This 11 days Silk Road tour will begin in Xian, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, in which you will admire the “eighth wonder of the world”– Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum and other historical sites. On your way to the west, you will stop at Lanzhou, Xiahe, Dunhuang and Turpan to appreciate the precious cultural relics such as Mogao Grottoes, Karez Well and Gaochang Ruins as well as enjoying amazing natural scenery like endless pasture and crescent-shaped lake. You will find the tour is worth every penny.
Xian
Urumqi
Day 1 Xian arrival
Day 2 Xian: Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Day 3 Xian – Lanzhou by Bullet Train: Muslim Quarter, Grand Mosque, City Wall
Day 4 Lanzhou – Xiahe by Car: Waterwheel Garden, Zhongshan Bridge, Binglingsi Grottoes
Day 5 Xiahe: Sangke Prairie, Labrang Monastery
Day 6 Xiahe – Lanzhou by Car – Dunhuang by Train: Gansu Provincial Museum
Day 7 Dunhuang: Echoing-Sand Mountain, Crescent Lake
Day 8 Dunhuang – Turpan by Train: Mogao Grottoes
Day 9 Turpan: Jiaohe Ruins, Karez Well, Sugong Pagoda
Day 10 Turpan – Urumqi by Car: Gaochang Ruins, Bizaklik Thousand Buddha Cave, Flaming Hill
Day 11 Urumqi departure
Our driver and guide will wait for you at the airport terminal exit by holding a welcome sign with your name on it. Then you will be driven to the hotel and have a good rest. The rest of the day is free at your disposal. Accommodation: Xian
In the morning, you will visit the world’s eighth wonder, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. After lunch, drive back downtown Xian to visit Shaanxi History Museum. Then we will move to visit nearby Big Wild Goose Pagoda which was originally built in the Tang Dynasty to keep Buddhist sutra brought from India by Master Xuanzang. Accommodation: Xian
Pick up from your hotel and head to Muslim Quarter, the best known food street in Xian. Then you will visit Grand Mosque. After that, move to visit the City Wall, the best preserved and the largest military defense city wall in China. Tourists could optionally ride bikes on the city wall top. Then you will be transferred to North Xian Station to catch the bullet train to Lanzhou. Upon your arrival in Lanzhou, our local guide will meet you at train station and escort to hotel to check in. Accommodation: Lanzhou
After breakfast at hotel, you will first visit the Waterwheel Garden and Lanzhou Zhongshan Bridge. Then we will proceed to the Binglingsi Grottoes. After that, we will drive to Xiahe for a 2-night stay. Accommodation: Xiahe
In the morning, pick up from your hotel in the morning and travel to Sangke Prairie to witness the typical plateau grassland. After that you will pay a visit to the Labrang Monastery, the largest Buddhist Institute of Tibetan Buddhism. Where tourists will also appreciate thousands of statues of Buddha made of various materials. Tourists may have the chance to watch the morning devotion here. Accommodation: Xiahe
In the morning drive back to Lanzhou to visit Gansu Provincial Museum. About 350,000 pieces of ancient cultural relics, contemporary and modern cultural relics, as well as ethnic cultural relics will enable tourists know this important city on the Silk Road from various aspects. In the evening, you will board the overnight train to Dunhuang. Accommodation: On the train
Upon arrival, our tour guide will greet you at the train station and transfer to your hotel for check in. After a short rest, you will visit the Echoing-Sand Mountain. When you slide down the slope, you can hear the roaring echo of sands, hence the name. Walking for sometime to reach the Crescent Lake, your eyes will be feasted on the crescent-shaped spring surrounded by the endless Gobi desert. Accommodation: Dunhuang
Upon your arrival in Dunhuang train station, our guide and driver will meet you at railway station and drive about 2 hours to the hotel in downtown Dunhuang. After a short rest in the hotel, visit the Mogao Grottoes, one of the four most famous caves in China. Then you’ll be escorted to the Liuyuan Railway Station for your bullet train to Turpan. Upon arrival, met by local guide at the station and transferred to your hotel. Accommodation: Turpan
Starts today’s tour with Jiaohe Ruins, one of the most important towns along the ancient Silk Road and the largest, oldest and best-preserved earth construction in the world. Then go to visit the Karez Well— an amazing irrigation system which made Turpan a rich oasis. The last stop will be Sugong Pagoda, the largest existed ancient Islamic pagoda in Xinjiang. Then back to hotel. Accommodation: Turpan
Today you will visit three famous sites all together. The first stop will be Gaochang Ruins, the ruins of capital of ancient Gaochang Kingdom which existed from 500AD to 700AD. Then you will go to the Bizaklik Thousand Buddha Cave, a series of caves with thousands of Buddhism murals that show many Buddhism figures, stories, and the social life about 1,500 years ago in Ancient Gaochang Kingdom. The last stop will be the hottest place along Silk Road in China– the Flaming Hill. The temperature in summer could reach 47.8 ℃. After finished the trip in Turpan , drive to Urumqi and check in hotel. Accommodation: Urumqi
Our guide and driver will escort you to the airport to catch the flight home. Hope the 11 Days Silk Road Tour leaves you an impressive and pleasant memory.