Kashgar Old Town — Silent Minarets' Hymn
Uncover the fragments of a forbidden Uyghur hymn hidden in Kashgar's silent minarets. Solve the ancient code before its melody vanishes forever in this outdoor escape quest.
📱 1 to 10 phones · 1 team per phone · Independent codes
In the labyrinthine alleys of Kashgar's Old Town, a sacred Uyghur hymn once echoed from towering minarets, binding the community in secret nightly rituals
Kashgar Old Town — Silent Minarets' Hymn
You are a seasoned merchant-explorer, charting new routes through Central Asia in the 13th century, as you arrive at Kashgar, a trading hub active for over 20
Follow the ancient footsteps of Silk Road merchants, where Kashgar's minarets whisper the history of an oasis city at the crossroads of civilizations.
The story that haunts this land
Your journey begins at Kashgar Old City's East Gate Square, the primary entry point to a maze of over 200 narrow alleys. Daily at 10:30 AM and 6:00 PM, opening ceremony performances feature costumed performers, inviting visitors to participate in song and dance. Modern government investment has illuminated the gate with golden lighting in the evenings, marking a grand entrance to this Silk Road heritage site.
Venturing deeper into Kashgar Old City, you reach the Id Kah Mosque, Xinjiang's largest, with a capacity for up to 10,000 worshippers during prayer gatherings. This landmark, with its minaret towers visible across the Old City skyline, serves as a primary religious and cultural beacon, an active place of worship and pilgrimage for the Uyghur Muslim community. Its Islamic architectural style testifies to the enduring influence of faith in this ancient oasis city.
The route then leads you to the Gaotai Residences, also known as Gaotai Ancient City. These ancient adobe houses, stacked along a cliffside, represent one of the world's largest adobe complexes and an architectural adaptation to the landscape over 2000 years. A hexagonal brick flooring system is used as a navigation aid in the maze-like alleys, an urban planning detail reflecting centuries of continuous settlement and construction methods in Xinjiang.
Continue your exploration to Kashgar Old City's Main Bazaar, a bustling marketplace featuring traditional crafts such as copperware, pottery, and woodcraft. In the Flowerpot Bazaar section, for 10 RMB, visitors can create and paint their own clay flowerpots. Stalls on footpaths sell traditional food, and carpets hang outside houses, maintaining the centuries-old trading traditions of this active Central Asian commercial center.
Your adventure concludes at the Sky Garden Viewpoint, located near the 'Silk Road Jade' landmark, accessible via a green gate turning point. From this panoramic rooftop vantage point, you gaze upon adobe houses spread across Kashgar Old City, offering a prime photography location for documenting traditional earthen architecture. It demonstrates the urban planning of mud-brick settlement patterns, concluding your immersion into the Uyghur cultural heritage of this historic city, rebuilt and reinforced after 2008 earthquake safety assessments.
A game, a guided tour and a heritage guide — all in one
You're not just buying an escape game. You're carrying a living guide — historical anecdotes, forgotten legends, key monuments, hidden architecture — unfolding as you go.
At each stop, places ordinary guides miss — secret façades, sculpted crests, alleys steeped in history.
Every riddle is rooted in a real historical fact or local legend. You leave with dozens of stories to tell.
Learn to read buildings — flamboyant Gothic, Baroque, Art Deco — like a real art historian, while having fun.
Walk through the city like a novel's character — every alley becomes a stage, every square a theatre.
A voice walks with you at every step, tells the story of each place, reads clues, adds a cinematic feel.
Keep access to the guide & game for 1 year. Come back any time, share it with friends.
« You will not leave this city the way you entered it. »
How does it work?
Explore the city on foot solving puzzles based on real historical facts. No locked room — the city is your playground.
No app to download. Play directly from your browser. Guided step by step, at your own pace.
One purchase per phone is enough. Play with family, friends or as a couple — everyone participates.
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears and speaks to you in your language. Golden letters magically write themselves on the wall to reveal the puzzle answer.
Stuck? Progressive personalised hints. The character repeats the puzzle on demand — at your own pace.
French, English, German, Spanish, Italian + 27 other languages auto-translated by AI.
Want to go deeper?
Places tied to your adventure — optional entries, totally up to you · per person
The Route
8 stages through the city
The gameplay: AR, camera, hidden clues
At each stop, open your phone camera: an augmented reality character appears on the façade and speaks your language. Hunt the clue — it materializes as golden letters on the real wall or floats in front of you. When you find it, the phone vibrates, an AR chest opens and reveals your answer fragment. 8 stops, 8 clues to find with the camera, 1 final code.
The stops on your route are a surprise. You'll discover them one by one, guided by your phone, starting from the meeting point.
How does it work with a group?
One phone = one team. Pick the number at checkout (1 to 10).
Solo, or a group sharing the screen. One team, one code.
Family, couple, or 2-3 teams competing. Each phone has its own code and its own score.
Friends, bachelor/bachelorette, small office outing — each their own code, each plays at their own pace. Tiered pricing then €6 flat per phone from the 6th.
- ✓All codes are independent — play at the same time OR separately, each team advances at its own pace.
- ✓Leaderboard between your teams + global game leaderboard — each score appears in the public ranking.
- ✓More than 10 phones or need a personalized quest? Discover custom tours.
Ready to live this adventure?
Get my code · 12€No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒 Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
Practical info
Why this route?
Ancestral Musical Quest
Gather the fragments of a lost Uyghur hymn, the heart of their culture.
Treasures of Uyghur Craftsmanship
Discover secrets hidden in architecture, calligraphy, and traditional patterns.
Journey into the Heart of Resilience
Explore the history of a people whose spirit and culture endure despite trials.
Forgotten melodies await to be sung.
Find the hymn, revive the soul.
9 features nobody else has
OddballTrip combines gamified play, augmented reality and AI. All our competitors deliver 1 or 2 of these angles. We deliver all 5.
AR treasure chest
A golden chest floats in front of the monument. Tap → opening animation → reveals a secret message.
AR narrator character
Point your phone at the façade: a knight, witch, monk, sailor, detective or ghost appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language with their dedicated ElevenLabs voice (each character has their own unique voice) — your living guide.
Magic golden letters
At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's the puzzle answer. An unforgettable visual effect.
Written + audio narration
Every puzzle available as text AND voice-over: read at your own pace or listen eyes-free while walking. Great in groups and for accessibility.
360° radar + vibration
A mini-radar shows the target even behind you, and the phone vibrates when you aim in the right direction.
Heritage storytelling
Every puzzle weaves in real historical facts (architecture, era, anecdotes). You learn by playing — like a gamified audioguide.
Progressive AI hints
3 levels of AI-generated help: vibe → where to look → answer format. You're never stuck.
AR selfie memento
At the end of the game, capture a selfie with OddballTrip banner + mascot, shareable on Instagram, TikTok.
Zero app to install
PWA technology: open the link, it plays in your browser. Same quality as an app, no App Store hassle.
Frequently asked questions
Q01Do I need to download an app?
No, never. You get a link, you click, it plays in your browser. That's the point of a PWA: same as an app, without the hassle.
Q02Does it work offline?
GPS yes (handled by your phone). Maps yes (tiles cached). AI and hints need an intermittent 4G connection.
Q03How long does a game take?
1 h 30 to 2 h 30 depending on your pace. The timer runs but only for the leaderboard — you play at your own tempo.
Q04What happens if I'm stuck?
You get 3 levels of hints per puzzle (increasing penalty). If truly stuck, you can skip the step (45-min penalty but you keep going).
Q05What's the age range?
From 12 without an adult, from 6 with an adult reading puzzles. Works for families, couples, friend groups, companies.
Q06What if my city isn't in the catalogue?
Pre-register or contact us — we'll email you as soon as your city is live.
Q07What is augmented reality exactly?
Point your phone at the façade: a historical character appears full-screen and speaks to you in your language. At the puzzle climax, golden letters magically write themselves on the real wall — that's your answer. After each puzzle solved, a treasure chest floats in front of you. Seeing is believing.
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Your turn to play
Follow the ancient footsteps of Silk Road merchants, where Kashgar's minarets whisper the history of an oasis city at the crossroads of civilizations.
1 purchase = 1 phone. Play several on the same device.
No calendar booking. Code sent immediately by email.
🔒Secure payment · Code in 5 min · Free cancellation
🪙+24 TripCoins granted with your booking
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