Visitors cross the square outside the crenellated east gate of Kashgar’s old city. · N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0

Karakul Lake beneath the snow-covered massif of Muztagh Ata. · rheins · CC BY 3.0

Crumbling walls of Tashkurgan’s Stone City beneath the Pamir mountains. · Drgkl · CC BY-SA 3.0

Twin minarets frame the yellow entrance to Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar. · Radosław Botev · CC BY 3.0 pl

Red banners hang above Kashgar’s narrow hat bazaar. · N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pale sand slopes meet the blue water of Bulungkol Reservoir on the Pamir road. · rheins · CC BY 3.0

The Karakoram Highway follows White Sand Lake beneath snowy peaks. · rheins · CC BY 3.0

An unpaved lane passes earth-coloured buildings in old Kashgar. · Radosław Botev · CC BY 3.0 pl

Urumqi’s skyline stretches across the horizon below Hongshan Park. · Y Chen · CC BY-SA 4.0

A paved road crosses open, stony country in Jinghe County. · SIMPLE · CC BY-SA 3.0

Sayram Lake seen from a hillside above the shore. · BitsRot · CC BY 4.0

A pale river flows past open meadows and forested slopes in Xiata Canyon. · Nyx Ning · CC BY-SA 3.0

A rider follows a track across rolling pasture at Kalajun. · Akira CA · CC BY-SA 4.0

Conifers dot the green mountain pastures above Nalati. · User:CatOnMars · CC BY 4.0

A patterned brick tower rises above the Grand Bazaar in Urumqi. · Windmemories · CC BY-SA 4.0

A red tiered pagoda rises above the trees on Urumqi’s Red Hill. · 螺钉 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The road bridge crosses a deep mountain valley at Guozigou. · Timothytyy · CC BY 4.0

The Duku Highway curves around a steep, forested mountainside. · Tigerzeng · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Ili River glows pink and blue at sunset in Yining. · Charlie Qi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Trees line a stony riverbank in Burqin County. · 余华峰 · CC BY-SA 3.0

A rocky riverbank faces Hemu’s wooden houses and autumn trees. · Bohao Zhao Tongfei · CC BY 3.0

Forested slopes surround the blue-green water of Kanas Lake. · Wang Xiaozhe and Meng Jie · CC BY-SA 3.0

Wind-eroded rock towers rise above a gravel plain at Urho. · Fanghong · CC BY-SA 3.0

Low clouds hang over Sayram Lake as seen from the north bank. · Y Chen · CC BY-SA 4.0

Conifers frame the blue water and high peaks at Tianchi. · Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0

Water flows past evergreens at the outlet of Kanas Lake. · Gpwitteveen · CC BY-SA 4.0

The patterned brick tower of Emin Minaret in Turpan. · Ryan Wang · CC BY-SA 4.0

A tall earthen tower stands above the low ruined walls at Gaochang. · HaziiDozen · CC BY-SA 4.0

Snow-covered Kongur reflects in the still water of Karakul Lake. · Jialiang Gao, www.peace-on-earth.org · CC BY-SA 3.0

Shop awnings line Qasa Road in Kashgar’s old town. · N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0

Diners and shoppers walk beneath the entrance to Urumqi’s old bazaar food street. · N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tianchi stretches between mountain ridges under a cloud-streaked sky. · Timothytyy · CC BY 4.0

Earthen walls trace a maze of rooms at the ruined city of Jiaohe. · Scott Newman · CC BY-SA 2.0

A shaded channel at the karez irrigation site in Turpan. · w0zny · CC BY-SA 3.0

Ridges cut across the red slopes of the Flaming Mountains near Turpan. · Colegota · CC BY-SA 2.5 es

Cave entrances line the cliff at Bezeklik near Turpan. · HaziiDozen · CC BY-SA 4.0

A cow steps down from a truck at Kashgar’s Sunday market. · Laika ac from UK · CC BY-SA 2.0

Sheep line up along a rail at Kashgar’s livestock market. · John Hill · CC BY-SA 4.0

A small truck carries sheep past the pens at the Kashgar market. · Laika ac from UK · CC BY-SA 2.0

Round flatbreads with stamped centres stand on edge in a Kashgar stall. · w0zny · CC BY-SA 3.0

Herbs and vegetables top a bowl of soup at Kashgar’s night market. · Radosław Botev · CC BY 3.0 pl

The arched entrance to Khan Bazaar opens onto a food street in Kashgar. · N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0

Red parasols shade the food stalls on a Kashgar market street. · Radosław Botev · CC BY 3.0 pl

Flatbreads bake against the curved inner wall of a Kashgar oven. · George6996 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Bowls of ground spices surround a seated vendor at Kashgar market. · John Hill · CC BY-SA 4.0

Brightly lit food counters beneath red canopies at Kashgar night market. · w0zny · CC BY-SA 3.0

Skewers and vegetables fill the counter of a Kashgar night-market stall. · w0zny · CC BY-SA 3.0

A street vendor tends a large pan of food in Urumqi. · Sasha India · CC BY 2.0

A cook works at an outdoor griddle beside a board of chopped greens in Urumqi. · Sasha India · CC BY 2.0

Bread on a counter at a naan shop in Urumqi’s Erdaoqiao district. · HaziiDozen · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pink and red pomegranates piled for sale in Urumqi. · jun jin luo · CC BY 3.0

Whole and cracked walnuts on display in Urumqi. · jun jin luo · CC BY 3.0

A mound of green and golden raisins in an Urumqi shop. · jun jin luo · CC BY 3.0

Cloud cover softens the light on Tianchi and its grassy shoreline. · xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0

A green ridge rises steeply from the shore of Tianchi. · xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0

A yellow-roofed sightseeing boat crosses Tianchi below forested slopes. · xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0

A small boat sits below dark mountain ridges at Tianchi. · xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0

Vine rows stretch toward Emin Minaret in the Turpan oasis. · Kubilayaxun · CC BY-SA 4.0

The central avenue runs between high earthen banks at Jiaohe. · HaziiDozen · CC BY-SA 4.0

A cutaway model in Turpan shows how wells connect to underground irrigation channels. · Colegota · CC BY-SA 2.5 es

Arched openings in the ruined walls of Jiaohe’s northwest Buddhist temple. · HaziiDozen · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cattle graze beneath snow-covered slopes on the Karakul lakeshore. · Blufrog · CC BY-SA 3.0

A small lighthouse stands on a rocky spit at Sayram Lake. · Fumikas Sagisavas · CC0

Orange evening clouds streak the sky above Sayram Lake. · Y Chen · CC BY-SA 4.0

Blue-green shallows and distant mountain ridges at Sayram Lake. · Fumikas Sagisavas · CC0

Bands of grass, turquoise water and cloud at Sayram Lake. · Fumikas Sagisavas · CC0

The Kaidu River winds through green pastures at Bayanbulak. · lwtt93 from Shanghai, China · CC BY 2.0

Red cliffs fold around the mouth of Kuqa’s Grand Canyon. · liuzusai刘祖赛 · CC BY 3.0

Channels of the Kaidu River cross a broad green floodplain. · MichaelE · CC BY-SA 4.0

Snow blankets the northeastern Bayanbulak basin and its surrounding ridges in winter. · Windmemories · CC BY-SA 4.0

Oxbow lakes and streams break up the flat Bayanbulak grassland. · MichaelE · CC BY-SA 4.0

A wide sweep of Bayanbulak grassland beneath low clouds. · Srr · CC BY-SA 3.0

Sandstone cliffs along the southern Duku route near Kuqa. · liuzusai刘祖赛 · CC BY 3.0

Rust-red rock walls of the Tianshan Grand Canyon near Kuqa. · Thinkdnt · CC BY-SA 4.0