📅 25th August 2025 📍Kaxgar, China

Crossing into China – Arrival in Kaxgar

The entry into the People’s Republic of China is never just a formality—it is a ceremony of documents, approvals, and checks that travelers and vehicles alike must endure. Yet for us, it was all surprisingly smooth, because our faithful companion in China, Mr. Wang, had already prepared everything with his usual precision. After many journeys together, his familiar face waiting on the other side of the border felt like an embrace of reassurance. We were grateful, as always, to have him by our side.

From there, the road carried us eastward through the mountains, winding endlessly toward Kaxgar—the legendary Silk Road city, now inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The peaks and slopes around us glowed in shifting colors, changing with every angle of the sun: ochre, copper, and deep violet tones streaking the silence of the ranges. Along this serpentine road, we met another soul of the journey—a cyclist from England named Ben, pedaling all the way from his homeland to Hong Kong. His determination was as moving as the landscape itself, and for a brief moment, our paths crossed in shared wonder.

The difference to Kyrgyzstan became evident almost immediately. Wind turbines dotted the horizon, their blades cutting the dry air in slow, powerful rhythm. Then, near the city of Kaxgar, a sudden transformation: the roads unfolded into multilane highways, modern and wide. From here onward, we realized we would be gliding across China entirely on such vast arteries of asphalt—a stark contrast to the serpentine mountain passes behind us.

By evening we rolled into Kaxgar, tired but filled with triumph. The city welcomed us with the promise of rest, history, and stories yet to come. Checking into our hotel, we looked back at the journey of the past days—across steppes, over high passes, through several international border crossings—and felt nothing but happiness. We had made it safely, we had made it in time, and now we stood in one of the world’s most storied crossroads of culture and trade.

Next stop: (…)!