11 Days Silk Road Classic Tour Package (B)

» Xin Jiang

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1 »  Urumqi

• The guide picks you at Urumqi Airport and escorts you to the hotel.

Day 2 »  Urumqi

• In the morning, visit the Heavenly Lake, a natural paradise with breath-taking scenery. You can take a cruise on Heavenly Lake which lies 1980 meters above sea level and is hemmed in by the towering snow-capped Bagda Peak.
• Move on to the Grand Bazaar. It is the largest bazaar in Urumqi. You'll find a bustling market filled with Xinjiang cuisine, fruit, clothing, crafts, knives, carpets and almost anything that you can imagine. On Sunday, there are more stalls and more goods to buy than any other day. The old streets around the bazaar are really worth seeing.

Attractions

• Grand Bazaar As a must to get a feel for the local life, the Grand Bazaar is a magnificent commercial complex with a strong Islamic architectural influence that includes a banquet hall, a food ...
• Heavenly Lake Lying at the mountainside of the snow-crowned Bogda Peak, the Heavenly Lake is surrounded by numerous towering verdant dragon spruces, tall and straight. The lake also has various ...

Day 3 »  Urumqi

• Explore the Nanshan Pasture. You can ride a horse or a camel running through the valleys, walk across the woods picking mushrooms and enjoying the magical wild flowers, and climb up the mountain to overlook.
• Then visit the Terai camp to experience the Kazak nomadic life and taste delicious Xinjiang Cuisine - milk tea and mutton.

Attractions

• Nanshan Pasture There your eyes will be greeted by beautiful pictures of steep mountains, luxuriant grassland, herds of sheep and cattle, and Kazak yurts scattered sparsely on the Nanshan Pasture. ...

Day 4 »  Urumqi - Turpan

• In the morning drive to Turpan, which is known as the brilliant pearl on the marvelous Silk Road. Visit the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, which is the rock-cut building with the most caves and frescos contents in Turpan area. It is located on the west cliffs of the Wood Valley of the Flame Mountain, 45 kilometers away from Turpan city.
• Move on to Gaochang Ancient City. The city's name means "the King City." It was founded during the first century B.C. and abandoned during the 15th century. It was also an important point on the Silk Road. Ascending a height to enjoy a distant view, you can see the whole city in a shape of an irregular square, which is divided into three parts the exterior city, interior city and the palace city.
• Lastly explore Astana Tombs. It is called the "Gaochang's living history record and underground museum in the Turpan area" for its thousands of treasured historical relics unearthed, including mummy, writing, inscription, painting, earthen figurine, gold wares, silver wares and so on.

Attractions

• Astana Tombs Thousands of treasure historical relics had been unearthed, including mummy, inscription, paintings, clays figurine at the ancient Astana Tombs, known as the "Gaochang's live histo ...
• Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves Situated at the foot of Flaming Mountains lying east of Turpan City, Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves are considered most valuable caves in Xinjiang and houses 83 caves in good condi ...
• Gaochang Ancient City Less well-preserved than silk road sister city Jiaohe Ruins, Gaochang Ancient City is still a humbling and pleasant experience to wander the ruins beneath the clear desert sky, con ...

Day 5 »  Turpan - Dunhuang

• In the morning, visit the Sugong Pagoda, the largest Muslim tower in Xinjiang region. Made of brick blocks, the cylindrical body contains carvings of 15 kinds of patterns of Uygur traditional design. The pagoda displays the typical features of Uygur architecture. You have a chance to understand the culture of Islam.
• Then drive to the Karez System, the irrigation method employed by the local desert dwellers. The site is like a museum explaining how the wells are built and maintained and even includes a sample channel and well that you can explore.
• Today's tour is finished at Grape Valley. With its shady vineyards and trees, it provides a welcome place of relaxation amidst the hundreds of square miles of sand. You may take a seat under the vintage frames, savor various grapes, enjoy the beautiful Uyghur girls in their ornate costumes, and be fully intoxicated by this refreshing palace of grapes.
• Take an overnight soft sleeper train to Dunhuang City.

Attractions

• Grape Valley Dug into the Gobi desert with the Flaming Mountain on either side, the valley is a lush stripe of green in the barren desert surroundings. Ramble around the valley, taste the fresh ...
• Karez System Referred to as 'the underground Great Wall' Karez system is the crystallization of ancient people's diligence and intelligence. Karez systems are the life source of Turpan. In a se ...
• Sugong Pagoda With a history of over 200 years, the Sugong Pagoda is a novel modeling of Islamism ancient pagoda and the only Islamic tower among the hundred famous towers in China. ...

Day 6 »  Dunhuang

• Begin today's tour with the Mogao Grottoes, the "World Art Treasure House." It is the world's most important sites of ancient Buddhist culture. The grottoes, also known as Caves of the Thousand Buddha, preserve nearly a thousand years of Buddhist cave-temple architecture, clay sculpture, mural paintings, and manuscripts, dating from the 5th to the 14th centuries.
• Visit the mysterious Echoing-Sand Mountain with colorful shifting sand. You can slide down the mountainside enjoying the gentle, dulcet sounds akin to music. You can also experience a short camel-riding along the mountain to appreciate the Crescent Spring.
• Surrounded by the Echoing-Sand Mountain, Crescent Spring can be called a natural wonder in the Gobi Desert. Nestling among these sand dunes for thousands of years, Crescent Spring still gurgles clear and still remains worthy as the first spring in the desert.

Attractions

• Crescent Spring Looking like a blue crescent moon enchasing in the desert, it gets the beautiful name "Crescent Spring." Having been lying among these sand dunes for thousands of years, although g ...
• Echoing-Sand Mountain The sand of the mountain has many colors ranging from red to yellow, green, black and white. When a strong wind blows, the fast shifting sand roars. When a light breeze comes, the ...
• Mogao Grottoes As the largest, best preserved and richest treasure house of Buddhist art in the world, Mogao Grottoes houses 492 grottoes, containing some 2,100 colored statues and 45,000 square ...

Day 7 »  Dunhuang - Jiayuguan - Lanzhou

• Take a 4-hour drive to Jiayuguan City. Explore the Jiayu Pass, the western end of the Ming Great Wall. It stands seven kilometers to the south of the city.
• Then pay a visit to the Great Wall Museum, a special museum centered along the theme of the Great Wall to demonstrate its history and current status.
• Take an overnight soft sleeper train to Lanzhou City.

Attractions

• Great Wall Museum As one of the first museums to give a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the history of the great wall, the Great Wall Museum in Jiayuguan City is a special museum cente ...
• Jiayu Pass Built in the Ming Dynasty, the Jiayu Pass is one of the best-preserved passes in China as well as the largest pass on the ancient Great Wall. It is the western starting point of th ...

Day 8 »  Lanzhou

• Arrive in Lanzhou, spend all day at the Binglingsi Grottoes. It is a Buddhist cave complex in a canyon along the Yellow River. The site contains dozens of caves and caverns filled with outstanding examples of carvings, sculpture, and frescoes.

Attractions

• Binglingsi Grottoes Being one of the six famous Buddhist Grottoes, Binglingsi Grottoes is the second to Mogao Grottoes in respect of artistic value. Altogether there are 183 grotto niches displaying 6 ...

Day 9 »  Lanzhou - Xi'an

• Today continue your trip in Lanzhou City by sightseeing at the Waterwheel Park which is famous for the Ancient Water Mill, a kind of ancient implement for irrigating.
• Move on to White Pagoda Mountain Park which got its name from a white pagoda set up in 1405. It is an ideal place for relaxation with green forests, scattered pavilions and teahouses.
• Then head for the Gansu Provincial Museum which opens a marvelous world for you. The world-famous bronze Galloping Horse's Hoof Stepped on a Flying Swallow, also named as Galloping Horse, is a treasure of Gansu Provincial Museum. The whole statue is honored as the mysterious and rare treasure in the history of Chinese ancient sculpture art.
• Last take the flight to Xi'an, the Ancient Capital of China.

Attractions

• Gansu Provincial Museum The Galloping Horse of Wuwei, is a treasure of Gansu Provincial Museum. The collection in the museum includes all kinds of painted pottery, wooden paints, the silk hemp fabric, the ...
• Waterwheel Park With two huge waterwheels with striking appearances stand uprightly on the south bank of the Yellow River, the Waterwheel Park provides an insight into the irrigation tools of anci ...
• White Pagoda Mountain Park It is a nice place for strolling, with green forests, scattered pavilions, teahouses and, from its heights, some good views of both the churning river and the city beyond. ...

Day 10 »  Xi'an

• Today's attractions feature the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, one of World Cultural Heritages, which leads you back to the ancient warring times.
• The second stop is Big Wild Goose Pagoda, one of the most famous Buddhist pagodas in China, which was built during the Tang Dynasty to collect Buddhist scriptures.
• Then visit Xi'an City Wall, an extension of the old Tang Dynasty structure.
• Lastly tour in the Shaanxi Provincial Historical Museum, the epitome of Shaanxi' glamorous imperial past.

Attractions

• Big Wild Goose Pagoda As the symbol of the old-line Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. Originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor G ...
• Shaanxi Provincial History Museum Be considered as an obligation to be a showcase of ancient civilizations. Shaanxi Provincial History Museum is situated in the southern suburb of Xian City, northwest of the Big Wi ...
• Terracotta Warriors and Horses A terracotta army guarding , the tomb of Qin Shihuang, which lures travelers from all over the world. In a quest for immortality and eternal power, China's first emperor chose to h ...
• Xi'an City Wall As a symbol of great significance of the famous historic cultural city of Xi'an, the Xi'an City Wall is the best-preserved, oldest and largest ancient city defense system in China. ...

Day 11 »  Xi'an

• Depart from Xi'an City and your wonderful trip ends.