China Silk Road Exotic 15-Day Tour

Arrive in Beijing. You will be met by our guide at airport and transferred to your hotel in Beijing. Free for rest of the day.

After breakfast, take early morning flight for Urumqi. Upon arrival, transfer to Southern Pastures - About 60 km south of Urumqi. Southern Pasture is an attraction for tourists to see the beautiful highland pasture and unique pastoral life of Kazak people. In fact, "Urumqi"in Mongolian language just means"Pretty Pasture". Then transfer to your hotel in Urumchi. (B D)

Enjoy an excursion to Tianchi Lake. Tian Chi - The name literally means "Heaven Lake"or"Heavenly Lake. This Tianchi lies on the north side of Bogda Peak of Tianshan Mountains, about 110 km east of Urumqi. It is an alpine drift lake shaped in the Quaternary Glacier period. Back to the city, take a city tour and visit Xinjiang Regional Museum - The Xinjiang Regional Museum is a large integrated museum and centre for the collection and study of cultural relics in Xinjiang.

Take morning flight for Kashi. Met and transferred to your hotel in Kashgar. First visit Id Kah Mosque - The Id Kah mosque is the largest mosque in China. Every Friday, it accommodates nearly 10,000 worshippers and may hold up to 20,000. The mosque was built by Saqsiz Mirza in ca. 1442. After lunch, then move on to Abakh Khoja Tomb - Abakh Khoja Tomb is the 17th Century family cemetery of the Kashgar area Islamic leader. Abakh Khoja Tomb is famous as a well-preserved Islamic architectural complex not only in Xinjiang, but throughout Central Asia. Xiang Fei's love story entices tourists from home and abroad. Continue to visit Sunday Bazaar - On Sunday the whole city of Kashgar becomes a big market.

This morning, visit Residentail Area on High Platform. The platform is Kashgar's old town. It is located on a natural slope of yellow soil, earthy and huddled with old houses, kept in reservation of part of the former Kashgar town. Most homes are handed down from generation to generation for over 300 to 400 years. The unique homes and antique soil earthenware workshops on soil precipice have become the two tourist attractions.

After lunch, take afternoon flight for Urumqi. Met and drive 200km to Turpan. Met by local tour guide and transferred to your hotel in Turpan.

Full day tour in Turpan.

1. Jiaohe Ruins - The Jiaohe Ruins is the place of ancient Chinese ruins found in the Yarnaz Valley, 10 km west of the city of Turpan. The

city of Jiaohe was the capital of the Anterior Jushi Kingdom, concurrent with the Han Dynasty, Jin Dynasty and Southern and Northern Dynasties in China. It was finally abandoned after its destruction during an invasion by the Mongols led by Genghis Khan in the 13th century.

2.Karez Well - It is a loacal Turfan water system, called karez well in Turfan. It is a qanat system that has been regarded as one of the three greatest water projects of ancient China together with the Du Jiang Yan Irrigation System, and the Grand Canal.

3.Flaming Mountains - The Flaming Mountains are barren, eroded, red sandstone hills in the east of the city of Turfan. The mountain climate is harsh and the temperature is extremely hot in the summer, the hottest site in China.

4. Grape Valley - Situated in the Flaming Mountain 13 km east of Turpan, the Grape Valley is 8km long from north to south and 0.5km wide. This green paradise of 400 hektares is covered with layer upon layer of grapes.

Full day tour Turpan and take overnight train to Dunhuang

1. Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves - Situated at the foot of Flaming Mountains lying 13km east of Turpan city, they are a group of Buddhist

cave grottos dating from the 5th to the 9th centuries. There are 77 rock-cut caves at the site. Most have rectangular spaces with rounded arch ceilings often divided into four sections, each with a mural of Buddha.

2. Sugong Pagoda - The Sugong Pagoda lies in the southeast suburb, six kilometers away from Turpan City. The cylindrical Sugong Pagoda is 37

meters high and 10 meters in diameter from the bottom. The pagoda was built in 1181 by the ruler of the Turpan Prefecture, to honor his father.

3. Astana Grave - The Astana Graves are a group of underground tombs about 40 km to the southeast of Turpan. The tombs were the burial sites by the inhabitants of the ancient city of Gaochang, both officials and commoners.

Take an overnight train to Liuyuan for Dunhang (overnight on train).

Arrival in Liuyuan early in the morning, met by the tour guide from Dunhuang and drive 150km to Dunhuang. First transferred to your hotel in Dunhuang. Full day in Dunhuang:

1. Echoing-Sand Dune - Located 6 kilometers south of Dunhuang city, Singing Sand Hill which is also known as the sand dunes of Mingsha, offers fantastic desert scenery. The dune, surrounded by rolling ridges and precipitous cliffs, reaches a relative height of 250 meters.

2. Crescent Lake - Or called Yueyaquan in Chinese, is a crescent-shaped lake in the oasis, 5 km southwest of the city Dunhuang. It was named Yueyaquan since Qing Dynasty. The lake and the surrounding deserts are very popular with tourists, who are offered camel and 4x4 rides.

3. Mogao Grottoes - Mogao Grottoes oe he Mogao Caves are a group of 492 temples 25 km southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road. The caves house some of the finest examples of Buddhist art with a span of 1,000 years.

4. Dunhuang Museum - It is a local museum for housing the cultural relics that were excavated in the Dunhuang area.

This morning take day train for Jiayuguan.

Afternoon tour in Jiayuguan:

1.Jiayuguan Pass - It is the first pass at the west end of the Great Wall of China,6 kilometers southwest of the city of Jiayuguan. Along with Juyongguan and Shanhaiguan, it is one of the main three passes along the Great Wall. The pass is trapezoid-shaped with a perimeter of 733 meters and an area of more than 33,500 square meters.

2.Suspension Great Wall - 11 kilometers to the downtown Jiayuguan City, the Suspension Great Wall was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644). It gets its name because there is a 231 meter long section, with an obliquity of 45 degrees, built onto a 150m high ridge. From a distance, it looks like a dragon about to extend its body towards the ground.

3. Wei-jin Mural Tombs - Located about 15 kilometers northeast of Jiayuguan, Wei-Jin Mural Tomb is a big tomb group with over 1,400 tombs built between the 3rd Century and 5th Century during the Wei and Jin dynasties. It is the largest subterranean art gallery in the world, containing a large number of colorful murals, attracting tourists from both home and abroad.

After breakfast, free till your transfer to Jiayuguan Airport for your morning flight to Lanzhou. The afternoon tour in Lanzhou includes:

1. Gansu Provincial Museum - The Gansu Provincial Museum is a local comprehensive museum. The Museum has five exhibition halls, which boasts 75,000 cultural relics ranging from natural specimens to historical, revolutionary and national heritages.

2. Walking along the bank of Yellow River acrossing the city.

Full day excursion to Binglingsi Grottoes and take flight for Xian.

Binglingsi Grottoes - "Bingling"means"thousand Buddhas"or"ten-thousand Buddhas" in the Tibetan language. Also known as BinglingTemple, the grottoes are carved on Jishi Hill 75 km from Lanzhou. Bingling Temple Grottoes are famous for stone sculptures of Budda Buddhist pagodas in relief and murals of Esoteric Buddhism. Take the later afternoon flight to Xian and check into your hotel in Xian.

Full day tour in Xian.

1. Shaanxi Provincial History Museum, a large modern museum of the national level. It is a giant architectural complex in the Tang-dynasty style. It occupies an area of 70,000 square metres, and the construction area being more than 50,000 square metres.

2. Xian City Wall. It has been preserved intact, which is rarely seen in the world.

3. Forest of Stone Steles Xian. The Forest of Stone Steles in Xi'an holds a big collection of steles in China. It is one of the centers of ancient Chinese stone-engraving classic.

4. The Great Mosque, the biggest and most preserved complete Chinese existent mosque. First built at the Tianbao first year (742 years) during Tang Dynasty, it was rebuilt by Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing, and has formed present scales. The whole mosque has more than 12,000 square meters, the floor space more than 4,000 square meters, keeps the construction mostly in the Ming Dynasty styel.

After the local famous dumpling dinner, enjoy the Tang Dynasty show in the evening.

Full day tour in Xian.

1. Terra-cotta Army. This profound discovery made a sensation across the whole world! The museum was officially finished and opened to the public on October 01, National Day, 1979. The exhibition hall of Pit No. 3 was finished and opned to the public on September 27, 1989. 5 years later, the exhibition hall of Pit No. 2 was open to the public in October, 1994. The museum and the mausoleum are listed the world's cultural legacies as the UNESCO.

2. Big Goose Pagoda. Originally Big Goose Pagoda consisted of a brick structure of five storeys and was about 60 meters high. Originally built in 589A.D- 6000 years ago. The Big Goose Pagoda is situated in the Da Ci'en Temple, four kilometers away from the center of the city. It is one of the city's most distinctive and outstanding landmarks, possibly the most beautiful building left in Xian today.

Take flight for Shanghai. Met and transferred to your hotel in Shanghai

Transfer to Shanghai airport for your flight to next destination.