Travel to Turpan with this FREE ebook

Home » Life, Travel April 26, 2010 18 Comments

FarWestChina's Turpan Travel GuideIf someone were to ask me my opinion on the best China travel guide for their trip to Xinjiang I would tell them very simply, “There isn’t one”.

All of the major China travel books provide an ocean of information about Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong while only gently dipping their toes into the enormous province of Xinjiang.  After years of fielding questions from FarWestChina readers who are seeking advice about traveling in the province I finally decided that it was time to do my part to fix this void of information.  So I wrote my own travel guide.

…a must-read for anyone considering a visit to China’s northwest… – Asian Ramblings

I’m a perfectionist, however, which means that such an undertaking would not be easy.   From July to October, a period during which I had plenty of free time with no access to the internet, I spent countless hours researching, traveling and writing about the province I love most: Xinjiang.  A guide on the entire province would be far-too difficult I realized, so I shifted my focus to the three most-traveled cities in the region: Turpan, Urumqi, and Kashgar.

I’m finally ready to unveil the first ebook in this series of three entitled Turpan: Exploring Xinjiang’s Ancient Ruins, and for those of you who will be traveling to Xinjiang this summer I’m happy to announce that it’s going to be the most affordable guide you’ve ever downloaded.  Why?  Because for the 1st month IT’S FREE.

This 30+ page booklet includes:

  • Example pages from the Turpan Travel GuideA detailed map of Turpan as well as diagrams of the ancient cities you can visit there – all hand-drawn by yours truly!
  • In-depth historical background on the region that you won’t find in any major travel book
  • Plenty of colorful pictures to help you decide which places you want to visit
  • Tips on where to go, how to save money, and how to stay safe
  • A language guide to teach you basic phrases in both Mandarin AND Uyghur
  • Find a Turpan hotel that caters to foreign tourist

To get your FREE copy all you have to do is sign up to be part of the FarWestChina newsletter.  That’s it, I promise.  Not only will you get to stay up-to-date on everything happening in Xinjiang but you’ll have one of the best travel resources available for your trip to Turpan.

After you sign up you’ll receive an immediate email giving you directions on how to download Turpan: Exploring Xinjiang’s Ancient Ruins.  You’ve really got nothing to lose, so go ahead and sign up!

**Your email will never be used for any other purpose than to update you about this website. You may unsubscribe at any time**

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If so, join over 1,000 others who receive exclusive updates on Xinjiang, plus get a FREE copy of the Turpan Travel Guide! Sign up here:

18 Comments

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  • Baoru said:
    April 26th, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    This is cool! People always like free stuff! :-P And a travel guide in fact!

    [Reply]

  • Asian Ramblings said:
    April 28th, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    [...] much of his journey on his website.  He used this particular Turpan trip to research and write his Turpan travel guide, which you can now download for [...]

  • CHAPTER 10 – THE HORSE THAT LEAPS THROUGH CLOUDS | ERIC ENNO TAMM said:
    April 30th, 2010 at 4:58 am

    [...] these links: Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves in Turpan Gaocheng Ruins in Turpan Turpan on Wikipedia E-book guide on Turpan from Far West China Dunhuang Academy British Library’s International Dunhuang Project Dunhuang on [...]

  • East Asia Blog Roundup : 2/5/2010 « Eye on East Asia said:
    May 2nd, 2010 at 3:42 pm

    [...] Xinjiang : Far West China – Josh offers readers the chance to download a free copy of his Turpan travel guide. [...]

  • An American in the Far East » Blog Archive » Traveling to Xinjiang? Read This Book! said:
    May 3rd, 2010 at 3:25 am

    [...] all three of those books could not have prepared me nearly as well as Josh Summer’s Turpan: Exploring Xinjiang’s Ancient Ruins.  It should be obvious by the title that his FREE (for now) eBook would not be much help anywhere [...]

  • 小细腿儿 said:
    May 5th, 2010 at 7:57 am

    Good stuff, good stuff. Have you ever written anything about the six-month period you spent without the Internet? We’re so wired at all times now, spending such a long chunk of time offline like that must be pretty liberating and/or frustrating.

    [Reply]

    Josh says: May 5th, 2010 at 9:00 am

    I have written a few things on the matter. You can read all my articles related to the communications blackout including my personal feelings and a better idea of what internet is like in the province.

    Thanks for the comment!

    [Reply]

  • Lauren said:
    May 12th, 2010 at 2:27 am

    AMAZING! I wish we had had this book while we were in Turpan. Instead we wondered around under the hottest sun imaginable trying to figure things out via guesswork. Really, an amazing concept and great addition to the sadly lacking literature on Xinjiang. Always a fan!

    [Reply]

  • Travel Bloggers Who Make a Difference | Abandon the Cube Travel Journal said:
    May 15th, 2010 at 10:02 pm

    [...] probably heard of. Josh writes extremely well researched guides to attractions in the area, like his ebook on Turpan. Josh not only keeps up with local news, local travel info and local culture, but he is an active [...]

  • Elaine said:
    May 21st, 2010 at 3:53 pm

    lots of great tips! will see if they’re useful on my upcoming trip :D thanks!!

    [Reply]

  • Art said:
    May 31st, 2010 at 10:26 am

    Thanks, Josh. Loved the guide – very informative, very helpful. Our friend from Urumqi went to Turpan with us, and was impressed to see such a guide in English. Suggestion for the future guides: if not hiring a driver for the whole day, how much should you expect to pay from one site to another? We did okay, but the drivers waiting at the bus station (especially that one guy with the good English) see an American and quote you ridiculous prices! And I imagine someone has paid that.

    [Reply]

    Josh says: May 31st, 2010 at 11:49 pm

    Thanks Art! I’m excited to hear that it worked well “in the field”.

    When you talk about “one site to another”, do you mean like going from Jiaohe to Emin? Or just a round trip to one location? I like your suggestion, I just want to clarify.

    [Reply]

  • Mamutjan said:
    August 22nd, 2011 at 3:21 pm

    See the photos of the Imin the King Tower in Turpan through the following link. The pictures were taken almost two years ago on sunny bright day.
    http://www.ghezine.com/2011/06/imin-wang-tower-in-turpan.html

    [Reply]

  • Matt said:
    September 26th, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    Hey josh, quick question: are you still working on the other guides, to Urumqi and Kashgar? I’m thinking of moving out west (living in Beijing now) this Spring, and have found the local, non-touristy information on both of these cities sorely lacking, so would be really interested to see these guides (particularly Urumqi, since I have a feeling thats where I’ll wind up). Thanks!

    [Reply]

    Josh says: September 27th, 2011 at 8:24 am

    Thanks for asking, Matt. Yes, I have finished up the Urumqi guide but the Kashgar guide has taken me a while due to lack of motivation. Shoot me an email if you’re interested and I’ll be happy to send over what I have for Urumqi as long as you realize that it’s not a final proof. josh {at} farwestchina {dot} com.

    [Reply]

  • Maga G said:
    October 13th, 2011 at 2:40 am

    I really enjoyed your guide and just got back from an 11-day trip to Turpan and Kashgar. Here’s some things I discovered that might be useful in your new guides/revisions:

    The Jiaotong Hotel in Turpan has a new phone number. It is listed nowhere on the internet, not even on Chinese-language websites. It’s a mystery why they don’t care to advertise their new telephone number, but anyway here it is: 0995-6258666, 0995-6258688. I know that recently a lot of travelers, Chinese and non-Chinese, have been wondering if the Jiaotong Hotel is closed. It is not; they just have a new number.

    In Kashgar, all foreigners are required to secure a permit to travel on the Karakorum Highway now, without exceptions. There are military checkpoints on the highway (complete with armed soldiers), the first one being well before Lake Karakul. Anyone without a permit and a passport is turned back. As a result, any foreigner who wants to arrange their own transportation, hitchhike, or take a public bus — i.e., not go through a Kashgar travel agency — must arrange their own permit at least one day before their trip. I don’t know how to do that, and I don’t know anyone else who knows how to do that, so it is highly recommended that travelers at least use a travel agency to secure the permit the day before travel. I’m not sure if they’ll help you with that if you’re not going to use their services, though.

    There is a public bus that goes to/from the airport in Kashgar to the center of town. It is the line 2 and the trip only costs 2 RMB. This is much cheaper than a taxi (appr. 30 RMB) or the airport shuttle (15 RMB). You have to go through the main front entrance of the airport, past the front gate, and turn left on the road. About 20 meters down, you’ll see the line 2 buses.

    If I think of anything else I learned on my trip, I’ll let you know. Thanks for giving us this great guide! I used it a lot in Turpan.

    [Reply]

  • Mireia . said:
    June 29th, 2012 at 3:01 am

    Hi!
    Thanks a lot for your guide Booklet! It is really detailed and offers very useful information, and good tips.

    [Reply]

    Josh says: June 29th, 2012 at 8:43 am

    Thanks for your comment and I’m glad it was useful!

    [Reply]

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