If you desire to explore the Silk Road deeper, this tour is a good choice. As the key trading route between the west and the east, Silk Road was actively used among traders 2000 years ago. With the great contribution through the trading business, the west communicated the east and left a big treasure of culture and art. To explore that, we invite you to follow Marco Polo’s footsteps: begin from Beijing, visiting the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, then travel to Xian – hometown of the Terracotta Warriors. Your last stop will be in Dunhuang. Buddhist caves, wall paintings countless sculptures and Buddhists scriptures may dazzle your eyes.
Itinerary
Day 1 Beijing
Arrive at Beijing International Airport. Meet your guide and driver and check in your hotel. The rest of today is free for you.
Meals: Not included
Accommodation: 4-star hotel
Day 2 Beijing
Today you will first visit the Tian’anmen Square and Forbidden City. Here is the capital city centre. Many key events affecting the whole country even the world happened here. Then, you will take a Tricycle to start Hutong tour experiencing the daily life of Beijing residents, seeing the children in a kindergarten and climbing on the Bell Tower. You will have Chinese Dumpling Lunch with other local dishes cooked by the housewife at a quadrangle.
Tonight, you will enjoy the most famous local cuisine—Beijing Duck Dinner. Enjoy the exciting Acrobatic Show in the most popular theater in Beijing.
Meals: lunch & special dinner
Accommodation: 4-star hotel
Day 3 Beijing
In the morning, your local guide and private driver will meet you in the hotel lobby, and take you to the Great Wall at Mutianyu. 2 hours’ driving will take you to this comparatively quiet section.
At this location the Great Wall was built on steep mountains, yet don’t worry, there is a cable car running up the wall directly. If you walk more than half hour on the Wall, you will arrive at the part named “Wild Wall” that haven’t been restored for more than 500 years.
On the way back to the city, you will have a chance to take a short visit of the Olympic Stadium, nicknamed "Bird’s Nest" and the National Aquatic Centre, also known as the "Water Cube."
Meals: lunch
Accommodation: 4-star hotel
Day 4 Beijing/Xian
Fly to Xian. When you arrive at Xian Airport, your local guide and driver will meet you there and take you to downtown City.
Xian is claimed to be “Museum City”. You will be able to visit the Shannxi Historic Museum, one of the best museums in China, with collections from 1.7 million years ago.
Your next stop will be at the symbol of Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists.
As for the dinner, you will be able to enjoy the Special Dumplings Dinner --to taste more than10 types of different dumplings. After the dinner, you can enjoy a Tang Dynasty Performance, a veritable Tang dynasty show, reminding you the most prosperous empire 1400 year ago.
Meals: lunch & special dinner
Accommodation: 4-star hotel
Day 5 Xian/Lanzhou
In the morning you will visit a prehistoric settlement at Banpo, to see the early settlements’ life. Then you will visit the highlight of Xian trip-- the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. It was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.
In the afternoon you will be driven to the Great Mosque, established in AD742 for Muslim traders from Central Asia who settled in Xian, which is still an active place of worship in the present.
Tonight, you will enjoy a special treatment—Chinese herbs feet massage (optional, RMB150/p/60min), to relax your sore feet from a whole day walk, and give you a good sleep. Try it! You will be indulged in it!
Meals: lunch
Accommodation: 4-star hotel
Day 6 Lanzhou/Xiahe
Today the tour guide will take you to Xian City Wall, the best preserved city wall in China. Then you will fly to Lanzhou. On your arrival, you will be driven to Xiahe County by car.
Xiahe County is also called “the Second Tibet” because it’s an inhabitation area for Tibetan people and there are many Tibetan style temples. The rest of the day is on your own.
Meals: lunch & dinner
Accommodation: 2-star hotel
Day 7 Xiahe/Lanzhou
As Labolung Temple is a famous scenic spot there, Xiahe County has another name, Oriental Vatican. This temple is the first place for you to go, which is open without walls around, which suggests life attitude of the local people that they are open to the world. The majestic high temple shines on the prairies.
The following visit will be a local Tibetan family, tasting their Ghee Tea, talking to them, seeing their distinctive dresses and their daily life.
You will be driven to Lanzhou in the afternoon.
Meals: lunch & dinner
Accommodation: 4-star hotel
Day 8 Lanzhou/Jiayu Pass
After breakfast, you will head for Bingling Temple Caves, some 80km from Lanzhou. Along your trip, you can enjoy the scenery of the upper reaches of Yellow River, feeling spectacular power. Bingling Temple, also known as Bingling Grottoes, is a series of Buddhist caves that are situated on an inaccessible cliff face. Yellow River is regarded to be the Mother River in China--the cultural cradle of Chinese people.
After dinner, you will take a night flight to Jiayu Pass.
Meals: lunch & dinner
Accommodation: on the train
Day 9 Jiayu Pass
Jiayu Pass is the western terminal of the Ming Great Wall. Sitting on the celebrated Silk Road, the pass was also dubbed as "the Magnificent Pass under Heaven" for its military position as a stronghold in ancient time. After admiring the pass, you will visit the Great Wall Museum, telling you the history and function of the Great Wall.
In the afternoon, you will arrive at Wei-Jin Tomb, the family tomb of the rulers in Wei Dynasty and Jin Dynasty 1400-1800 years ago
Meals: lunch & dinner
Accommodation: 3-star hotel
Day 10 Jiayu Pass/Dunhuang
In this morning, 4 hours’ driving will take you to Dunhuang. You can enjoy the Gobi view on the way. After arrival, you will have free time to explore this city, a legend of dessert.
Tonight you will be able to enjoy a Uygur dancing and singing performance named "Summer of Dunhuang" after the Dunhuang Banquets, which will deliver great food and rousing entertainment.
Meals: lunch & special dinner
Accommodation: 4-star hotel
Day 11 Dunhuang/Turpan
Dunhuang was the last stop for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims on the road to India and the first stop for foreign missionaries arriving China.
After breakfast, you will be able to visit the Mogao Caves, which was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Among the 492 caves, 60 are open to visitors. It’s amazing to imagine people lived here and created all these caves.
If you are looking for some excitement after the solemn caves, the flowing trip will do. You will experience a short camel-riding along the Echoing-Sand Dune to reach the Crescent Lake. A peculiar natural phenomenon occurs when standing on the top of the sand dune forming Echoing-sand Dune. The Crescent Lake forms an oasis at the desert’s edge.
You will take a night train to Turpan, overnight on soft sleeper. .
Meals: lunch & dinner
Accommodation: on the train
Day 12 Turpan
Turpan is an ancient Silk Road trading post. Today will be a full day of Turpan Desert Tour. To avoid being out at the hot midday, you will be starting at the crack of dawn.
First stop is Gaochang Ruins, the original capital of a local ruler in the 7th century. You could walk around the mud-brick structures ruins where the whispering desert wind evokes a sense of endless time.
Then you will go to Flaming Mountains, a great photo-taking attraction. The next stop is the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, where you may sense the importance of Buddhism to Silk Road travelers, many of whom stopped here to prey for a successful journey.
To escape the noon sun’s tirade, you will stop for lunch at the Grape Valley. The beautiful trellised valley provides a necessary respite from the heat.
Meals: lunch & dinner
Accommodation: 3-star hotel
Day 13 Turpan/Urumqi
One of the most interesting stops on the tour is a Karez Irrigation Site. It is like a museum showing how the wells were built and maintained. A sample channel and well are built for exploring. In the morning you will visit this site.
In the afternoon, 3 hours’ train trip takes you to Urumqi. Meet your guide and go to your hotel. The rest of the day is on your own.
Meals: lunch & dinner
Accommodation: 4-star hotel
Day 14 Urumqi
In the morning, you will be taken to Nan Shan Pasture. You can enjoy the breath-taking view of unique, graceful peaks with all year round snow on tops. You can ride on horse or camel through the valleys, walk across the woods picking mushrooms and smell the magical wild flowers and climb up the mountain.
Afternoon you will go around the Erdaoqiao Bazaar, which is the largest Uygur bazaar in Urumqi, where you’ll find a bustling market full of fruit, clothing, crafts, knives, carpets and so on, just like kaleidoscope of scenes from the pages of ‘A Thousand and One Nights!
Meals: lunch & dinner
Accommodation: 4-star hotel
Day 15 Urumqi/Kashigar
Today you will take a morning flight to Kashgar - "the pearl on the Ancient Silk Road". In kashgar, you feel like being back to the ancient time.
The first place you will visit is the 0Id Kah Mosque, China’s largest mosque. It is the key worship place for China’s Muslims. Each year, tens of thousands of worshippers enter its gates on Friday to pray alone.
As an architectural masterpiece, the Abakh Khoja Tomb is the family tomb of a powerful 17th century Kashgar ruler. You will be able to visit the huge tomb hall built with glazed bricks decorated with beautiful flower patterns.
Meals: lunch & dinner
Accommodation: 3-star hotel
Day 16 Kashigar/Urumqi/Beijing
100 minutes’ flight will take you back to Urumuqi. Transfer to Beijing airport and departure.
Meals: Not included
Accommodation: Not included
Independent Group Price (2-5 People)
USD4,079 /per/ person
Single Room Supply: USD585 /per/person
Group Discount
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Group Size
(Adults Only)
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The Discount You Will Get
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6
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50% of your tour cost
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7
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60% of your tour cost
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8
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70% of your tour cost
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9
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80% of your tour cost
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10
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90% of your tour cost
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11
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Your tour free!
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