China Tailor-Made Trips with the Agency We Travelled With
In 2019 we crossed western China, from the dunes of Dunhuang to the Pamirs on the Karakoram Highway. It is still one of our favourite trips — and it was organised by Lesley at Silk Road Travel, a China-based agency.
We had a guide with us every day. Mostly, that meant getting through Xinjiang's dozen or so police checkpoints without fuss, and it left us free to enjoy some of the most striking landscapes we have seen. We lived in Shanghai for three years and travelled a lot of China on our own, Yunnan included; for Xinjiang and the Silk Road, having the agency handle the logistics made the trip far simpler.
If you would like to do something similar, this page sends your request straight to Lesley.
How it works
- Choose an itinerary below, or pick "Help me choose / Tailor-made trip".
- Send the short form. You get a reference number and a copy of your request by email.
- Lesley replies by email to discuss your trip and send a personalised quote, with Pierrick from MapTrotting in copy.
It is a quote request with no commitment: nothing is booked or paid on MapTrotting.
Who organises your trip
Silk Road Travel (silkroadtravel.com) is the travel agency. They advise you, prepare the quote, take the booking and payment, and run the trip on the ground. They cover all of China and Central Asia.
MapTrotting only forwards your request. We don't sell trips, take payments or answer for the services the agency provides.
Itineraries
A selection from Silk Road Travel's catalogue that matches what we write about. We have not done these exact itineraries ourselves — each card says what overlaps with our own trips. Prices are on request: Lesley quotes for your dates, group size and hotel level.
Xinjiang
7 Days Classic Xinjiang Tour to Kashgar, Turpan and Urumqi
Kashgar → Taxkorgan → Urumqi → Heavenly Lake → Turpan
A week that joins the two faces of Xinjiang: Kashgar and the road up towards the Pamirs in the south-west, then Urumqi, the Heavenly Lake and the oasis of Turpan in the east.
We travelled through Kashgar, Taxkorgan and Turpan in 2019. Our guide
Price on request
Request a personalised quote
Xinjiang
11 Days South Xinjiang Tour from Urumqi to Hotan
Urumqi → Turpan → Kuqa → Kashgar → Taxkorgan → Hotan
The southern loop around the Taklamakan: Turpan and Kuqa on the northern rim, Kashgar, the Pamir plateau towards Karakul Lake and Taxkorgan, then Hotan on the southern Silk Road.
Covers Turpan, Kashgar and the Karakoram Highway section we travelled in 2019. Our guide
Price on request
Request a personalised quote
Silk Road
14 Days West China Tours: Kashgar Silk Road
Kashgar → Kuqa → Bayinbuluk → Turpan → Dunhuang → Jiayuguan → Zhangye → Lanzhou
The long way east along the Silk Road, from Kashgar across Xinjiang and the Hexi Corridor of Gansu — Mogao Caves at Dunhuang, the fort at Jiayuguan, Zhangye's coloured hills — ending in Lanzhou.
Covers Kashgar, Turpan and Dunhuang, which we visited in 2019. Our guide
Price on request
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Silk Road
13 Days Silk Road Group Tour: Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai
Kashgar → Urumqi → Turpan → Dunhuang → Jiayuguan → Zhangye → Xining → Chaka
A small-group version of the Silk Road that continues past Gansu onto the Qinghai plateau, finishing at Xining and the Chaka salt lake.
Covers Kashgar, Turpan and Dunhuang, which we visited in 2019. Our guide
Price on request
Request a personalised quote
Yunnan
14 Days Yunnan Travel from Kunming to Shangri-La
Kunming → Jianshui → Yuanyang → Dali → Shaxi → Shangri-La
South to north across Yunnan: the old town of Jianshui, the Hani rice terraces at Yuanyang, then Dali, the Bai village of Shaxi and the Tibetan plateau around Shangri-La, with a detour to the Meili snow mountains.
Follows much of the route we travelled independently in 2019 — this agency itinerary itself is not one we have done. Our guide
Price on request
Request a personalised quote
Yunnan
7 Days Yunnan Tour to Dali, Lijiang & Shangri-La
Dali → Shangri-La → Tiger Leaping Gorge → Lijiang
A shorter northern Yunnan loop: Dali and Erhai Lake, Shangri-La, a hike at Tiger Leaping Gorge and the old town of Lijiang.
We visited all four places in 2019, on our own itinerary. Our guide
Price on request
Request a personalised quote
Anywhere in China
Help me choose / Tailor-made trip
Not sure which route fits? Describe the trip you have in mind — region, pace, who is travelling — and Silk Road Travel will suggest an itinerary. They cover all of China and Central Asia.
Price on request
Request a personalised quoteRequest a personalised quote
Paid partnership. MapTrotting receives a commission from Silk Road Travel on trips booked after a request from this page. We only recommend the agency because we travelled with them.
Questions
Am I committing to anything?
No. You are asking for a quote. Nothing is booked or paid on MapTrotting, and you decide with Silk Road Travel whether to go ahead.
Who will reply?
Lesley at Silk Road Travel, by email, with Pierrick from MapTrotting in copy. Your acknowledgement email tells you your reference number; if you don't see her reply, check your spam folder or reply to the acknowledgement.
How does MapTrotting earn money from this?
If you book, Silk Road Travel pays MapTrotting a commission on the trip. We never see your payment, and the booking, the price and the trip itself are between you and the agency.
Are flights included?
International flights are generally not part of these itineraries. Your quote will list exactly what is included — hotels, guide, transport, entrance fees — for your dates.
Can I travel in Xinjiang without an agency?
Independent travel is possible in much of the region, with some areas that require a permit or a guide. We explain what we know — and what to check before you go — in What to Know Before Travelling to Xinjiang.
What happens to my details?
They are stored by MapTrotting and forwarded to Silk Road Travel in China, only to answer your request. See the privacy notice below.
Privacy notice for quote requests
How we handle the data you send with this form
Who is responsible. MapTrotting (Pierrick Jean, publisher of maptrotting.com — contact: kristina@maptrotting.com) for the collection and forwarding of your request. Silk Road Travel is responsible for what it does with your request once it receives it (quote, booking, trip), under the law that applies to it in China.
What we collect. Your name and email; the itinerary you chose; number of adults and children and, if any, the children's ages; preferred departure month or travel dates, trip length, flexibility and travel style; and, if you fill them in, departure city, indicative budget, guide language, WeChat ID and comments. We also record the date, the page you came from and a one-way hash of your IP address used only to limit spam. We never ask for passport, address, payment or health information.
Why. To pass your request to Silk Road Travel so they can answer it, to send you an acknowledgement, and to follow up referrals with the agency (whether a trip was booked, for commission accounting). Nothing else: no newsletter, no advertising, and none of your details are sent to analytics tools.
Who receives it. Silk Road Travel (sale@silkroadtravel.com), in China. Our technical providers: Cloudflare (hosting and storage of requests) and Resend (sending the emails), plus our own mailbox provider for the copy we receive.
Transfer to China. Silk Road Travel is based in China, a country for which the European Commission has not adopted an adequacy decision. The transfer is made because you ask us to forward your request to this agency and it is necessary to answer it. If you prefer, you can contact the agency directly instead of using this form.
How long. Your contact details are anonymised 24 months after your request. The reference, itinerary and any booking and commission figures are kept for accounting.
Your rights. You can ask to access, correct or delete your data, or object to its use, by writing to kristina@maptrotting.com. For data already received by Silk Road Travel, we will pass your request on to them. You can also complain to your data protection authority (in France, the CNIL).
Notice version 2026-09-23.