Kashgar to Andijan: The Railway That Is Rebuilding the Silk Road

In Kashgar, the westernmost city in China, the morning market still smells of cumin, charcoal and raw silk — and beyond the last row of stalls, the Pamirs rise like a closed door. For more than a century that door has been shut to the railways. Nine hundred kilometres west, on the other side of the mountains, the mulberry trees of Uzbekistan's Fergana Valley are heavy with late-summer fruit, and the adobe walls of Kokand glow the same colour they did when caravans still came through.

Right now, five thousand engineers are working to reopen that door.

The Kashgar–Andijan railway: the Silk Road's missing link

The China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan (CKU) railway is no longer a diplomatic sketch on a map. It is a construction site. The line will run 532 kilometres from Kashgar in Xinjiang, across Kyrgyzstan, to Andijan in eastern Uzbekistan — a route that demands 29 tunnels and 50 bridges through some of the most difficult mountain terrain in Asia, at a cost of around 4.7 billion US dollars. Tunnel excavation and earthworks are already underway, and officials on the Kyrgyz side have reported progress slightly ahead of schedule. Completion dates discussed publicly in 2026 range from 2028 to 2030.

When it opens, a container — and eventually a traveller — will be able to move from western China to the heart of the Silk Road without the long detour north through Kazakhstan. It is the most literal rebuilding of the ancient route that anyone alive has seen.

Uzbekistan visa-free travel for Chinese citizens: 30 days, no paperwork

Here is the part most people miss: you do not have to wait for the railway.

Since June 2025, citizens of China and Uzbekistan travel between the two countries visa-free for up to 30 days for tourism. No embassy queue, no invitation letter, no fee. The effect was immediate — the flow of Chinese visitors to Uzbekistan rose roughly three and a half times, and in the first five months of 2026 alone 178,121 Chinese citizens crossed into the country, about 78% more than the same period two years earlier.

Air capacity followed. Weekly flights between the two countries were expanded from 46 to 60, with Uzbekistan Airways, Air China and China Southern all adding frequencies. From Beijing, Shanghai, Urumqi or Xi'an, Samarkand is closer than most Chinese travellers assume — often a shorter flight than a domestic hop to Sanya.

Why 2026 is the year to book a Samarkand and Bukhara tour

Uzbekistan welcomed 11.7 million foreign visitors in 2025, and the national Tourism Committee expects around 12 million in 2026 — the fastest growth in Central Asia. What that means on the ground is simple: the country is still uncrowded, but it will not stay that way.

Autumn is the moment. From September through early November the summer heat breaks, the light turns amber, and the Registan's tilework in Samarkand reads blue rather than white in the afternoon. Bukhara's lanes smell of bread and pomegranate. In the Fergana Valley — the very region the new railway will reach — you can watch silk being reeled from cocoons in Margilan by hand, exactly as it was for the caravans heading to Chang'an.

And there is a rarely-told connection for Chinese visitors: on the walls of the Afrasiab palace in Samarkand, a 7th-century mural shows a Chinese empress in a boat and a Tang emperor hunting. Samarkand was painting China 1,300 years ago. Standing in front of it is a strange and moving thing.

Travel Uzbekistan with a licensed local operator

GoUzbekistan is the travel brand of Lochin Express Plyus LLC, a company that has been operating in Uzbekistan since 2007 and holds tour-operator and domestic tourism licence No. 662280, issued in March 2025 by the Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan. We are based in Bukhara, on Islam Karimov Street — not in a call centre abroad. We run our own ground operations, work as a white-label partner for foreign tour operators, and can build anything from a four-day Samarkand–Bukhara run to a three-week Silk Road crossing with the Fergana Valley and the Aral Sea included.

Tell us your dates and your pace and we will build the route around you: create your own custom tour, or explore our tours to see where to start.

The railway will take years. The Silk Road is open now.

Plan your Uzbekistan trip — in your language

中文 — 乌兹别克斯坦旅游

中国公民可免签入境乌兹别克斯坦，停留最长30天。沿着丝绸之路走进撒马尔罕的雷吉斯坦广场、布哈拉的古城与希瓦的城墙，秋季气候宜人，正是出行的最佳季节。定制您的专属行程，或浏览我们的线路。

العربية — السياحة في أوزبكستان

سمرقند وبخارى وخيوة على طريق الحرير: عمارة إسلامية مذهلة، مطاعم حلال في كل مكان، وطقس معتدل في الخريف. ندير رحلاتنا بأنفسنا داخل أوزبكستان مع مرشدين ناطقين بالعربية. صمّم رحلتك الخاصة أو تصفّح جولاتنا.

Deutsch — Usbekistan Reise

Eine Usbekistan Rundreise auf der Seidenstraße führt Sie von Samarkand über Buchara bis Chiwa — visumfrei für deutsche, österreichische und Schweizer Staatsangehörige. Der Herbst bringt klares Licht und angenehme Temperaturen. Planen Sie Ihre individuelle Reise oder entdecken Sie unsere Touren.

Español — Viajes a Uzbekistán

La Ruta de la Seda le espera: Samarcanda, Bujará y Jiva, sin visado para ciudadanos españoles y latinoamericanos. El otoño ofrece un clima perfecto y menos turistas. Diseñe su viaje a medida o descubra nuestros circuitos.

Français — Voyage Ouzbékistan

Un voyage en Ouzbékistan sur la Route de la Soie : Samarcande, Boukhara et Khiva, sans visa pour les ressortissants français. L'automne est la plus belle saison, lumineuse et douce. Créez votre circuit sur mesure ou découvrez nos voyages.

Русский — Туры в Узбекистан

Шёлковый путь начинается здесь: Самарканд, Бухара и Хива, безвизовый въезд для граждан СНГ и скоростные поезда «Афросиёб» между городами. Осенью — мягкая погода и золотой свет. Составьте свой индивидуальный тур или посмотрите наши туры.