and history. Kok Tobe is the city's hilltop park with a view of the city, and a cable car ride to the top at sunset is a romantic experience.
Central State Museum of Kazakhstan, Panfilov Park, Aul Residential Complex. © Rabbit Qiqi and Mr. Wang
Around the city
Charyn Grand Canyon. ©blinkedandpassed_
You can also drive to the Charyn Canyon National Park around Almaty, where river erosion and wind erosion began 12 million years ago, creating rocks that are no less rocky than the Grand Canyon of Colorado. There are also Lake Kaindy and Lake Kolsay, and you can check in the cedars at the foot of the Tian Shan Mountains.
Lake Corse. ©blinkedandpassed_
Leaving Almaty and heading deeper into the western hinterland, you can also visit Astana, Kazakhstan's new capital, Aktau on the Caspian coast, and nature reserves around the southern city of Shymkent. However, the sparsely populated nature of the area means that such a route is only suitable for those who have a lot of time.
TIPS Transportation: Khorgos is suitable for tourists with a lot of time by land, and in terms of flights, there are direct flights to Almaty from Guangzhou, Beijing, Urumqi and other cities. Visa: 30-day visa exemption for Chinese passports with a validity period of more than 6 months. ❗️ Note: (1) It is recommended to travel in Almaty with a group or chartered car to nearby attractions or other cities, and (2) to take a taxi in the city, you can download the software Yandex in advance Go, you need a local mobile phone card to register;(3) Prepare a translation tool, except for tourism practitioners, most locals do not speak English;(4)The local currency is tenge, it is recommended to exchange dollars in advance and then exchange tenge locally, and you must have cash on you;(5)It is the snow season, and ski lovers should not miss Shymbulak, the largest ski resort in Central Asia, when visiting Almaty.
Compared with Kazakhstan's tourism resources concentrated in Almaty and its surroundings, Uzbekistan's playability can be said to be second to none among the five Central Asian countries. Thousands of years ago, the Khwarazm and Timurid dynasties left glorious Islamic relics here, and later the medieval dynasties changed and left as many as 7,400 cultural heritage sites in present-day Uzbekistan.
Samarkand
Recommended places to visit: Registan Square, Shahsinda Mausoleum, Bibi Hanem Mosque
Tila-Kori Theological Seminary on Registan Square.
Registan Square at sunset.
The most famous ancient city in Uzbekistan must be Samarkand, which derives its name from the Sogdian language, was the capital of the Khwarazmian and Timurid dynasties, and was also the most important city along the Silk Road. Erica Farrant makes it the last stop on her trip to Central Asia: "The name of Samarkand is a fairy tale in itself, and it carries many romantic associations: spices from faraway lands, hand-woven silk carpets, camel caravans, dusty markets and sky-blue cupolas. Here you can see mosques like no other place – The Registan and Bibi Hanim Mosque – where the blue glazed bricks and gold paved Quranic verses are a beauty that time will not erase.
Bukhara
Recommended attractions: Emir's Summer Palace, Karon Minaret
The Summer Palace of the Amir.
Karong Minaret.
A short train ride from Samarkand is another of the oldest cities in Central Asia, Bukhara, known as the "Museum of Central Asian Cities". Legend has it that this is the hometown of Avanti and the starting point of the Thousand and One Nights. The whole city is light brown, and its first rays of sunlight always shine on the 47-metre-high Kalon Minaret, a 1,127-year-old Bukhara icon.
Shiva
Recommended attractions: Khiva Khan's Palace, Juma Mosque
Palace of the Khan of Khiva. © Anton's circus
Visitors to Uzbekistan often choose the capital Tashkent as the starting point of their trip, taking the train to Bukhara and ending their journey in Samarkand. Such a cost-effective itinerary would miss Khiva, an ancient city located deep in the western part of the country. Khiva is a small site, but it is the first World Heritage Site in Uzbekistan. Whether you're walking into the Juma Mosque, supported only by wooden pillars, or looking out over the city from the 12th-century Kuhna Ark's palace, you can relate to the ancient Silk Road proverb that says, "I would give a bag of gold, but I would like to see Khiva." ”
Tashkent
Recommended attractions: Amy Timur Square, Uzbekistan Art Museum, Dome Bazaar
Amy Timur Square. © Anton's circus Minor Mosque mosque. © Anton's circus
Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan and nicknamed the "Stone Town", is often used as a transit point, and you can find plenty of accommodation options in the city, such as the five-star Hyatt Regency and InterContinental hotels, as well as a citywalk to the old city, which is a great place to see the majestic Soviet-style architecture. It is also worth mentioning that the metro station here is also unique, beautifully decorated, like an underground museum of culture and history, and photography was prohibited until 2018.
Tashkent metro station. © Sing in reverse
TIPS Transportation: Urumqi, Beijing, Xi'an and other cities have direct flights to the capital Tashkent. Visa: Chinese passports can enter the country without a visa for 10 days, and if you want to enter by land or stay for more than 10 days, you need an electronic visa. ❗️ Note: (1) The official language is Uzbek, Russian is the lingua franca, and many locals also use English; (2) The official currency is Sum, which can be exchanged directly with UnionPay cards at Tashkent Airport ATMs, or exchanged in US dollar cash; (3) Most people in Uzbekistan believe in Islam, but they have long been secularized, so there is no need to worry too much about dress; (4) The way to take a taxi in the city is the same as in Kazakhstan; (5) There is a high-speed train between Tashkent-Samarkand-Bukhara, no need to charter a car, and tickets can be purchased on the official website of Uzbekistan Trains。 If you want to get to Khiva, you can only take a slow train, or take a plane from Tashkent, (6) In Uzbekistan, it is forbidden to bring drones into the country!
Compared with the two "stans" mentioned above, Kyrgyzstan has a significantly weaker sense of existence, but as a neighboring country, Kyrgyzstan has deeper ties with us in history. The earliest record of the Kyrgyz people appears in the Chronicles, when the Kyrgyz people were called Tenkun. From the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, Kyrgyzstan was recorded in many Chinese historical books, both in terms of direct rule and diplomatic exchanges.
Tokmak
Recommended attractions: Barasagon City Ruins, Broken Leaf City Ruins, Burona Tower
Burona Tower. © Anton's circus
During the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty, Taizong set up a military town in the northeast of today's Kyrgyzstan, and the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang had met the Tongye Hu Khan here, which was the famous Broken Leaf City. What's more humane is that some scholars believe that the birthplace of the poet immortal Li Bai is also here. Today, Shattered Leaf is known on the World Heritage List as Ak-Beshim Site, located southwest of the city of Tokmak in Kyrgyzstan, within easy driving distance. It's just that this frontier town that "lived together with merchants and hus" thousands of years ago has long ceased to be prosperous, and only ruins remain.
Bishkek
Recommended attractions: Alatau Square, Oak Park, Aaracha National Park
Oak Park.
Tokmak is 60 kilometres away from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It's a low-key, quiet capital, less ambitious than the fast-growing neighbouring New Capital, with few pedestrians, from the famous Ala-Too Square to Central Asia's largest mosque. Bishkek still retains some of the Soviet imprint, and Lenin Square and the statue of Lenin are special cultures here.
Araacha National Park.
Nearby, 35 kilometres south of Bishkek, the suburban Ala Archa National Park is a pristine alpine park with spectacular views of glacial meltwater and rolling mountains, suitable for hiking, horseback riding and picnics.
Issyk-Kul region
Lake Issyk-Kul on the northern shore of the lake. © Anton's circus
For holidaymakers, Kyrgyzstan is better known by its nickname "Little Switzerland of Central Asia". Covered by high mountains, it retains a relatively intact ecology and pristine and quiet natural scenery, which is a good choice for Uzbekistan, which is mainly based on cultural tourism. Issyk-Kul is one of Kyrgyzstan's most famous attractions, the deepest mountain lake in the world, 1.4 times the size of Qinghai Lake. The largest city in Issyk-Kul is Karakol, located at the foot of the Tien Shan Mountains, just over the mountains of China, and the beautiful Karakol Gorge in the south of the city is full of flowers and vegetation, and the nearby Tien Shan Gorge Altyn Arashan is a must-see hiking and mountaineering destination.
TIPS Transportation: Urumqi, Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu and other cities all have direct flights to the capital Bishkek. Visa: An electronic visa is required, and if you hold a long-term priority visa for the United Kingdom, the United States and Schengen for more than 3 years, you can enter the country from Bishkek Airport without a visa. ❗️ Note: (1) The official currency is somme, and the exchange rate in Bishkek is very general, so it is recommended to prepare US dollar notes for exchange; (2) The domestic transportation is mainly minibuses, from Bishkek to other cities, you can go to Western Bus Station and Novyy Avtovokzal by car, and you can directly take a minibus to Issyk-Kul Lake District during the summer tourist season; (3) Within 5 days of arriving in Kyrgyzstan, you need to hold a passport, The best way to avoid this hassle is to end the tour within 5 days, otherwise you must get it done as soon as possible!
On the other side of the Tien Shan Mountains is Tajikistan, a smaller country in Central Asia. From a tourist point of view, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, which has not yet been written, are truly a niche. More than 80% of Tajikistan's land is occupied by the famous Pamir Plateau, half of which is above 3,000 meters above sea level. The territory that now makes up Tajikistan was formerly the birthplace of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic and Bronze Age cities of Sarazimu. Later, this land of less than 200,000 square kilometers was ruled by many different faiths and regimes, from Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Islam, to the Achaemenid Empire, the Sassanid Empire, the Samanid Empire, and the Mongol Empire.
Dushanbe city street scene. © Loves parkour hair
Dushanbe & Khujand
Recommended attractions: Rudaki Park, National Museum of Tajikistan, Sekh Massar Adedin Mausoleum Complex, Panjshanbe Bozor Bazaar
Rudaki Park.
When it comes to traveling in Tajikistan, a chartered car is the best way to get around. The highway system is a relatively developed transportation system in Tajikistan, and at present, Dushanbe is the center, and the main highway arteries have been developed. Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan, which means "Monday", and interestingly, Khujand, the second largest city in the north, means "Thursday". These two cities are the main destinations for urban travel in Tajikistan, with a focus on ruins and markets.
Self-drive on Pamir roads
Pamirs.
A real trip to Tajikistan, starting from the Pamir Highway. In the western part of Tajikistan, there is a popular highway in the European outdoor circle - the Pamir Highway is often considered to be a section between the southern city of Khorog in Tajikistan and Osh, the capital of southern Kyrgyzstan, with a total length of about 728 kilometers, with magnificent mountain scenery and Pamir plateau landscape, full of snow-capped mountains, almost arc-shaped peaks and golden plains. Many people travel southeast from Dushanbe, through the Wakhan Valley, to explore the border villages between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and then all the way to Khorog. Of course, this road is not easy, due to disrepair, driving in Tajikistan can be summed up in one sentence: the body is in hell, the eyes are in heaven.
TIPS transportation: Xi'an, Urumqi have direct flights to Dushanbe, land can go to Kashgar first, from the Karasu port located in Tajik Autonomous County, remember to charter a car in advance, you can also fly directly from Tashkent/Almaty, economical, two countries play. Visas: An e-visa is required, which has a high rejection rate, and if you want to travel to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Okrug of Tajikistan, you need not only an e-Visa for Tajikistan, but also a GBAO permit. ❗️ Note: (1) Self-driving is recommended, (2) The best time to visit is in summer, not in winter, the Pamirs are extremely cold, in addition, at the beginning of the temperature in early summer, the river rises quickly, so you need to be careful during the hike, (3) You can't use Yandex to take a taxi, it is recommended to call 3333 with a local phone card, or use the Maxim taxi app.
If you want to travel through the five Central Asian countries, the question of whether you will be able to make it to Turkmenistan can be a key question, and Liu Zichao, the author of The Lost Satellite: A Journey into Central Asia, has been unable to set foot on this mysterious land despite several setbacks. Every year, only about 10,000 people arrive in Turkmenistan, which remains closed to this day, tourists have to find travel agencies to get entry invitations, and visa denials are as high as 85%.
The Ashgabat Ferris Wheel, the world's largest indoor Ferris wheel.
Ashgabat
Recommended attractions: Rukhyete Palace, Turkmenistan State Gallery, Russian Grand Bazaar, Inspiration Park
Independence Monument.
Rukhyete Palace.
Turkmenistan's mystique and seclusion come from its first post-independence president, Sapamilat Niyazov, whose magical character is still inseparable from his efforts, even though many of the statues of the totalitarian man have now been demolished. In the capital Ashgabat, all palaces, apartments, government buildings, monuments and other buildings are built using white marble imported from Italy (543 buildings in the 22-square-kilometer city alone are covered with 4.5 million cubic meters of marble), "awarded" the Guinness Book of Records and the title of "Marble White City", making it a city with a more brutal aesthetic than the Soviet Union. There are also many traces of personality cults in Ashgabat, such as the statue of Niyazovkin, the Book of Rukhnama, the fountain of the statue of the First President, and Niyazov's personal belongings in the State Museum.
Karakum Desert
A spectacular hell's gate in the Karakum desert.
The magic of Turkmenistan is not limited to the appearance of the city, but also to the irresistible forces of nature. More than 80% of the country's land is covered by the Karakum Desert, and the natural gas resources are abundant, known as the "Blue and Gold Country", which indirectly creates the country's most famous tourist destination - Darwaza Gas Crater. North of Ashgabat, near the village of Darvaza, deep in the Karakum Desert, there is a gas crater with a diameter of 69 meters and a depth of 30 meters, which was ignited by a mining error in 1971 and has been burning for more than 40 years. In the desert, especially at night, the gates of hell are spectacular, with wind and fire shouting over the vast land, and humanity is left with nothing left.
Salt deposits in a waterhole in the Karakum Desert.
TIPS: Urumqi, Beijing, Xi'an can fly directly to Ashgabat, and you can also enter the country from Khiva port in Uzbekistan. Visa: An electronic visa is required, the rejection rate is very high, and the price is also the most expensive among the five countries. ❗️ Note: (1) Smoking is prohibited in all public places, including e-cigarettes, and only 2 packs of cigarettes can be brought into the country; (2) Ashgabat entertainment venues will be closed after 11 o'clock, tourists also need to avoid going out alone at night, they may encounter identity checks, remember to prepare documents; (3) Travel agency tour guides need to accompany the whole process; (4) The use of walkie-talkies and drones is prohibited; (5) Internet use will also be restricted; (6) The official currency is manat, be sure to use cash, be prepared enough dollars for exchange, and the consumption of Turkey is not low!
Whether it's an in-depth or short-term trip to a single destination, or a combination of any few countries, the five countries of Central Asia will not disappoint, and their unique location is destined for the intersection of cultures, religions, and ethnicities, and the complex topography makes it the place where people can understand the "continent" most thoroughly. More and more people are choosing Central Asia as their destination, some entering the country through land ports and crossing the Pamirs and driving through the three bordering stans, some flying to Almaty and then setting off for more Central Asian hinterlands, and others entering Turkmenistan from West Asia and reversing the journey east to the five countries until returning home. Take Central Asia as the next destination, get acquainted with our most unfamiliar neighbor, and also see this land where elegance and savage growth coexist, just as travel writer Liu Zichao commented on his trip to Central Asia: "On the journey of Central Asia, I have never seen so many different and rich faces. ”
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