Through opened to foreigners in 1986 Korla, until recently, had little of interests to offer visitors. But with the opening of the spectacular Tarim Highway, the oilfield access road which now crosses the heart of the Taklamakan, Korla's strategic location at the northern edge of the desert is noteworthy.

By road, rail or air: There are flights five times a week to Urumqi, twice to Kucha(a small town with a long history, and a largely Uigur population, the fourth-century linguist and scholar Kumarajiva, also a major centre of Buddhism in China), and three times to Qiemo on the south side of the Taklamakan. Trains run all the way to Xi'an and beyond, and buses run to Urumqi and Turpan, across the top of the Taklamakan to Kashi and beyond, and down the desert's eastern side to Qiemo and on to Khotan (Hetian).

(source: ctrip.com)

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