Caravanistan

Perhaps there's a business opportunity here, arranging adventure tours to Xinjiang for those who want a real-life police state experience and missed the chance to visit East Germany.

Don't waste your time! You cannot buy tickets to Almaty on 12306.cn.

I would be very reluctant to go that route.

First, I have never heard of anyone actually using that "e-visa."

Second, Pakistan immigration at Sost will not let you proceed to China unless you have a Chinese visa. Will they recognize this "e-visa"?

Sounds too risky for me.

Whether you have to show insurance almost certainly depends on your nationality.

Thank you especially for the cost information. I always knew it was expensive to bring a motorbike into China. But I had no idea it was that expensive.

If the evisa's not valid for entry overland from India or China, then its usefulness to travellers drops a great deal.

In any event, can you exit overland?

I wouldn't pin all my hopes on UB. I'd probably try other places en route. Just telling you don't get your hopes up anywhere, especially with those Turkish and Iranian stamps.

If you apply in Tashkent they will assume no matter what you say that you are heading into Xinjiang, and that's a real black mark against you when applying for a Chinese visa these days.

You're not home clear! Knives are a problem at train stations and airports throughout China, especially Xinjiang but actually everywhere.

There's never a guaranty, but the Hong Kong consulate has a much better reputation. HongKong Express, Vanilla and Jetstar sometimes have pretty low fares to HKG from Japan.