The Southern Silk Road is the Chinese part of the legendary Silk Road, which opened up trade between China, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean thousands of years ago.
There were numerous so-called silk routes on the Silk Road, which is the collective name. The southern route is generally a single route which runs from China, down into northern India, across plains and rivers, and eventually through northern Pakistan.
The part in China - the Southern (Jade) Silk Route - goes from Xi’an, through the Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang, to Turpan, Hotan (Khotan), Yarkand, and Kashgar. Most of it is in the western autonomous prefecture of Xinjiang by way of dusty and remote towns that eventually join up at Kashgar.
The Southern Silk Road proper started near the Gansu town of Dunhuang, where it split from the northern route and headed for the Taklamakan Desert, skirting it to Kashgar. Most of this section is now badly maintained, although visitors can take up the route for Turpan (near Urumqi) to Kashgar.
After resting in Kashgar, you could then make the trip back up to Turpan via Yarkand, Hotan, and Korla, completely encircling the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert. Travelers should beware, however, that this route is largely devoid of the creature comforts of the northern route, featuring as it does dusty towns with little in the way of facilities.
The bit from Hotan to Korla goes by way of the decent 500-plus-kilometer-long Tarim Desert Expressway. While this can be done quickly to get through the desert, the southern section of the Southern Silk Road - between Hotan and Kashgar - is the most interesting.
It includes the interesting town of Hotan, with its massive bazaar and various silk workshops and stores. The nearby district of Karghilik is also worth stopping at and is the gateway to the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway (Highway 219). The city of Kashgar has the best facilities in this region and is also home to the start of the Karakoram Highway, another major artery.
In the northern section, be sure to check out the surroundings of Turpan, the hottest and lowest place in China. Trips from here take in the awesome Bizaklik Thousand Buddha Caves and Flaming Mountain.
Getting There & Away
The Xinjiang capital of Urumqi is the main airport on the Southern Silk Road, lying up in the center/north of the prefecture. It receives direct flights from Beijing and Shanghai, while Kashgar in the southwest receives services from Hong Kong. It is a 1-hour, 30-minute flight between Urumqi and Kashgar, or 27 hours by bus.