Day 11 of our Xinjiang trip took us on a day trip from Kanas Lake to Baihaba Village Xinjiang, right on the Kazakhstan border. We’d just spent the previous day sorting out the transfer from Hemu Village to Kanas, and Baihaba was the next stop we’d already flagged permits for. Baihaba has a reputation online as the more “untouched, original” village compared to Hemu and Kanas. Our actual experience didn’t quite match that, and we think it’s worth knowing before you go.
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Quick facts: Baihaba Village Xinjiang
- Permit: required for foreigners, applied for in person with your passport at the Border Tourism Police Station (in winter, the Old Village police post).
- Transport: round-trip shuttle from Kanas Tourist Service Centre, 45 CNY (6 USD) per person, includes buses within Baihaba itself.
- Entry ticket: 30 CNY (4 USD) adult, 15 CNY (2 USD) senior (60+).
- Canyon horse riding tour: 380 CNY (53 USD) per person, about half a day, 7-8km each way.
- Our honest take: worth doing, but go in with realistic expectations, both the village and the horse riding felt noticeably less polished than Hemu.
Getting to Baihaba Village Xinjiang
We departed Kanas at 9am and arrived at 10am. Baihaba sits within the greater Kanas area, so you don’t need to exit back out to Jiadengyu to reach it, unlike the transfer we’d just done the day before.
Seating tip: sit on the left side of the bus heading to Baihaba for the best views, and on the right side heading back to Kanas.
Baihaba’s transport setup works the same way as Hemu and Kanas: everything is organised around a central tourist service centre, with different bus routes fanning out from there.
Permits and tickets
Since Baihaba sits within a border area, you need a permit to enter as a foreigner. It’s fairly easy to sort. If you’re doing a larger Xinjiang trip, we’d recommend getting border permits for the whole region approved in advance in a bigger city like Ürümqi or Altay. If you’ve already arrived in Kanas without one, get it sorted the day before at the Border Tourism Police Station, inside the Kanas Tourist Service Centre area. In winter this moves to the Old Village, at the Kanas Village Police Post, about a 10 minute walk from the Kanas Tourist Service Centre.
Baihaba tickets are separate from the Kanas village ticket we’d already bought on Day 10. Round trip transport from Kanas Tourist Service Centre to Baihaba Tourist Service Centre costs 45 CNY (6 USD) per person. This transport ticket includes buses within Baihaba itself, like getting through the village and up to 空中草原 (officially 叶根徳草原, Yègēndé Cǎoyuán). The entry ticket itself is 30 CNY (4 USD) for an adult, 15 CNY (2 USD) for a senior (60+). We paid 60 CNY (8 USD) total for our group of three, one adult and two seniors.
Sorting out the canyon horse riding tour near Baihaba Village Xinjiang
At the Baihaba tourist service centre, we spotted a sign advertising horse riding tours to various points around Baihaba. We’d read online about the China-Kazakhstan Border Grand Canyon, right along the border, which needs a car to reach since the park bus doesn’t go there. Rather than track down a car, we went with a horse riding tour instead. It cost 380 CNY (53 USD) per person, quoted at about half a day round trip, 7-8km each way.
This tour felt much less regulated than the horse riding we did in Hemu Village on Day 8. No helmets, no vests, and looking back, the horses themselves seemed less healthy than the ones we rode in Hemu. Still, riding high off how fun Hemu had been, we hopped on anyway.
What the ride was actually like
We had 3 guides for the 3 of us, so a 1:1 ratio. Once my guide figured out I could ride well enough, she let go of my lead rope and let me ride free. My horse, however, was over the whole thing given the heat and had zero interest in keeping pace. I ended up trailing about a kilometre behind everyone else for a chunk of the ride. My parents each stayed on lead with their guide the whole way. Mandarin was limited for two of our three guides, so communication with them was pretty minimal.
Most of the ride up to the canyon viewing point runs along a highway. It’s worth knowing you’ll be riding in the sun on a road for a lot of it, not through forest or trail like Hemu.
Baihaba Village Xinjiang town: more commercialised than we expected
After the horse riding, we took the blue bus into town. We’d read that Baihaba was meant to be more untouched and original compared to Hemu and Kanas, and we were looking forward to that. In reality, it felt pretty underwhelming and quite commercialised.
空中草原 (Yègēndé Cǎoyuán)
To get there, we took a smaller, champagne-coloured minibus, about a 5 minute ride from the Baihaba Tourist Centre.
Heading back to Kanas
We departed Baihaba at 4:30pm, back to Kanas. From 5:30pm to 7:30pm, we walked around Kanas Lake along the forested side.
Dinner was in the old village at 8pm, a spot we won’t be naming. We had 清汤牛肉面 (clear soup beef noodles) x2 for 30 CNY (4 USD) each, 60 CNY (8 USD) total. We also had 过油肉拌面 (oil-braised meat noodles) for 45 CNY (6 USD), and 油麦菜 (romaine lettuce) for 38 CNY (5 USD). It was a pretty disappointing meal, way too salty and heavy on MSG, without much flavour to speak of.
We stayed at Fire Fox Homestay again, night 2 of 3 in Kanas New Village, booked through Trip.com — we covered the full booking and room details in our Day 10 Kanas post.
What our Baihaba Village Xinjiang day trip cost us
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Round trip transport, Kanas to Baihaba (45 CNY/person x3) | 135 CNY (19 USD) |
| Baihaba entry ticket (1 adult + 2 senior) | 60 CNY (8 USD) |
| Horse riding tour to canyon (380 CNY/person x3) | 1,140 CNY (159 USD) |
| Dinner, old village (unnamed) | 143 CNY (20 USD) |
| Accommodation at Fire Fox Homestay (2 of 3 nights) | 1,361 CNY (189 USD) |
| Total (3 people) | ~2,839 CNY (~396 USD) |
FAQ
Is Baihaba Village worth visiting from Kanas?
Yes, but go in with realistic expectations. Baihaba has a reputation as a more untouched, original village compared to Hemu and Kanas. We found it more commercialised than that reputation suggests, though the China-Kazakhstan Border Grand Canyon and the canyon horse riding tour were still genuinely worth doing.
Do you need a permit to visit Baihaba Village as a foreigner?
Yes. Baihaba sits within a border area, so foreigners need to apply for a border permit in person with your passport. It’s fairly easy to sort at the Border Tourism Police Station inside the Kanas Tourist Service Centre (or the Old Village police post in winter).
How much does the Baihaba entry ticket cost?
The entry ticket is 30 CNY (4 USD) for an adult, 15 CNY (2 USD) for a senior (60+). We paid 60 CNY (8 USD) total for our group of three, one adult and two seniors. This is separate from the Kanas village ticket and from the 45 CNY (6 USD) round-trip transport ticket.
How is the canyon horse riding tour compared to Hemu Village’s horse riding?
It felt noticeably less regulated. There were no helmets or vests, and the horses seemed less healthy. Most of the route runs along a highway in direct sun rather than through forest or trail, unlike the Hemu horse riding route.
How do you get to Baihaba Village from Kanas?
A round-trip shuttle bus runs from the Kanas Tourist Service Centre to the Baihaba Tourist Service Centre for 45 CNY (6 USD) per person, taking about an hour. This ticket also covers buses within Baihaba itself.
Made this trip yourself, or planning to? Share your own Baihaba experience, or drop a question this guide missed, in the comments below.
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