13 Days Silk Road Adventure Tour from Chengdu to Kashgar

Day-by-day Itinerary

1. Day 1: Chengdu Arrival

   Upon your arrival at Chengdu airport or train station, the local driver will pick you up from the exit gate by holding a welcome board and transfer you to downtown hotel for check-in. Free and easy on your arrangement for the rest of the day.

   Kuanzhai Alley is one of the must visit attractions in Chengdu, consisting of three streets: Kuan Alley, Zhai Alley, and Jing Alley. You can visit an old tea house, experience the culture of Gaiwan tea, enjoy intangible cultural heritage performance of Sichuan opera face changing and taste authentic snacks such as egg baked cake and Bo bo chicken.

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   4-Star Hotel in Chengdu
2. Day 2: Chengdu City Exploration
   Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, Wenshu Temple, Renmin Park, Jinli Pedestrian Street

   In the morning, you’ll head to the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base. The base is definitely a highlight for most visitors to Chengdu, which is well known for the protection and breeding of the endangered giant pandas which are unique to China. There are adorable pandas everywhere. Your tour guide will navigate you through the huge area, share some information about the pandas, and help you take amazing photos. You can watch them eating bamboo, playing with each other, and of course sleeping.

   

   After lunch, continue your visit to Wenshu Temple which was built in the Sui Dynasty with a long history. The temple is still operating and frequented by local people who come to pray and relax themselves. It is a good place to come to know Buddhism. You can have a nice stroll around the pleasant garden and take photos of the wonderful ancient architecture.

   Later, enjoy some relaxing tea time in Renmin Park. Renmin Park is a perfect place to do people watching. Here you can enjoy a cup of tea in a nice tea house and watch local people while away the time with various activities such as playing cards, doing tai chi, playing mahjong, dancing, and napping.

   Afterward, come to explore the bustling Jinli Pedestrian Street, a must see place in Chengdu. You can see that the buildings here are built in Qing Dynasty style, and meandering through the street gives people the feeling of traveling back in time. You can enjoy shopping, do people watching, and taste some yummy food that you never seen before.

   

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   4-Star Hotel in Chengdu
3. Day 3: Chengdu to Xian by High-speed Train
   Jinsha Site Museum, Sichuan Cuisine Museum

   After breakfast, you will visit Jinsha Site Museum. It is an excellent place to learn about Chengdu's history. There are thousands of cultural relics that date back to 3000 years ago. You will follow your knowledgeable tour guide to appreciate the precious artifacts such as golden sun bird disc, golden mask, bronze standing figure and stone tiger, and get to know the stories behind them. You also can enjoy a walk around the lovely park and take some pictures.

   Later, go to check out a unique museum themed with cuisine culture, Sichuan Cuisine Museum, and have a fantastic experience there. You will have chance to see plenty of cooking utensils from the past dynasties and sample some local delicacies. The highlight of this interesting museum tour will be learning to cook a couple of Sichuan dishes such as Mapo Tofu and Kung Pao Chicken under the instructions of local chefs. After finishing cooking, you will sit down and enjoy your own cooking.

   

   After lunch, you will head to the train station and catch an afternoon high-speed train to Xian. The train rides around 3-4 hours which would be a good chance for you to have a nap on the train or just enjoy the scenery on the way. When you arrive at Xian North Train Station, the local driver will pick you up from the exit gate by holding a welcome board with your name and drive to local hotel.

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   4-Star Hotel in Xi'an
4. Day 4: Xian Highlights
   Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Ancient City Wall, Bell and Drum Tower Square, Muslim Quarter

   Your Xian exploration begins with world’s heritage Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Known as “the Eighth Wonder of the World”, it was found by four local farmers while drilling a well. Nowadays, it has become one of the most important attractions in China and the most attractive attraction in Xi'an. The museum includes Pit 1 (the largest pit), Pit 2, Pit 3, as well as a tank and a horse exhibition hall. You will stay at the museum for 2 to 3 hours and listen to professional tour guides' explanations. Through vivid introductions, you will learn about the stories behind those life size sculptures and China's first emperor.

   Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and then head back to Xian downtown area for another historical highlight - Ancient City Wall. It is the most complete preserved and the largest city wall in China, which was built for military defense in the ancient times. Visitors can ride a bike around the city wall (optional, at an extra fee).

   

   Later, move on to the Bell and Drum Tower Square in the very center of the city and is considered the symbol of this old capital. Walking forward, come to the Muslim Quarter where you will find many special local products and authentic local snacks. Enjoy preserved meat, casserole, various noodles, and may buy Terracotta Warriors imitations as souvenirs to bring home for your family or friends.

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   4-Star Hotel in Xi'an
5. Day 5: Xian to Dunhuang by Flight
   Xi'an Museum, Big Wild Goose Pagoda

   As one of the most famous historical cities, Xian has lots of interesting places to go! Today you will explore the must-see sights in Xian downtown area.

   Firstly, come to the Xi'an Museum (closed every Tuesday), where a collection of 370,000 artifacts will take you on a journey through the glorious history of the ancient capital. From Western Zhou bronzes to Tang Dynasty tri-colored glazed potteries, each exhibit tells the story of Chang'an (as Xi'an was called in ancient times). The Small Wild Goose Pagoda in the courtyard is known as the landmark of Xi'an along with the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

   After that, move on to Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which was built in 652 AD. This seven-storey square pavilion-style brick pagoda was the holy place where monk Xuanzang translated the scriptures. Stroll through the Daci'en Temple Park and enjoy the Zen atmosphere of the ancient temple.

   In the afternoon, taking a flight to Dunhuang. Upon your arrival at Dunhuang airport, there will be a local driver picking you up from the exit gate and transfer to your well-selected hotel.

   

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   4-Star Hotel in Dunhuang
6. Day 6: Essence of Dunhuang
   Mogao Grottoes, Crescent Spring and Echo Sand Mountain, Shazhou Night Market

   Today you will head to the amazing Mogao Grottoes. As the existing anthology of Buddhist art with biggest scale and the best preservation in the world, Mogao Caves wins a fame of “the pearls of oriental art”. It keeps 735verns, about45,000 square kilometers frescoes, 2,415 painted sculptures, more than 4,000 flying Apsaras (the beautiful Bodhisattva in the 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.

   In the afternoon continue your visit to Crescent Spring and Echo Sand Mountain. They are harmonious mates of miracles created by natural, 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 blowing while the Crescent Spring, like a gentle maiden, is embraced in arms of mountains without being smudged. A life-time experience provided here as an optional activity is a camel ride (optional). If you want more excitement, try desert motorcycles. For kids, they can enjoy sand sliding from high dunes.

   

   As the night falls, come to the Shazhou Night Market for food exploration. Although you may have visited night markets or food streets in Chengdu and Xi'an, Shazhou Night Market can still provide you with a unique experience. You will definitely be attracted by the stalls emitting a strong aroma under dim lighting, and accelerate your steps towards the vendors. Tasting Silk Road cuisine is like what camel caravans ate a thousand years ago.

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   4-Star Hotel in Dunhuang
7. Day 7: Dunhuang to Turpan by High-speed Train
   Jade Gate Pass, The Yadan Landform

   Today you will further explore the local relics of Dunhuang. The first site will be Jade Gate Pass. The relics of Jade Gate Pass is located at the far western edge of Hexi Corridor, about 90 km away from Dunhuang city, with main geographical landscape of gobi and deserts. How bleak you feel about this place from eyes, how moved you feel about its history from your hearts. Jade Gate Pass had been a vital position on military defense in ancient China since the time of famous Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty who is famous for his achievements on defending against invasion. So many heroes with their stories about Jade Gate Pass emerged in history and so many famous events that happened there have been written in poems and novels and are familiar to people.

   

   Later, head to The Yadan Landform (Ghost City). The Yadan Landform we are heading for is about 90km west of Jade Gate Pass. About 25km long and 1-2km wide, this place yells when wind blowing just like a ghost screaming, scaring visitors a lot, hence the name of Ghost City. Going inside, it excites your eyes and amazes your mind with those “streets”, “buildings”, “squares” and even “churches” forming a real “city” relic!

   In the afternoon, you will be transferred to the train station to catch the high-speed train to Turpan. The train rides around 3.5 hours; you can have a nap on the train or just enjoy the scenery on the way. Upon your arrival at Turpan, there will be a local driver picking you up and sending to the local hotel.

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   4-Star Hotel in Turpan
8. Day 8: Turpan to Urumqi
   Karez Well, Sugong Pagoda, Jiaohe Ruins, Erdaoqiao International Bazaar

   After hotel breakfast, your exploration begins with Karez Well, which is a special Irrigation System distributed in Turpan area, sharing the same fame with Great Wall as “Great Human Engineering”. With a little rainfall volume yearly, it’s almost impossible for Turpan to use water in the surface to irrigate farmland. However, Turpan is located in a basin surrounded by the snowy mountains around, so, fortunately, it is rich in water resources underground. Local people brought into full play the tilted terrain of the basin, dug many Karez and connected them together into a subterranean irrigation system.

   Moving on to Sugong Pagoda, you will witness this typical Islamic architecture with the largest scale among all pagodas in Xinjiang. It was built by the local governor to show appreciation for the Qing Government, today symbolizing national unity. The conical body of the Pagoda was engraved with beautiful paintings of strong ethnic flavor, vividly telling its old stories for the visitors. Behind the Pagoda stands the biggest Mosque in Turpan, forming a harmonious picture in the scenic area.

   

   Later, head to Jiaohe Ruins. If you ever watched the aerial photo of Jiaohe Ruins, you will find it roves in the vast Turpan basin just like a giant aircraft carrier. Located at a ship-like loessal mesas eroded by rivers for thousands of years, the ancient city later emerged with the coming of Cheshi people whose great wisdom could be deduced easily on their masterpieces: the dwellings, streets and city layout that they built on a clever use of the local geographic conditions, thus we could have opportunity to have a look to the relics of the largest city made of natural soil in the world with long history, about 1700 years.

   Last, drive around 3 hours to Urumqi to tick off Erdaoqiao International Bazaar.  It’s one of the bazaars with the largest scale in the world with 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 will enjoy the experience for the strong ethnic flavor here. Eyes are dazzled by an overwhelming of goods in the stalls while ears are excited by the hawking, bewildering you if you are travel 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
9. Day 9: Urumqi to Kashgar Tour by Flight
   Xinjiang Regional Museum, Heavenly Lake

   After hotel breakfast, meet your guide at hotel lobby and your exploration begins! The first site will be the Xinjiang Regional Museum. As the only autonomous region class museum in Xinjiang, Xinjiang Regional 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.

   Later, move on to the highlight of today - 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 snowy mountains mirroring in the green lake and colorful flowers spotted on the green grassland along the lake, plus the tour guide’s commentary to the tale due to its geographical conditions. Looking out over the scenic area, the white 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: Here you can experience a cruise ship, as if entering a painting where snow capped mountains and forests are reflected in the deep blue lake water.

   After that, be dropped off at the airport for a later afternoon flight to Kashgar. Upon arrival at Kashgar airport, there will be our local driver waiting for you at the exit gate. Stay overnight in Kashgar.

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   4-Star Hotel in Kashgar
10. Day 10: Kashgar Ancient Town
    Kashgar Old Town, Handicrafts Market, Id Kah Mosque

    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 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 bottom of hearts along your slowly wander.

    If you're not here on Monday, you can visit the ancient city's opening ceremony at 10:30.

    

    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 talk with those hawkers with ethnic faces. Do not forget to bargain when you are picking up some as souvenirs.

    After that, come to the largest Islamic Mosque in Xinjiang - the Id Kah Mosque, whose birth could 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 functioned as center for religious activities, is also the place for local people to celebrate festivals. If you are lucky to visit it on a praying day and or festival day, you will meet an extremely busy scene where thousands of Islamic followers gather on the square.

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    4-Star Hotel in Kashgar
11. Day 11: Kashgar to Tashkurgan
    Karakuri Lake

    Today you will head to the amazing Karakuri Lake. The driving lasts around 4 hours from Kashgar city to the lake, which would be a good chance to enjoy the mountain-and-lake view on the way. Baisha Lake is a brilliant sapphire on the Pamir Plateau, and you will pass by here. It is embedded in the embrace of snow mountains. Baisha Mountain is wrapped in silver, forming a pure painting with the deep blue lake water. Strolling by the lake, capture the shimmering waves of sunlight on the water.

    Karakuri Lake also named Karakul is a high mountain moraine lake. Karakuri means “Dark Ocean”, which is corresponded to its appearance: the water is deep and unfathomable, the grass grows well on the banks where Kirgiz shepherds usually stay for grazing. The lake embraces the inverted images of the snowy pinnacles, green grass and leisure flocks and herds when sunny days while it turns to be dark and bleak on rainy days.

    Finishing the relaxing sightseeing, continue driving to Tashkurgan for the night.

    

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    4-Star Hotel in Tashkurgan
12. Day 12: Tashkurgan Back to Kashgar
    Tashkurgan Stone City

    After breakfast, be guided to enjoy the unique scenery in Tashkurgan Stone City which is a famous relic along ancient Silk Route, occupying a vital position in terms of ancient military. It was the Capital of Puli Kingdom of the Han Dynasty and a stronghold set by the Tang Dynasty to govern the surrounding areas. The significant value in trade and politics brought it prosperous time in old time and left many treasures you can see today including pottery shard, gold, silver and jewelry, scriptures, silk…

    In addition to ruins, you can also see the sprawling Golden Grass Beach. Due to the river passing through here, the water and grass are abundant, cattle and sheep are everywhere, and the distant snow mountains, white clouds, and blue sky blend together beautifully.

    After the visit, drive around 5.5 hours back to Kashgar.

    

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    4-Star Hotel in Kashgar
13. Day 13: Kashgar Departure

    The 13 days amazing Silk Road trip will end after breakfast. 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. Thank you so much for choosing China Xian Tour.

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