Samarkand Painted China 1,300 Years Ago — Now Chinese Travellers Can See It Visa-Free

Thirteen hundred years ago a delegation from China walked into a palace in Samarkand carrying bolts of raw silk and a string of silkworm cocoons. Somebody painted the moment onto the wall. That painting is still here — and today a Chinese passport gets you in front of it without filling in a single visa form.

In 1965, archaeologists cutting into the Afrasiab hill — the ruined original city of Samarkand — opened a room the world now calls the Hall of the Ambassadors. Its murals, painted around 648–651 CE, show the Sogdian ruler Varkhuman receiving embassies from across the known world: Chinese envoys bearing silk, Turkic guards with braided hair, emissaries in feathered caps. It is the closest thing history has left us to a group photograph of the Silk Road at its height. And China is standing right in the centre of the frame.

Uzbekistan Is Visa-Free for Chinese Citizens — 30 Days, No Application

Since June 2025, Uzbekistan and China have operated a mutual visa-free regime for tourist travel of up to 30 days. No embassy queue, no invitation letter, no fee. For a country whose treasures sit three flight-hours from Urumqi, that single policy change rewrote the map. Uzbekistan is now visa-free for citizens of more than 90 countries, and Chinese travellers sit at the very front of that list.

Air capacity followed. The two governments agreed to raise weekly flights between them from 46 to 60, with Uzbekistan Airways, Air China and China Southern all expanding Central Asian services. Uzbekistan received 11.7 million foreign visitors in 2025 and its Tourism Committee expects around 12 million in 2026 — with China named among the largest source markets and a stated national target of one million Chinese arrivals, against roughly 74,300 in 2024.

Translation for anyone planning a trip: the doors are open, the seats exist, and the crowds have not caught up yet.

Samarkand Tours from China: Standing Where Your Ancestors Were Painted

Most travellers come to Samarkand for the Registan — three madrasah facades facing each other across a square, their domes the exact blue of a kiln-fired sky. They stay for what surrounds it: Shah-i-Zinda, a narrow street of turquoise tombs that feels like walking through a jewellery box; Gur-e-Amir, where Timur lies beneath a slab of dark jade; Bibi-Khanym, a mosque built at a scale that still looks impossible.

But for a traveller arriving from China, the quietest room is the loudest one. In the Afrasiab Museum, ten minutes from the Registan, the ambassadors are still arriving. Silk is still being carried. The exchange that made both civilisations wealthy is still, faintly, in progress on a plaster wall. Guests tell us it is the moment the Silk Road stops being a phrase and becomes a place.

The Silk Road Route Chinese Travellers Book Most in 2026

The classic circuit is Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, and it has never been easier to move between them. The Afrosiyob high-speed train covers Tashkent to Samarkand in a little over two hours. Since May 2026 a new high-speed service, the Jaloliddin Manguberdi, finally links Tashkent to Khiva in a single daytime run of roughly seven hours — a journey that used to eat an entire night.

Eight to ten days is the sweet spot: two nights in Samarkand, two in Bukhara wandering the trading domes and the Poi Kalyan ensemble, one or two inside Khiva walled old town, plus Tashkent for museums, markets and the flight home. Add the Aydarkul yurt camp or the Fergana Valley silk workshops if you want the desert and the looms as well as the domes.

Why Book With a Licensed Uzbek Ground Operator

GoUzbekistan is the tour-operator brand of Lochin Express Plyus LLC, a company that has been operating 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 Travelife certification is in progress. Alongside guided tours we run a 500-capacity event venue, the 3-star Dendi Plaza Hotel with 29 rooms, and three catering brigades in Bukhara — which means transport, guiding, hotels and food are handled by one accountable team rather than four unrelated subcontractors.

We also work as a white-label ground operator for foreign tour operators and agencies who want Uzbekistan handled properly on the ground.

Ready to walk into the Hall of the Ambassadors? Create your own custom tour and tell us your dates, pace and budget — or explore our tours for ready-made Silk Road itineraries. Questions? Write to info@gouzbekistan.com or call +998 93 963-00-00.

Plan your Uzbekistan trip — in your language

العربية — السياحة في أوزبكستان

سمرقند وبخارى وخيوة تنتظرك على طريق الحرير: قباب فيروزية، أسواق قديمة، وقطارات سريعة تربط المدن. الدخول إلى أوزبكستان بدون تأشيرة لمواطني أكثر من 90 دولة. صمّم رحلتك الخاصة إلى أوزبكستان مع مشغّل سياحي مرخّص.

Deutsch — Usbekistan Reise & Seidenstraße Rundreise

Samarkand, Buchara und Chiwa auf einer Seidenstraße Rundreise: blaue Kuppeln, Karawansereien und Schnellzüge zwischen den Oasenstädten. Für Gäste aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz ist die Einreise nach Usbekistan visumfrei. Entdecken Sie unsere Usbekistan Reisen.

Español — Viajes a Uzbekistán y la Ruta de la Seda

Samarcanda, Bujará y Jiva reúnen mil años de historia en un solo viaje por la Ruta de la Seda. Los viajeros españoles entran sin visado y los trenes de alta velocidad unen las ciudades en pocas horas. Diseña tu viaje a Uzbekistán a medida.

Français — Voyage en Ouzbékistan sur la Route de la Soie

Samarcande, Boukhara et Khiva : coupoles turquoise, caravansérails et trains à grande vitesse entre les oasis. Les voyageurs français entrent en Ouzbékistan sans visa. Découvrez nos circuits en Ouzbékistan, conçus par un opérateur local agréé.

中文 — 乌兹别克斯坦旅游 · 丝绸之路

撒马尔罕、布哈拉、希瓦，三座丝绸之路古城静候您的到来。中国公民可免签停留30天，直飞与中转航班持续增加，高铁两小时即达撒马尔罕。定制您的专属乌兹别克斯坦之旅，由持牌本地旅行社全程安排。

Русский — Туры в Узбекистан по Шёлковому пути

Самарканд, Бухара и Хива — три жемчужины Шёлкового пути: бирюзовые купола, торговые купола и скоростные поезда между городами. Для граждан России въезд безвизовый. Посмотреть наши туры в Узбекистан или составить индивидуальный маршрут.