Xi'an to Samarkand: The Silk Road's Two Capitals Are Now One Direct Flight

Twelve hundred years ago, a merchant leaving Chang'an for Samarkand said goodbye to his family and meant it. The road ran west through the Hexi Corridor, skirted the Taklamakan, climbed the Pamirs, and was counted not in hours but in seasons. Many who set out never came back.

This morning, the same journey is a single nonstop flight — and you can be standing under the blue domes of the Registan, a cup of green tea cooling in your hand, before the sun goes down.

Xi'an to Samarkand Direct Flight: Two Silk Road Capitals, Reconnected

Loong Air now operates a direct service between Xi'an — Tang-dynasty Chang'an, the eastern terminus of the Silk Road — and Samarkand International Airport, its western twin. It is the only airline flying the route, and it runs seasonally, roughly May through October. The window for this autumn is open right now, and it closes with the season.

Samarkand is not the only door. Loong Air runs around nine scheduled services a week into Uzbekistan across Xi'an–Tashkent, Chengdu–Tashkent and Xi'an–Samarkand. China Eastern links Shanghai Pudong with Tashkent. Uzbekistan Airways added a Tashkent–Guangzhou service in May 2026. From Xi'an, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Urumqi, Central Asia has quietly become a short-haul destination.

China–Uzbekistan Visa-Free Travel: No Consulate, No Queue, No Paperwork

Since 1 June 2025 the visa-free agreement between Uzbekistan and China has been in force. For short tourist stays, Chinese passport holders board with a passport and a boarding pass. There is no invitation letter, no consular appointment, no waiting for a stamp. For a destination this rich, that is an unusually low barrier — and it is the single biggest reason Chinese arrivals to Uzbekistan have surged.

Uzbekistan has opened the same door to more than 90 countries, which is why you will hear Mandarin, Arabic, German, Spanish and French in the same Bukhara courtyard on the same evening.

Why Samarkand Answers Something Chinese Travellers Already Feel

This is not a foreign country so much as the other half of a shared story. In the ruins of Afrasiab, the 7th-century wall paintings show envoys arriving at the Sogdian court — among them figures carrying silk, painted by artists who knew exactly who they were depicting. Sogdian merchants ran the caravan trade that supplied Chang'an; their letters, their gods and their loanwords travelled east with the camels.

Then there is paper. After the Battle of Talas in 751, the craft of paper-making passed westward and Samarkand became famous for it across the Islamic world. In the village of Konigil outside the city, a water-driven mill still beats mulberry bark into sheets by hand, the old way. Chinese visitors stand in front of it and recognise the machinery of their own history, running in someone else's river.

Add the Registan's three great madrasahs, the turquoise stairway of Shah-i-Zinda, Amir Timur's tomb at Gur-e-Amir, and the ruined immensity of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, and Samarkand delivers more than any photograph has prepared you for.

Golden Autumn: The Best Time to Visit Uzbekistan — and Why You Should Not Wait

Uzbeks call it oltin kuz, the golden autumn. September and October bring warm days, cool evenings, and markets buried under melons, grapes, figs and pomegranates. The light on the tilework turns honey-coloured in the late afternoon. It is, by a wide margin, the loveliest season on the Silk Road — and it is also when the seasonal Xi'an route stops flying.

Distances inside the country are easy. The Afrosiyob high-speed train links Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara in a couple of hours each leg. A comfortable first trip is eight to ten days: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva — four cities, one road, no rush.

Travel With a Licensed Uzbek Operator

GoUzbekistan is the tour brand of Lochin Express Plyus LLC, which has operated in Uzbekistan since 2007. We hold tour-operator and domestic tourism licence No. 662280, issued 13 March 2025 by the Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and we are based in Bukhara at Islam Karimov Street 21. We run our own ground operations — guides, drivers, hotels, dining — and we also work white-label for foreign tour operators.

Tell us how many days you have and what you want to see, and we will build the route around you: create your own custom tour or explore our tours.

Plan your Uzbekistan trip — in your language

中文 — 从西安到撒马尔罕

丝绸之路的两座古都，如今只需一趟直飞航班。中国公民赴乌兹别克斯坦旅游免签，无需办理签证。金秋时节的撒马尔罕、布哈拉与希瓦最为迷人。我们为您量身定制丝绸之路行程。定制您的专属行程。

العربية — من شيان إلى سمرقند

عاصمتان لطريق الحرير تربطهما اليوم رحلة مباشرة واحدة. السياحة في أوزبكستان في الخريف الذهبي تعني طقساً معتدلاً وأسواقاً عامرة وقباباً فيروزية في سمرقند وبخارى وخيوة. نصمّم لك برنامجاً خاصاً على طريق الحرير. صمّم رحلتك الخاصة.

Deutsch — Von Xi'an nach Samarkand

Zwei Hauptstädte der Seidenstraße, heute ein einziger Direktflug. Eine Usbekistan Reise im goldenen Herbst verbindet Samarkand, Buchara und Chiwa bei mildem Wetter und vollen Basaren. Wir planen Ihre Seidenstraße Rundreise individuell. Reise individuell planen.

Español — De Xi'an a Samarcanda

Dos capitales de la Ruta de la Seda, hoy unidas por un vuelo directo. Los viajes a Uzbekistán en otoño dorado son los mejores del año: Samarcanda, Bujará y Jiva con clima suave y mercados desbordantes. Diseñamos tu Ruta de la Seda a medida. Crea tu viaje a medida.

Français — De Xi'an à Samarcande

Deux capitales de la Route de la Soie, désormais reliées par un vol direct. Un voyage en Ouzbékistan à l'automne doré, c'est Samarcande, Boukhara et Khiva sous une lumière parfaite. Nous construisons votre Route de la Soie sur mesure. Créez votre voyage sur mesure.

Русский — Из Сианя в Самарканд

Две столицы Великого шёлкового пути связал прямой рейс. Туры в Узбекистан золотой осенью — это Самарканд, Бухара и Хива при мягкой погоде и щедрых базарах. Составим маршрут по Шёлковому пути специально для вас. Создать свой тур.