At six in the morning Samarkand’s domes are still the colour of cold ash — then the sun clears the horizon and the whole Registan turns to beaten gold. If you have eight free days in October and a passport that no longer needs a visa, this is where they belong.
China’s National Day Golden Week runs from 1 to 8 October, and this year it meets an Uzbekistan that is fully and easily open to Chinese travellers. Since the mutual visa-free regime between China and Uzbekistan took effect in June 2025, citizens of both countries can stay up to 30 days without paperwork. The response has been immediate: Chinese arrivals in the first months of 2026 grew sharply year on year, and China is now one of Uzbekistan’s fastest-growing source markets.
Visa-free Uzbekistan for Chinese travellers: 30 days, no paperwork
The practical effect is simple. You book a flight, land in Tashkent and walk out. No consulate appointment, no invitation letter, no fee. Direct flights between Chinese cities and Tashkent have multiplied, and Golden Week is the busiest travel period on earth — airlines know it. Seats to Central Asia sell out earlier every year.
Samarkand and Bukhara in October: the best weather on the Silk Road
October is Uzbekistan's kindest month. Daytime temperatures sit in the low-to-mid twenties Celsius, the fierce summer heat is gone, and the light turns long and amber — the season Uzbeks call Oltin Kuz, golden autumn. Bazaars overflow with pomegranates, persimmons, grapes and the last of the melons. Photographers get crisp, cloudless skies over the Registan, Shah-i-Zinda and Bukhara's Poi Kalyan. Nothing about the season is accidental for a Golden Week trip: you get the great monuments without the July furnace.
Distances are no longer a problem either. The Afrosiyob high-speed train, built by Spain's Talgo and capable of 250 km/h, links Tashkent to Samarkand in about two hours and continues to Bukhara. Three Silk Road capitals in eight days is not an ambitious itinerary here — it is a comfortable one.
Why Chinese travellers keep choosing the Silk Road
There is a deeper pull than logistics. This was the western terminus of a road that began in Chang'an. The tea houses, the noodles pulled by hand in Tashkent's Chorsu bazaar, the silk and paper workshops of Samarkand — the shared history is not a marketing line, it is visible in the food and the crafts. Uzbekistan is also a famously safe and affordable destination, which matters enormously for families and multi-generation groups travelling together over the holiday.
UN Tourism's World Tourism Barometer placed Uzbekistan among the world's five fastest-growing countries for international arrivals in January–March 2026. Golden Week 2026 is the moment that growth becomes visible on the ground.
Book Golden Week now — an eight-day Silk Road itinerary
Eight days is precisely enough for the classic route: Tashkent's metro palaces and Chorsu bazaar, two hours by Afrosiyob to Samarkand for the Registan and Gur-e-Amir, onward to Bukhara's living old town, and — for those who want the full arc — the walled desert city of Khiva. Add a night in a desert yurt camp near Lake Aydarkul and you have a holiday nobody in your group will forget.
GoUzbekistan is a licensed inbound tour operator with offices in Tashkent and Bukhara, operating since 2007 under Lochin Express Plyus LLC, holding tour-operator licence No. 662280 issued by the Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan. We build private, guided itineraries — transport, hotels, entrance fees, and guides arranged end to end — and we also work as a white-label ground operator for agencies sending groups.
Golden Week hotel and rail inventory in Samarkand and Bukhara is finite. If October is your window, now is the month to lock it. Create your own custom tour and tell us your dates, or explore our tours for ready-made Silk Road routes.
Plan your Uzbekistan trip — in your language
中文 — 黄金周丝绸之路之旅
十月黄金周，乌兹别克斯坦旅游正当时。中乌互免签证，停留最长30天，撒马尔罕、布哈拉、希瓦三座丝绸之路古城尽在眼前，秋高气爽，石榴与甜瓜正当季。高铁两小时直达撒马尔罕。定制您的专属行程，或浏览我们的丝绸之路线路。
العربية — رحلتك إلى أوزبكستان
الخريف هو أجمل موسم لزيارة أوزبكستان: طقس معتدل، وضوء ذهبي فوق سمرقند، وأسواق بخارى العامرة بالرمان والعنب. جولات خاصة مع مرشدين محليين ومشغّل سياحي مرخّص. صمّم رحلتك الخاصة أو تصفّح جولاتنا.
Deutsch — Ihre Usbekistan Reise
Der Herbst ist die schönste Zeit für eine Seidenstraße Rundreise: milde Temperaturen, goldenes Licht über Samarkand und die Altstadt von Buchara. Private Rundreisen mit deutschsprachiger Reiseleitung, organisiert von einem lizenzierten Veranstalter vor Ort. Stellen Sie Ihre Reise zusammen oder entdecken Sie unsere Touren.
Español — Viajes a Uzbekistán
El otoño es el mejor momento para recorrer la Ruta de la Seda: clima templado, mercados llenos de granadas y las cúpulas turquesa de Samarcanda. Viajes privados a Uzbekistán con guía en español, organizados por un operador local con licencia. Diseñe su viaje a medida o explore nuestros circuitos.
Français — Voyage en Ouzbékistan
L’automne est la saison idéale pour un voyage sur la Route de la Soie : douceur du climat, lumière dorée sur Samarcande et ruelles de Boukhara. Circuits privés en Ouzbékistan avec guide francophone, organisés par un opérateur local agréé. Créez votre voyage sur mesure ou découvrez nos circuits.
Русский — туры по Узбекистану
Осень — лучшее время для путешествий по Шёлковому пути: мягкая погода, золотой свет над Самаркандом, гранаты и виноград на базарах Бухары. Индивидуальные туры по Узбекистану с русскоговорящим гидом от лицензированного местного туроператора. Составьте свой тур или ознакомьтесь с готовыми маршрутами.
