Hong Kong to Samarkand, Visa-Free: Greater China's New Gateway to the Silk Road

The muezzin's call drifts across a turquoise dome at dusk, and somewhere below it a Chinese family is photographing a wall painting that shows envoys from their own homeland — painted in Samarkand thirteen centuries ago. For travellers from Greater China, the Silk Road has stopped being a history lesson. In 2026 it is a 30-day visa-free trip, and it is about to get a direct flight.

Uzbekistan sits at the exact midpoint of the ancient road between Xi'an and the Mediterranean. Today that geography has turned into something rarer: a country that is genuinely easy to enter, safe to move around, and still not crowded. Here is what has changed for Chinese and Hong Kong travellers — and how to turn it into a trip you will talk about for years.

Visa-free Uzbekistan travel for Chinese passport holders

Since June 2025, China and Uzbekistan have operated a mutual visa-free regime allowing tourist stays of up to 30 days. No embassy appointment, no invitation letter, no fee — you land, you smile at the officer, you walk out into the warm Tashkent air. Uzbekistan now grants visa-free entry to citizens of more than 90 countries, and Chinese passport holders are among the most privileged of them.

Hong Kong is next. During Chief Executive John Lee's visit to Tashkent in June 2026, both sides moved to upgrade the current arrangement to a reciprocal 30-day visa-free agreement — a significant improvement on the 10 days HKSAR passport holders have had until now. For anyone planning a Hong Kong Silk Road tour, the window of hassle has effectively closed.

Direct flights from Hong Kong and mainland China to Tashkent

Access is following policy. China and Uzbekistan agreed to lift weekly flights between the two countries from 46 to 60, with Uzbekistan Airways, Air China, China Southern and partners expanding routes. Authorities in Hong Kong and Tashkent have also agreed to launch direct Hong Kong–Tashkent services, with schedules being finalised.

Once you land, the country is small in the way that matters. The Afrosiyob high-speed train links Tashkent to Samarkand in about two hours and continues to Bukhara; a newer line reaches all the way toward Khiva. Three of the world's greatest Islamic cities, connected by clean, punctual rail. No internal flights required, no long dusty transfers — just a window seat and cotton fields turning gold.

Where Chinese travellers go first: Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva

Samarkand is the emotional centre. Stand in the Registan at golden hour, when the tilework shifts from cobalt to violet, and you understand why Tamerlane wanted the world to come here. At the Afrasiab Museum, the 7th-century ambassadors' mural depicts envoys carrying silk — one of the oldest visual records of contact between this land and China. Nearby lies the tomb of Ulugh Beg, the astronomer-king whose star catalogue was more accurate than anything in Europe for two hundred years.

Bukhara is quieter and older, a city you walk rather than tour. Coppersmiths still hammer under the trading domes; families drink green tea beside the Lyabi-Hauz pool under 400-year-old mulberry trees. Khiva, ringed by mud-brick walls the colour of apricot, feels like a film set that never emptied — except the artisans inside are real, and their grandfathers did the same work.

Add the Kyzylkum desert for a night in a yurt camp, the Fergana Valley for silk weaving and ceramics, or the Chimgan mountains for autumn air — and you have a country that surprises even seasoned travellers.

How to plan a China–Uzbekistan Silk Road tour in 2026

September to November is the sweet spot: 20–25°C days, pomegranates splitting open in the bazaars, and the harsh summer light softened to gold. Spring, late March to May, is the other window, when the steppe turns green and the fruit trees blossom.

Practical notes that matter to Chinese guests: menus and signage increasingly appear in multiple languages, halal food is the norm rather than the exception, mobile data is cheap, and Uzbekistan consistently ranks among the safer destinations in the region — including for solo and female travellers. What is still hard to do alone is the sequencing: which city first, which train, which caravanserai actually worth the detour, and which local guide can explain the mural rather than just point at it.

That is our job. GoUzbekistan is a licensed Uzbek tour operator based in Bukhara — the team behind it has been running ground operations here since 2007, with a tour-operator licence (No. 662280) issued by the Committee for Tourism Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan. We build private, guided itineraries with Mandarin-friendly arrangements, train tickets, hand-picked boutique stays and drivers who know which bakery pulls the best non from the tandyr at 6am.

Create your own custom tour and tell us your dates, or explore our tours to see what a week on the Silk Road really looks like. The visas are gone. The flights are coming. The only thing missing is you.

Plan your Uzbekistan trip — in your language

中文 — 乌兹别克斯坦旅游

中国公民可免签在乌兹别克斯坦停留30天，撒马尔罕、布哈拉和希瓦三座丝绸之路古城之间有高速列车相连。九月至十一月气候宜人，是最佳旅行季节。定制您的专属丝绸之路行程，或浏览我们的线路。

العربية — السياحة في أوزبكستان

سمرقند وبخارى وخيوة على طريق الحرير: مساجد فيروزية، طعام حلال في كل مكان، وقطارات سريعة تربط المدن. الخريف هو أجمل موسم للسفر. صمّم رحلتك الخاصة إلى أوزبكستان أو تصفّح جولاتنا.

Deutsch — Usbekistan Reise

Eine Seidenstraßen-Rundreise durch Samarkand, Buchara und Chiwa — visumfrei, mit Schnellzügen zwischen den Städten und mildem Herbstwetter. Stellen Sie Ihre individuelle Usbekistan-Reise zusammen oder entdecken Sie unsere Rundreisen.

Español — Viajes a Uzbekistán

Samarcanda, Bujará y Jiva: la Ruta de la Seda sin visado, con trenes de alta velocidad y otoños dorados de 20 a 25 grados. Diseña tu viaje a medida por Uzbekistán o descubre nuestros circuitos.

Français — Voyage Ouzbékistan

Samarcande, Boukhara et Khiva sur la Route de la Soie : entrée sans visa, trains à grande vitesse et lumière dorée de l'automne. Composez votre voyage sur mesure en Ouzbékistan ou découvrez nos circuits.

Русский — Туры в Узбекистан

Самарканд, Бухара и Хива на Шёлковом пути: безвизовый въезд, скоростные поезда «Афросиаб» и золотая осень с комфортными +20…+25. Составьте свой индивидуальный тур по Узбекистану или посмотрите наши туры.