10 Days Ancient China Silk Road Tour from Xian to Kashgar

Day-by-day Itinerary

1. Day 1: Xian Arrival
   A Visit to Xi'an Terracotta Warriors

   Upon your arrival at Xian airport/train station, the local English-speaking tour guide and driver will pick you up from the exit gate by holding a welcome board with your name.

   Friendly tip: you are suggested to land at Xian before 11 AM to ensure no rush for the rest of the day.

   Your Silk Road tour of China begins with Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Known as "the Eighth Wonders of the World", the museum shows a surprisingly high level of sculpture, which is listed among the most significant discoveries of the 20th century. The splendid scene and format will leave you with an impressive memory.

   After that, if time permits, you can continue your visit to the Muslim quarter to have relaxing sightseeing and enjoy the local food/snacks. Muslin Quarter is the most famous food street in Xian. It consists of an Islamic food area, an ethnic group shopping center, a Great Mosque, and the living area of the Hui people, with a history of more than 1,000 years. The tour guide will give recommendations for you to have the best local food experience.

   

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   4-Star Hotel in Xi'an
2. Day 2: Xi'an to Zhangye by High-speed Train

   In the morning, the driver will pick you up from the hotel lobby and drop you off at Xian North Train Station for a high-speed train to Zhangye. The train rides for around 6.5 hours, and you are suggested to prepare some snacks or just enjoy the scenery on the way.

   Upon your arrival at Zhangye West Train Station, the local driver will be waiting for you at the exit gate holding a welcome board with your name and transfer to a local hotel. Free and easy on your own for the rest of the day. You can explore Zhangye City on your own. (No tour guide service for today ).

   Reference trains: D2671 / 07:48-14:16 or D2687 / 10:08-16:43. The Xian tour guide will give the paper train tickets to you when you are in Xian.

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   4-Star Hotel inZhangye
3. Day 3: Zhangye's Essence
   Embrace the Beauty of China's Best Danxia Landform

   After breakfast, begin the visit to Giant Buddhist Temple. Built in the Western Xia Dynasty, the Giant Buddhist Temple survived the vicissitudes and stood on the Silk Road for 900 years. There is a gigantic sleeping Buddha statue of Sakyamuni the largest scale in Asia inside the temple, hence the name. The beautiful woodcarving, paintings and statues as well as the underlying culture and history will impress you a lot.

   After lunch, drive for an hour to Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park. The Danxia landform earns the most spotlight for Zhangye City. The site received its status as one of the 10 Wonders of Nature in the World through National Geographic News in 2011. The Zhangye Danxia area contains two main scenic areas that display distinct characteristics. Most travelers prefer to visit Rainbow Mountain in Linze County that you will experience today because its bright color makes it the best location to watch sunset. After extensive walking, see a beautiful scene which shows the mountain layers colorfully rising up.

   

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   4-Star Hotel inZhangye
4. Day 4: Zhangye to Jiayuguan by High-speed Train
   Admire an Impregnable Fortress along Silk Road

   At 08:00 am, the driver will pick you up from the hotel lobby and transfer you to the train station for your high-speed train to Jiayuguan (reference train number: D2743 / 10:27-11:53 ). Upon your arrival at Jiayuguan station, you will find the local English-speaking tour guide and driver waiting for you at the exit gate by holding a welcome board with your name.

   After driving through the yellow sand of the desert, you will come to Jiayuguan Pass, also known as the "First and Greatest Pass Under Heaven", "the Throat of Hexi Corridor". As the western end of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, Jiayuguan Pass, being constructed for hundreds of years, not only occupied a vital position in military defense but also exerted an important influence in trade & culture exchange as a key waypoint of the ancient Silk Road.

   Next, continue your private China Silk Road tour to the Jiayuguan Great Wall Museum. Inside the Jiayuguan Pass Scenic Area, there is the first Great Wall-themed museum with 7 major exhibition halls to show you more detailed knowledge about this great construction engineering in Chinese history. The oil painting of the Great Wall exhibited here on a large scale, about 220.5 square meters is a highlight deserving a longer stop.

   Afterwards, move on to Weijin Tombs. Driving through the wilder Gobi about 20km from Jiayuguan City, you will come to the famous "underground gallery", Weijin Tombs. Under the title, wall paints dominate the theme of the visit to this site. Underneath the yellow sand, were about 1,400 ancient tombs buried in the obscure desert and only 6 tombs are open to the public today. It's a surprise discovery process when beholding the paints with bright colors vividly depicting the scholars and official life in Weijin Time.

   Last, check in at the local hotel.

   

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   4-Star Hotel in Jiayuguan
5. Day 5: Jiayuguan to Dunhuang by Train
   Venture Around the Cresent-Shaped Lake in Desert

   Dunhuang played an important role in history, especially during the boom of the Silk Road. It is not only an important link of economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West, but also a place where many cultures meet.

   At around 05:00 am, the driver will pick you up from the hotel lobby and transfer you to the train station for your high-speed train to Dunhuang (reference train number: K367 / 05:45-10:51 ).

   Friendly tip: there is ONLY one trip on a high-speed train from Jiayuguan to Dunhuang in the morning. Thus, you will get up early in this morning to catch the train. You are suggested to take-away breakfast.

   The train rides for around 5 hours. Upon your arrival at Dunhuang, you will find the local English-speaking tour guide and driver waiting for you at the exit gate holding a welcome board with your name. When it is not too hot, you will start your Dunhuang Silk Road tour of China with Crescent Spring and Echo Sand Mountain.

   Echo Sand Mountain and Crescent Spring are harmonious mates of miracles created by nature, glittering like a pearl along the Silk Road for thousands of years. The incredible co-existence between spring water and sand mountains always amazes visitors at their first sight here: the sand mountains meander like a huge dragon and roar when wings blow while the Crescent Spring, like a gentle maiden, is embraced in the arms of mountains without being smudging.

   Friendly tip: There is a camel ride available in the Echo Sand Mountain, if you would like to try it, please pay in cash on your own (around CNY100~150/pax ). Of course, your tour guide will help to purchase tickets.

   Last, come to Shazhou Night Market for further exploration. Though you might have visited many night markets or food streets during your weeks of vacation, Shazhou Night Market still brings you something different. On a stroll, you'll discover the unique vibrancy of this northwestern city, far from the rural center.

   

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   4-Star Hotel in Dunhuang
6. Day 6: Dunhuang to Turpan by High-speed Train
   Enjoy Abundant Murals of Buddhas and Flying Apsaras

   This morning you will head to the amazing Mogao Grottoes. As the existing anthology of Buddhist art with the biggest scale and the best preservation in the world, Mogao Caves wins fame as "the pearls of oriental art". It keeps 735verns, about 45,000 square kilometers of frescoes, 2,415 painted sculptures, more than 4,000 flying Apsaras (the beautiful Bodhisattva in Buddhism who has fair scent and does well in dancing and music), and 5 wooden constructions of Tang and Song Dynasty as well as thousands of Stone pillars and flagstones with lotus carving on them.

   After the visit, you will take a high-speed train to Turpan. The train rides for around 3.5 hours, you can have a nap on the train or just enjoy the scenery on the way. When you arrive at Turpan train station, there will be a local driver picking you up and transferring you to a local hotel.

   

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   4-Star Hotel in Turpan
7. Day 7: Turpan to Urumqi by Private Car
   Dig into Unique Islamic Culture & Customs of Uyghur

   The first site of the China Silk Road in Turpan will be Karez Well, an underground irrigation system created by ancient Xinjiang people. This project can be called the source of life for the arid northwestern region. Later, move on to Sugong Pagoda, you will witness this typical Islamic architecture with the largest scale among all pagodas in Xinjiang.

   Next, come to Tuyu Valley. The village represents the oldest Uyghur settlement in Xinjiang which serves as a peaceful site for experiencing Buddhist and Islamic traditions. The Jiaohe Ruins - your next destination - contains the most extensive ancient site of raw-soil construction that has maintained its original state for over 2000 years. You will wander around this ancient city stepping back in time to trace past civilizations.

   

   At the end of the tour, you will head to Urumqi in 3 hours of driving. Upon arrival at Urumqi, follow your guide to explore Xinjiang International Bazaar. It's one of the bazaars with the largest scale in the world with a strong Islam flavor in its buildings. You should not miss this site during your tour to Urumqi, even if you are not going shopping, you would favor the experience for the strong ethnic flavor here. Eyes are dazzled by the overwhelming of goods in the stalls while ears are excited by the hawking, bewildering you if you are traveling through space and time to the ancient Silk Road to glimpse the prosperous trades between different nations.

   

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   4-Star Hotel in Urumqi
8. Day 8: Urumqi to Kashgar by Flight
   Visit the Beauty of Loulan & See Superior Plateau Landscape

   After breakfast at the hotel, drive around 1.5 hours to the amazing Heavenly Lake of Tianshan Mountain. Heavenly Lake, read Tianchi Lake in Chinese, is an alpine lake nestled against the slope of the snow-covered Bodga Mountain. Heat, the special feature coming with summer is seldom there due to its geographical conditions. Looking out over the scenic area, the white snowy mountains mirroring the green lake and colorful flowers spotted on the green grassland along the lake, plus the tour guide's commentary to the tale of Queen Mother of the West bringing it some color of mystery, both your eyes and souls will be fully pleased by the pure beauty here.

   Optional activity: Taking a boat tour of the lake will take you "into" the core of this landscape painting. Passing by the spruce forest by the lake up close, if you're lucky, see flocks of wild ducks playing on the surface of the lake.

   Afterwards, move on to Xinjiang Regional Museum. As the only autonomous region-class museum in Xinjiang, the museum houses over 40,000 collections including all kinds of relics and specimens, exhibited in five separate halls. You can find many treasures ever glittering on the famous Silk Road. The No.1 star exhibition in the museum is the unprecedented ancient corpse with even tiny fingernails well preserved.

   At the end of the visit, you will be dropped off at the airport for an evening flight to Kashgar, the last destination of your 10-day China Silk Road tour. Upon your arrival at Kashgar airport, there will be a local driver picking you up from the exit gate by holding a welcome board with your name and transferring to the local hotel.

   

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   4-Star Hotel in Kashgar
9. Day 9: Kashgar Tour
   Explore Locals' Daily Routine and Traditions Practiced for Thousands of Years

   Today, you will further visit Kashgar city. No doubt the first site will be Kashgar Old Town. Kashgar's spirit is in the old town with curved lanes distributed in the maze-like Islam blocks, which is the thing that bewilders you to be here. Eyes on face and camera in hands should be busiest during the visit, elegant folk dwellings, neat streets, cozy tea houses gathering leisure old people, naughty kids playing in front of doors and bursting into laughter when you walking closely... soul warmth rising from the bottom of hearts along your slowly wander.

   

   Later, move on to the Local Handicrafts Market. Spending some time in the handicrafts market is also a top thing to do in Kashgar. Follow the local crowd to walk leisurely and stop at a stall interesting you or talking with those hawkers with ethnic faces. Do not forget to bargain when you are picking some as souvenirs.

   After that, visit the largest Islam Mosque in Xinjiang - the Id Kah Mosque, whose birth can be traced back to 1442, in the Ming Dynasty. It's an ancient architectural complex sitting in the city center with strong ethnic and religious color, composed of four parts: the pagoda, garden, scripture hall, and praying hall. Not only function as a center for religious activities, is the Mosque also a place for local people to celebrate festivals. If you are lucky enough to visit it on a praying day and or festival day, you will meet an extremely busy scene where thousands of Islam followers gather on the Square.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

   Accommodation: in Kashgar

   

10. Day 10: Departure from Kashgar

    The 10 days China Silk Road tour will end today. We will arrange an airport transfer for you and wish you a pleasant journey home! If you want to visit more places in China, please feel free to contact us. We will be very happy to help!

    Meal: Breakfast

    Accommodation: N/A