We're travelling in mid-to-late August in China's late summer and our arrival coincides with the start of the typhoon season. While the intense heat will have lost it's edge, it's still likely to be hot - and wet. However, since we're heading out to the desert regions along the Silk Road, we're not likely to encounter as much rain as we would in other parts of China.
Beijing is likely to be within an average range of 20 to 30 degrees Celcius - but it could get up to 40 degrees in the desert regions, especially around Turpan. The desert nights are also cooler than one would expect in Beijing and are likely to drop to around 15 degrees in the evenings. Hot, dry and dusty is definitely on the agenda - interspersed with a few cool mountain highs with lower temperatures.
Light-weight, quick drying clothes and comfortable walking shoes are recommended, along with sun hat, sun screen and insect repellant (and a sense of humour, for when things inevitably don't go according to plan).
We will spend a lot of time in Xianjiang - which is now predominantly Islamic - which means it's going to be best to forgo wearing shorts and opt for something more conservative, and probably warmer - with a light long sleeve option where needed.
The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is a sparsely populated area and accounts for about one-sixth of China's total land area. The capital of the area, Urumqi, was the centre for violent protests which broke out in July 2009. Internet connection to the regions was largely cut off or limited - and reasonably free internet access for people living in Xinjiang has only recently been restored.
If you have a spare 90 minutes - this is a great video on the secrets of the silk road.
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