11 Days Legendary Silk Road Tour

Day 1: Xi’an

Upon your arrival at Xi’an Airport, your driver and tour guide will meet you and bring you to your hotel. Take a good rest and enjoy a free and easy evening in the former capital of the Chinese Empire.

Meals: /

Overnight in Xi’an

Day 2: Xi’an

In the morning, you will visit the world's eighth wonder, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. To avoid the low-quality tourist eateries near the site, we will serve you a delicious a la carte lunch at one of the best local restaurants. In the afternoon, continue your visit to one of the symbolic attraction of Xian, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Initially built in the Tang Dynasty to collect sutra from India, the seven-story pagoda witnessed many changes and development of Xian in the past 1300 years. Then you will visit the City Wall, which is regarded as a further famous symbol of this city. In the evening, you will have the chance to experience the local specialty, the Dumpling Dinner, which comprises many different kinds of Chinese dumplings while enjoying the Tang Dynasty Dance and Music Show at Shaanxi Opera Theater.

Meals: B, L, D

Overnight in Xi’an

Day3: Xi’an - Urumqi

Today, we fly to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Xinjiang is praised highly as the "Home of Singing and Dancing" for its unique folk culture and custom. Upon arrival, check in the hotel first. We visit the Xinjiang Regional Museum in the afternoon: it is a large integrated museum and centre for the collection and study of cultural relics discovered in the region. Enjoy a relaxed and free evening in central Asian atmosphere.

Meals: B

Overnight in Urumqi

Day 4: Urumqi

Your local guide will take you to the foothills of close Tian Shan Mountains within Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. With its particular geological structure and stunning natural landscape, numerous parts of the mountain range have been inscribed in the World Heritage List by the UNESCO in 2013. We visit the Heavenly Lake. In summer, this beautiful place is an ideal cool resort. If you like, join a boat cruise and watch the ever-changing silvery mountains soaring into the blue sky, their slopes highlighted with verdant pasture and flamboyant wild flowers. Fishing at dusk has its own special charm. A day in this fairyland promises complete restoration.

Meals: B

Overnight in Urumqi

Day 5: Urumqi - Turpan

Before we head further west again to Turpan we drive to the Southern Mountain Valley, a grassland with Kazak style yurts. In Turpan we will have a look at the ancient subterranean desert irrigation system which is called Karez. Karez irrigation systems are the life source of Turpan. Without this sophisticated technique there would be no Turpan culture at the edge of Taklamakan desert. We pay a visit to Emin Minaret of 1777 afterwards. It is the largest extant old mosque tower in Xinjiang and the only Islamic tower among the hundred famous towers in China. You have an option to enjoy the Uygur dancing and singing with the dinner in the evening.

Meals: B

Overnight in Turpan

Day 6: Turpan-Dunhuang

Today you will visit another famous site of Turpan: the Gaochang Ruins, an ancient relict of the Gaochang Kingdom in the 9th century. From the outline of the ruins, you can still find traces of many former buildings, like temples, markets and palaces. We will head to the Bizaklik Thousand Buddha Grottoes and Ancient Astana Tombs afterwards, a cluster of caves with thousands of Buddhist murals. The vivid murals show many Buddhist figures, tell stories about 1000-year-old social life of the Gaochang Kingdom. The last stop will be the hottest place in China, the Flaming Hill, which is located at the north of ancient Silk Road. Nothing grows on the hill and the highest temperature measured is 47.8 ℃ (118 ℉). Seen from afar during sunset, the Flaming Hill resembles a red fire dragon flying upwards. Afterwards, you will board an overnight soft sleeper train to Liuyuan Station, the closest to Dunhuang.

Meals: B

Overnight in overnight train (Soft sleepers)

Day 7: Dunhuang

Upon your arrival, our guide will meet you at railway station and invite you to a breakfast first and then escort you to the hotel in Dunhuang. It will take about two hours' drive from Liuyuan Station to Dunhuang. After resting for a while, you will proceed to the echoing sand Dune (Mingsha Hill), which is formed by the pileup of drifting sand. It was named so because the sand dunes utter tremendous sound if there is a gale and murmur while people slide down from the top. Here, you can experience a short but exciting camel-ride along the dunes to reach the Crescent Lake. The Crescent Lake is a crystal clear lake in the shape of the crescent moon. Although encircled by dunes and frequently attacked by squalls and furious sand storms, the lake water keeps limpid and sweet for hundreds of thousands of years.

Meals: B

Overnight in Dunhuang

Day 8: Dunhuang-Jiayuguan

You will have a whole morning to visit the famous Mogao Grottoes, which are one of the four most famous caves in China. Known as the “Oriental Louvre”, the Mogao Caves not only boast a large number of vivid Buddhism murals, giant Buddha statues and unique architecture, it is also being renowned as the treasure house of Buddhism culture. In the afternoon we drive to Jiayuguan, check in your hotel and have a good rest after a long ride.

Meals: B

Overnight in Jiayuguan

Day 9: Jiayuguan-Lanzhou

In the morning your guide and driver will take you to the Jiayuguan Pass, the westernmost part of the Great Wall, a great fortress surrounded by stunning mountains. The adjacent museum has many artifacts telling the story of this magnificent place. The Great Wall on the cliff was built in such a steep ridge that it seems to cling to the mountain side. Then we have a look at the Great Wall Museum, the Overhanging Great Wall, the First Beacon Platform of the Great Wall and Xiongguan Square in the afternoon. If time still permits, we will also visit Xincheng Mural Tombs of Wei and Jin Dynasty. Renowned as the largest subterranean art gallery in the world, housing a great deal of colorful murals, the gallery has attracted tourists from both, China and abroad since 1972 when it was excavated. Most tombs are of families, housing bodies of three or four generations, and now only grave 6 and 7 are open for public. In the evening you will catch the night train to Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province.

Meals: B

Overnight in overnight train (Soft sleepers)

Day 10: Lanzhou

You arrive in Lanzhou in the early morning, meet your local tour guide and get transferred to the hotel where breakfast is already waiting for you. Ready for exploring again you will be guided to Mill Wheel Park. In the park, visitors can experience crossing the river on a sheepskin raft, which is the most primeval ferrying style in the northwest region of the Yellow River. A visit to the Waterwheel Garden will provide an insight into the irrigation tools of ancient times. Then visit Yellow River Bridge and White Pagoda Park. White Pagoda Park is the symbol of Lanzhou City.

Meals: B

Overnight in Lanzhou

Day 11: Lanzhou – Departure

The second morning in Lanzhou we drive to Liujiaxia Reservoir (80km; about 1.5 hours). It is a major dam along the middle upper part of the Yellow River. On the dam of Liujiaxia Reservoir, we board a yacht to Binglingsi Grottoes (about an hour per way), which are situated in the southwest end of the reservoir. Late summer is the best time to visit these places. Here, the Yellow River flows through magic scenery. One of the so-called Nine Bends of the Yellow River can be seen in Liujiaxia Gorge.

Your tour comes to an end today. Get transferred back to Lanzhou and say goodbye to the Chinese part of the famous Silk Road.

Meals: B