Sam Chui

Join me on 2 of China’s most remote and challenging flights, flying from Tibet to Xinjiang in the wild West.

Starting my trip in the early morning hours from Lhasa, I boarded Tibet Airlines A319neo, a rare type that currently only flies in China's high-altitude airports. With 27,000 lbs of thrust each, the A319neo's engines easily climb out of Lhasa. The en route scenery is supposedly out of this world!

My destination is Ngari Kunsa Airport in the Northwest border of Tibet, China. It has an elevation of 4,274m (14,000 ft) and a very long runway of 4,500m. We flew past Mount Kailash, but clouds covered it, unfortunately. The main challenge at Ngari, aside from its high altitude, is the wind, which blows from all directions and changes frequently.

Finally, the low clouds broke away, and I could start to see the landscape of Ngari, which looks extremely remote and isolated. The terminal in Ngari is quite simple, but with some Tibetan culture. There were six flights on the day I visited. I transited there shortly before jumping on another flight to Kashgar in Xinjiang province.

The scenery on this flight is much better. About halfway, the plane made a left turn towards Xinjiang. The mountain terrain gave way to the hazy desert, as if there was a line in the middle. This flight really connected 2 of the outer provinces of western China.

Kashgar is an important city on the Silk Road. The old town was so amazing, full of culture and plenty of delicious food. This trip has really ignited my interest in traveling to more far-flung places in China.