Silk Road Exploration Holiday

International flight on your own arrangement. Once arrive in Xi'an ,our nice guide will meet you at the airport. our group members may arrive in the airport at the similar timeand then you will be transferred to your hotel （1hour drive). our escorted guide will have a group meeting and tour introduction in the hotel. and then you will back  to your room for rest after the long flight. No

The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses

After we have buffet breakfast in the hotel and then Visit the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, (1hr drive, 2hrs visiting time), From the Parking to the entrance is 15minus walking, you can take the electronic cart with $ 2 or walk (the fee is on your own).vThe greatest archaeological findings of the century: the army of terra-cotta warriors and the bronze chariots entombed in vast underground vaults at emperor Qin's tomb, after lunch in the restaurant we will head to the Bell Tower  The emblem of Xian city. And the Wild Goose Pagoda. where you can enjoy the Musical Fountain. The pagoda where widely renowned Master Xuanzang (Monk Tripitaka) stored his classics brought from India. In the evening we will arrange  the Tang Dynasty show with Dumpling Banquet  for dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accomodation: Xi'an Grand Noble Hotel 5* 

 

Day 3

Xi'anLanzhou (K 119, 22:36-06:38    8hrs 12 mins driving)

The Ancient City Wall

After breakfast we first start the your with visiting Shaanxi Historical Museum, One of the main museums in China which holds numerous unearthed cultural relics of China.and Xian City Wall,  An extension of the old Tang Dynasty structure boasting the most complete city wall that survives through Chinese long history.you will be required to walk up stairs to the City Wall. then you will have 1 hrs free time (either ride the bicycle or take the cart to drive along the wall., after lunch visit the The Grand Mosque. the rest of the day is free for you to explore the muslim Street. please watch your valueables and you may do some simple shopping for the overnight train. at the same time our Escorted guide will prepare some snacks for you. after dinner you will be transferred to the train station and take the soft sleeper train to Lanzhou, we will arrange the porters to carry your luggages to the your cabin :)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accomodation: Soft Sleeper Train 
 

Day 4

Lanzhou  Xiahe (300kms, 4hrs)

Binglinsi Temple

Our nice guide will meet you at the train station! then you will go to the Hotel to take the buffet breakfast and take shower (today we will not overnight in Lanzhou ciy, but Xiahe county, so we arranged the room for you to fresh up and nice breakfast) , after breakfast drive about 1.5 hrs to visit the Binglinsi Temple.  Cruise from Liujiaxia Gorge to Binglingsi (fast boat). These caves, which stretch for 200 meters, were built during the Western Qin, North Wei, Sui, Tang, and Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties (between the 3rd and 18th centuries). They are highly valued for their contribution to research into the history of Chinese painting, and the spread of Buddhism during that timand after lunch drive to Xiahe to visit Labrang Monastery and Songke Grassland to know about the mysterious Tibetan culture.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accomodation: Labrang Civil Aviation Hotel 4* (local best)

Day 5

Xiahe  Lanzhou  Jiayuguan  (K9661, 21:45-07:58.  10hrs,12 mins driving)

Labrang Monastery

After Break visit the Labrang Monastery,Walking  the  pilgrim  circuit  (kora)  involves  walking  for  almost  2 
miles over uneven ground and climbing some slopes. (please note, you have to take a circle kora,as the buddism say never back the same way), Labrang Monastery is one of the major monasteries of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect. The architectural layout follows the Tibetan style, while the construction patterns are mostly Tibetan, Han, or a mixture of the two. The White Towers (in the northeast and in the northwest) are very typical, after lunch you will be back to Lanzhou and take the city Tour to the Huanghe River Mother Statue and the Waterwheel Garden. after dinner take the soft sleeper train to Jiayuguan.our escorted guide will prepare the snacks, fruit and water for you :)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accomodation: Soft Sleeper Train 

 

The Jiayuguan Pass

Meeting and greeting then have buffet breakfast in the hotel, and start the Jiayuguan tour with visiting The Jiayuguan Pass and Great Walls Museum.which will takes us 15mins driving and 2hrs visiting, This Ming Dynasty fort guards the strategic Jiayuguan pass, at the western end of the Great Wall – this was the last section built by the Ming Dynasty. It was built in 1372, and subsequently enlarged and strengthened, and was known as 'the strongest pass under heaven'. and then head to The Great Wall on the Cliff, This is a nearby section of the Great wall which was built on the cliff, and includes sections at a 45 degrees angle, making it seem as if the wall is hanging from a cliff. after lunch drive about 15mins to visit the Weijin Tomb which were built during the Wei and Jin dynasties (between the 3rd and 5th century). They feature brick wall paintings showing various social activities of the times.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 
Accomodation: Jiayuguan Hotel 4* 

Day 7

Jiayuguan  Dunhuang (350kms, 4.5hrs)

Yulin Grottoes

After breakfast drive to Dunhuang, and we drive about 2.5 hrs we will arrive in Yulin Grottoes which paintings are even better preseved than Mogao Caves, and you will have enough time to enjoy it due to few people visit this site. These caves, with their murals and sculptures, are in a valley among Qilian Mountain, about 180kms from the Mogao Caves. The name is derived from the elms in the valley, and as you travel along the valley road you can easily imagine how it must have been to be a poet or brave solder in the distant past. we will have lunch around the Grottoes and then drive to Dunhuang, we arrive in Dunhuang around 6:00 pm, check into the hotel to have dinner and then walk around the Shazhou Night Market.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 
Accomodation: Silk Road Dunhuang Resort 4*

Day 8

Dunhuang  Turpan （K169，21:13-06:40.  9hrs, 27mins driving)

 Caravan in Sand Dune

After breakfast visit Mogao Grottoes,Constructed over a millennium, from the 4th to the 14th centuries, the caves hold the world's richest treasure house of Buddhist sutras, murals and sculptures. Cameras are not permitted. In Mogao Caves you are requested to take the shuttle bus and the local guide will give you a professional introduction, and in the afternoon visit the Echoing-Sand Mountain and the Crescent Lake where you can experience the camel riding as the Silk Road caravan.Crescent Moon Spring is 6km south of Dunhuang in the Singing Sands Mountains and is quite literally an oasis in the desert. The spring's name derives from the crescent moon shape taken by the small pool of spring water between two large sand dunes. Although the area is very dry, the pool doesn't dry up as one might expect .after dinner you will be transferred to the railway station to catch the train to Turpan.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accomodation: Soft Sleeper Train