Please arrange your international flight to get to Xi'an, one of the four ancient capitals in China. We will meet you at the airport, transfer you to the hotel and check you in. We will begin the tour the following day.
Accommodation: In Xi'an
Today your guide and driver will pick you up from the hotel lobby and then drive to the countryside of the Xi'an city about 1hrs, we will visit the most impressive historic site Terracotta Warriors which are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum in Lintong, It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China. Believe you will be amazed by the culture and history to get a feeling back to Qing Dynasty during the 3hrs experience. （No flash when take photos)
Lunch will be in the local restaurant, we will continue the sightseeing to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda built to house Buddhist scriptures collected by a Chinese Monk. Big Wild Goose Pagoda has 7 floors in total. Architecture is traditional Chinese style decorating with some Buddha statues. Tourists can see variety of Buddha statues and see the whole Xi’an city at the top floor. thereafter, travel to the emblem of Xian city Bell Tower, Atop the Bell Towet you will have a panoramic view of Xi'an city.
Accommodation: In Xi'an
Terracotta Warriors Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Dunhuang
Full day sightseeing in Xi'an. we will go to the Shaanxi History Museum, This provincial museum is one of the major museums in China. It holds numerous unearthed cultural artifacts from within the Shaanxi province as well as the rest of China. The newly built modern building recreates Tang-dynasty architecture and successfully symbolizes the great extent of Shaanxi history and its remarkable culture. Afterwards, drive you to the Ancient City Wall, This is the most complete city wall that has survived in China as well being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. you will enter the city wall through the ticket gate. Standing on the wall, you can't use your eyes to judge how long the wall is. you can walk around the city wall or experience the cycling. the final site we will visit today is a Chinese traditional Alhambresque architecture Grand Mosque (and Old Muslim Quarter) with a long history and grand scale, and is a great combination of Islamic and Chinese culture.Besides the style peculiar to Islamic mosques, this Mosque Also holds characteristics of Chinese pavilions with painted beams and engraved ridgepoles. The Grand Mosque and the Muslim Quarter are now an important ecological preservation of Shanxi Provinc e and a national-level historical/cultural preservation site.
After a city tour in Xi'an, drive you to the airport and catch the evening flight to the next historic city Dunhuang for overnight stay.
Accommodation: In Dunhuang
Shaanxi History Museum Grand Mosque
Morning tour of Mogao Grottoes, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes, this UNESCO World Heritage site. It is one of the great artistic and religious wonders of the world and it is famous for its exquisite murals and various sculptures inside the caves, which was built in different dynasties, spanning 1,000 years of Buddhist art, enjoy the Silk Road Movies in the visitor Center about 40 mins before our exploration into the Grottoes.The professional guide from the Mogao will bring you to 8grottoes with their special torch so that you have clear view of the murals and paintings. （Note: No photos and Video in the caves). The visiting time is around 4hrs including movie.
Following a lunch in local restaurant, we will take a visit to Echoing Sand Mountain&Crescent Lake. When there is wild wind, the sands will be blown up and make loud sound, while the sound sounds like being produced by some ancient musical instrument when blew by breeze, There is also a Crescent Lake that has been in existence for hundreds of years without ever being buried by the sand. Riding the camel as the Silk Road Caravan in the vast desert is highly recommended (approximately 40mins). Please bring your sunglasses and and mask to keep out the dust.
In the evening, you will enjoy the walking tour to the Shazhou Night Market, the most bustling place of Dunhuang at night. It's easy to lose our sense of time wonder the market while enjoy your leisure time and taste some local cuisine.
Accommodation: In Dunhuang
Mogao Grottoes Echoing Sand Mountain and Crescent Lake
Urumqi
Enjoy your nice buffet breakfast at the hotel, then you will be transferred to the Liuyuan train station to take an express train to Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang. The express train from Dunhuang to Urumqi will also need 5 hours, so you can prepare some snacks or fruits before you get on the train. Arrive in Urumqi, we will wait for you at the exit of train station and escort you to check in hotel.
Accommodation: In Urumqi
Urumqi City Xinjiang International Bazaar
Heavenly Lake (120kms, 1.5hrs driving)
Today you will enjoy the tour of the picturesque Heavenly Lake (approximately1.5hrs), 2000m up in the Tianshan mountain range. which is surrounded by the snow mountains, blooming wildflowers, evergreen pine trees. 40-minute sceniic shuttle bus ride that twists though the dramatic mountains. Then you can either walk to the lakeside in 10mins or take the electronic cart. There are 3 options suggested. Boating cruise to take the incredible view of Tianshan Mountain. Trekking along the lake in the fresh air. or you can explore further uo to the Maya Mountain by the cable car to enjoy the magnificent view of the Mountains. The lunch in the local Kazakh's yurt is highly recommended.
Travel back to Urumqi in the afternoon which is about the other 1.5hrs, continue the tour at the Xinjiang regional museum to see archaeological treasures from the Silk Road and Xinjiang's minority cultures. After then, visit the Xinjiang International Bazaar, the largest bazaar in Urumqi. You'll find a bustling market filled with fruit, clothing, crafts, knives, carpets and almost anything that you can imagine. (Option: The Culture Show with Banqute,fr $45/pp)
Accommodation: In Urumqi
Heavenly Lake Xinjiang Regional Museum
Kashgar
In the morning, you will be transferred to the airport and take the flight to the next city Kashgar. Upon your arrival, we will visit the Idigar Mosque, the largest Mosque in China and the most sacred mosque for the locals to practise their Islamic activities. and next we will travel to the Old Town, stroll around the street, to explore the local lifestyle and unique architecture, most of the folk houses here all have a hundred years of history. further exploration to the special culture and experience the lifestyle with the arrangements of the visiting to the local Uighur Family. Lunch arranged in the local Restaurant. Kashgar city tour ends with the wandering to the bustling Handicraft street, dazzling jewelry, primitive pottery,unique musical instrument, daily resources of the locals. The spare time in the teahouse is our special arrangement for you to relax and get a feel for the local culture and traditions.
Accommodation: In Kashgar
Idigar Mosque Old Town
Taxkorgan county (320kms, 6hrs driving)
In the morning, enjoy your nice buffet breakfast. At 09:00 your guide and driver will meet you at hotel lobby to start the adventure. Driving on the China and Pakistan highway about 4hrs to enjoy the landscape of Pamirs Plateau.40mins driving. we stop in the Opal village to visit the traditional bustling bazaar. The following day will be spent exploring the stunning landscape surrounding the Karakul Lake, where the herds of livestock around the lakeside are reflected in lake and is extraordinarily graceful,where Kirghiz herdsmen usually settle down and graze their herds. You will have ample opportunity for leisure walking and enjoy the Magnificant Muztagh Peak. It is highly recommended to visit the local Kirgiz family in their yurt. After that, drive about 6hrs to Taxkorgan for rest.
Accommodation: In Taxkorgan
Karakul Lake Karakul Lake
Kashgar
After breakfast, our guide will escort you to the Stone Fortress it is one of three most famous stone cities in history. Surrounded by the grassland, snow mountains and rivers, it is a strategically important castle on the ancient Silk Road. Here you will see the temple, city wall and official office which built in Tang and Qing Dynasty. afterwards, walk around the local pasture to experience the lifestyle of Tajik and enjoy the scenery of Taxkorgan.
In the afternoon, drive back to Kashgar downtown along the beautiful scenery. then you will be transferred to the hotel and have a good rest.
Accommodation: In Kashgar
Stone Fortress Stone Fortress
Aksu
Today's highlights is the Sunday bazaar that is combined two section. The covered bazaar sells the clothing, nuts, household goods and many things out of your imagination.The outdoor Animal Bazar is the first bazaar we visit, where the farmers and buyers arriving by donkey cart, truck, bicycle, horseback, motorbike or on foot, with their animals. It's loud, lively and cheerful as they arrive. It is quite interesting to witness their typical methods of bargin. After the visiting to Cenral Asia Market, continue to the Apak Hoja Tomb, which is the holiest place in Xinjiang and an architectural treasure. After the trip in Kashgar, we will drive all the way to Aksu about 5 to 6 hours.
Accommodation: In Aksu
Apak Hoja Tomb Sunday Bazaar
Kuqa
Depart from the hotel in the morning and we will drive to the next stop Kuqa, also called Qiuci in ancient times, there are a large number of ancient city walls, temples, caves, tombs and other culture relics. Today we will have a chance to go our first step a typical representative of Qiuci Grottoes Kizil Grottoes, the Chinese Buddhist Grottoes, it has 4 grottoes and 81 murals for you to enjoy. And then you will be arranged to visit the Tianshan Great Canyon, which is the excellent geological park all over the world. It recorded the whole process of crustal movement in Xinjiang during the past 400 million years. Ending the visit to Tianshan Great Canyon, we will explore the Kuqa Old Town, say hello to the kids who are playing, give a smile to the senior man resting under the tree, taste the local cuisine, Kuqa Old Town will make you have an unforgettable memory.
Accommodation: In Kuqa
Kizil Grottoes Tianshan Great Canyon
Korla
Today continue our Kuqa tour to Subashi ruins, which is located on the ridges on both sides of Kucha River and 23 kilometers tto the north of Kucha City .“Subashi”means “headwater of a river”. It is composed of two parts divided by the river. With a lot of ruins of stupas, temples and grottoes from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the end of the T`ang Dynasty, the site is the biggest site of Buddhist temples in Xinjiang. After the visiting, we will head to Korla with about 6 hours driving. On the way, you will see the Iron Gate which was a very important pass in the ancient Silk Road. According to textual research, it was set up in Jin Dynasty. Because it is situated in a strategic point and difficult to access, the barrier is vividly called “Iron Gate Barrier”.
Accommodation: In Korla
Subashi Ruins Iron Gate
Turpan
Today you will depart from Korla and drive to Turpan. A must and first visit is the oldest Uighur village Tuyoq Village located in the very center of Flaming Mountain Canyon. It used to be the holy site of Buddhism and Islam. The village consists of four parts: Canyon scenery, Thousand Buddha Caves, Maza tomb and the old buildings of the ancient village. and then you will head to visit the Astana Tombs, which is the graveyard of the residents who lived in the Gaochang City in the Jin-Tang period. Between 1959 and 1975, a great number of cultural relics had been unearthed, including Chinese documents, textiles, epitaphs, coins, clay sculptures, pottery, wooden wares, silk-paintings, crops and foods, etc. The site is known as the Underground Museum.
In the afternoon, drive you to explore the Bezeklik Grottoes, the Buddhist Center of Gaochang area, is a complex of Buddhist cave grottos dating from the 5th to 14th century between the cities of Turpan and Shanshan at the north-east of the Taklamakan Desert near the ancient ruins of Gaochang in the Mutou Valley. Some murals show a large Buddha surrounded by other figures, including Turks, Indians and Europeans. Some of the murals are masterpieces of religious art. From here, you can enjoy the outlook of Flaming Mountain around the Grottoes.
Accommodation: In Turpan
Bezeklik Grottoes Tuyoq Village
Urumqi (200kms, 3hrs driving)
Morning enjoy your nice buffet breakfast at the hotel and then we will do a Turpan city tour. the first stop is Sugong Minaret, the largest Islamic minaret in China built in 1778 by Sulaiman that is the ruler and leader of Turpan to commemorate and commend his father's achievements of the reunion of Xinjiang. Afterwards, we will also pay a visit to Karez Well, A special irrigation system that the locals make full use of the topography of Turpan to draw the underground water to irrigate their farmland ingeniously. The tour today in Turpan end up to enjoy the scenery of Jiaohe Ruins with a history of 2,300 years lies between two rivers on a loess plateau atop a cliff of over 30m. It is one of the best preserved ruins of its ancient era in China, it was include in the World Heritage List on June 22, 2014.
In the afternoon, we will drive all the way to Urumqi about 3 hours, passing by the wind power station which is the largest one in Asia spreading at the foot of Tianshan Mountain. Following glimpse of Salt Lake in Dabancheng.
Accommodation: In Urumqi
Sugong Minaret Karez Well
Your destinationAfter breakfast you will check out the hotel and take the flight to your destination.
| Travel in party of |
Superior Class ★★★★★ |
Deluxe Class ★★★★ |
Tourist Class ★★★ |
| 2-5 persons | N | $ | $ |
| 6-9 persons | N | $ | $ |
| 10 persons & above | N | $ | $ |
| Single room Supplement | N | $ | $ |
Service included:
√ Breakfast in the hotel
√ Personal Guide & Driver + Private car / van for Private Transfers & sightseeing
√ Hotels (twin share bases) as listed in the itinerary .
√ Domestic flights or trains as listed in the itinerary
Train (soft sleeper): Dunhuang to Turpan
Flights with tax:: Xi'an to Dunhuang. Urumqi to Kashgar
√ Service Charge & Government Taxes .
√ Luggage Transfers between airports and hotels
√ Government letter for visa support
Service excluded:
* Personal expenses. such as laudentry and tips to the guide and driver
* other activities such as boating, camel riding ect
