Cities Alongside Silk Road in Northwest China

The world-known Silk Road is thousand-year-old trade route, has played an important role in the cultural and economic exchanges between China and the Western countries. It is one of the important theme tourist routes in the world and the most valuable tourist product in China.  It started from today’s Xi’an in the east, and crossed Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai provinces, Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions and passed over the Pamirs, to extend to the Central and West Asia and finally the east bank of the Mediterranean, more than 7,000km.

The cities alongside the Silk Road in Northwest China, there are many historical and cultural interests, like a chain of pearls, such as the Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Terracotta Warriors and Horses known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, Dunhuang’s Mogao Grottoes known as an Oriental Art Treasure, Bingling Temple & Grottoes in Lanzhou, Overhanging Great Wall & Yumenguan Pass in Jiayuguan, the ancient state of Loulan in the desert and ruins of the ancient city of Gaochang. In addition, there are many beautiful natural scenes including the Flaming Mountain in Turpan, Grape Valley, the Bird Island in the Qinghai Lake and the Tianchi Lake on Tianshan Mountain.