Ili Zhaosu Travel Guide

7 Days 6 Nights In-Depth Tour of Ili, Xinjiang | Budget 8000 RMB |
📍 Destination: Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang
🗓️ Duration: 7 days 6 nights (best recommended from June to August)
💰 Total Budget: About 7800 RMB per person
🚗 Transportation: Flight + private car + some public transport
📌 Style: Natural Scenery + Cultural Experience + Light Luxury Camping

🌄【Trip Highlights】
- Drive along China’s most beautiful road, the northern section of Duku Highway
- Stroll through the "Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall" Nalati Grassland
- Explore Sayram Lake, known as "the last tear of the Atlantic Ocean"
- Stay in a starry sky guesthouse beside the rapeseed flower sea in Zhaosu
- Taste authentic Kazakh hand-pulled meat, kvas, and baked buns
- Capture stunning photos worthy of social media fame!

🗓️ Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Yining → Check-in + city walk
- ✈️ Transport: Fly to Yining from across China (early flights recommended)
- Reference fare: About 1800-2500 RMB from Beijing/Shanghai/Guangzhou (book 2 weeks in advance to save 30%)
- 🏨 Accommodation: Boutique guesthouse in Yining city (e.g., "Blue Print" or "Ili Riverside")
- Price: 300 RMB/night, breakfast included
- 🚶‍♂️ Afternoon: Yining city walk
- Must-visit: Liuxing Street (colorful houses + handicrafts), Kazanqi Folk Street (blue gate + ice cream cart)
- 🍽️ Dinner: "Gulandamu" restaurant on Liuxing Street
- Recommended dishes: Big plate chicken, handmade yogurt, baked buns (about 60 RMB per person)

✅ Total Day 1 cost: About 2800 RMB (including 2300 RMB flight + 300 RMB accommodation + 200 RMB food and drinks)

Day 2: Yining → Sayram Lake circuit (about 140km, 2.5h)
- 🚗 Private car departure (7-day private car rental about 3500 RMB, including driver)
- 🌊 Sayram Lake (ticket + shuttle bus: 145 RMB)
- Suggested route: Enter from South Gate → General’s Platform → Swan Music Water → West Sea Grassland → Exit from North Gate
- Secret photo spot: Pine Tree Head hiking trail, capture lake and snow mountain reflections
- 🏕️ Special experience: Lakeside light luxury tent camping in Ili, Xinjiang (optional)
- Sayram Lake Starry Sky Camp: 880 RMB/person (includes dinner + accommodation + bonfire)
- Budget option: Stay at lakeside guesthouse (300 RMB/night)

✅ Total Day 2 cost: About 1200 RMB (including 500 RMB car share + 150 RMB ticket + 200 RMB meals + 350 RMB accommodation)

Day 3: Sayram Lake → Guozigou Bridge → Huocheng Lavender → Zhaosu (about 200km)
- 🌉 Guozigou Bridge viewing platform: free, shoot stunning canyon bridge photos
- 🌿 Huocheng Lavender Field (best mid-June to early July)
- Free wild field or Princess Jieyou Lavender Garden (ticket 50 RMB)
- Wear a white dress! Shoot purple flower sea with snow mountain backdrop
- 🌼 Afternoon drive to Zhaosu (2h drive)
- 🏡 Accommodation: Starry sky guesthouse beside rapeseed flowers in Zhaosu (floor-to-ceiling windows for stargazing)
- Price: 380 RMB/night
- 🍲 Dinner: Local Kazakh family restaurant, try horse sausage and milk tea

✅ Total Day 3 cost: About 700 RMB (car share 500 + ticket 50 + food and lodging 150)

Day 4: Zhaosu → Shata Ancient Trail light hiking (about 120km)
- 🏔️ Shata Scenic Area (ticket + shuttle bus: 90 RMB)
- Hiking route: Visitor center → General’s Bridge → Shata Stone Carvings (about 6km one way, horse riding available)
- Horse riding reference: 200 RMB/person one way, safe and effortless
- 📸 Highlights: Snow mountains, grasslands, streams, wildflowers, filming location of the movie "Pegasus"
- 🌙 Accommodation: Return to Zhaosu or stay at nearby Shata guesthouse (300 RMB)

✅ Total Day 4 cost: About 700 RMB (car + ticket + horse riding + lodging)

Day 5: Zhaosu → Tekes Bagua City → Nalati Town (about 300km)
- 🌀 Tekes Bagua City: panoramic aerial view (free to climb city center viewing platform)
- 🍔 Lunch: Bagua City "Abula’s Nang" for handmade nang bread + mutton soup
- 🚗 Afternoon drive to Nalati Town (4h drive)
- 🏡 Accommodation: Nalati Town guesthouse (recommended "Yunjian Pasture")
- Price: 320 RMB/night, wooden house with fireplace
- 🌌 Evening: Participate in Kazakh family visit (150 RMB/person, includes singing, dancing, and dinner)

✅ Total Day 5 cost: About 800 RMB (car + lodging + family visit)

Day 6: Full day deep tour of Nalati Grassland
- 🌿 Nalati Scenic Area (ticket + shuttle bus: 110 RMB)
- Suggested route: Aerial grassland → Snow Lotus Valley → River Valley Grassland → Nomad’s Home
- Must-try: Grassland horseback riding (100 RMB/30 minutes), wear Kazakh costumes for photos
- 📸 Hidden photo spot: Small hill behind nomad’s home, capture "people and sheep + snow mountain" in one frame
- 🌙 Accommodation: Continue staying in Nalati Town

✅ Total Day 6 cost: About 600 RMB (ticket + horseback riding + lodging)

Day 7: Nalati → Yining airport drop-off (about 280km)
- 🚗 Depart in the morning, drive northern section of Duku Highway (Nalati → Qiaolma → Yining)
- Stunning scenery: snow mountains, canyons, waterfalls, grasslands, every shot is wallpaper-worthy
- Note: Duku Highway open only from June to September, check road conditions
- 🛍️ Stop at Qiaolma Martyrs Cemetery (pay tribute to road-building soldiers)
- ✈️ Arrive at Yining Airport in the evening for return flight

✅ Total Day 7 cost: About 500 RMB (car + meals en route)

💰 Total Budget Summary (per person)
| Item | Cost |
|------|------|
| Round-trip flight | 2300 RMB |
| 7-day private car (with driver) | 3500 RMB (about 500 RMB/day) |
| Accommodation (6 nights) | 1800 RMB (average 300 RMB/night) |
| Tickets + shuttle buses | 500 RMB |
| Meals (7 days) | 700 RMB (100 RMB/day) |
| Horse riding / family visit / experiences | 500 RMB |
| Total | About 7800 RMB |

> 💡 Tips:
> - Flight is the biggest variable; booking early can save 500+ RMB
> - Private car rental recommended for 4 people sharing, reducing cost to under 6000 RMB per person
> - Strong sun in Xinjiang, sunscreen, sunglasses, and hats are essential!
> - Respect ethnic minority customs; ask permission before taking photos

📸 Travel Blogger’s Insider Tips
1. Outfit guide: Long skirts + denim jackets for grasslands, blue and white outfits for Sayram Lake, light purple or white for lavender fields.
2. Photography gear: Wide-angle lens for lake views, telephoto for capturing sheep, drone for stunning Sayram Lake shots! (Note no-fly zones)
3. Emotional boost: Shout “I’m fine” facing the snow mountains at Shata, and the wind will blow your tears away.

Conclusion:
Ili is not a distant place, but where the heart longs for.
Seven days, eight thousand yuan, for a free journey witnessed by snow mountains and grasslands.
You just need to set off; the scenery will heal you.