11 Days Northwestern China Silk Road Tour Package (Lanzhou, Zhangye, Dunhuang, Turpan, Urumqi)

Summary

D1 Lanzhou Arrival: take train or flight to Lanzhou, Private transfer to Lanzhou hotel
D2 Lanzhou: Gansu Provincial Museum, Zhongshan Bridge, Sculpture of Yellow River Mother
D3 Lanzhou to Zhangye by train: Take train to Zhangye, visit Danxia Geopark
D4 Zhangye to Dunhuang by private vehicle: Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple, transfer to Dunhuang
D5 Dunhuang: Mogao Grottoes, Yumenguan Pass, Dunhuang Musuem
D6 Dunhuang to Turpan by train: Echoing Sand Mountains & Crescent Lake, take train to Turpan from Liuyuan station
D7 Turpan: Karez Well, Emin Minaret, Ruins of Jiaohe Old City
D8 Turpan: Grape Valley, Flaming Mountain, Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves
D9 Turpan to Urumqi by bullet train: Take train to Urumqi, Xinjiang Regional Museum, International Grand Bazaar
D10 Urumqi: Heavenly Lake
D11 Urumqi Departure: Transfer to Urumqi train station or airport

Day 1 Arrive in Lanzhou

Welcome to China Lanzhou! Upon on your arrival, you guide will pick you up at the exit of Lanzhou train station or Lanzhou airport with a welcome signage "China Silk Road Tour". Transfer to your hotel in Lanzhou for check-in. The rest day is free on your own to have a rest.

Day 2 Lanzhou

After breakfast, you will visit Gansu Provincial Museum, it is the largest and the most impressive museum in Gansu and it contains 350,000 pieces of priceless cultural relics with vivid historical and ethnic traces to them. It displays colored pottery, wood carvings, exquisite Buddhist sculptures, relics left behind by the Silk Road culture and extinct animal specimens. If you are interested in the culture and history of this area, Gansu Provincial Museum is the best place to visit.

Later, go to visit Zhongshan Bridge. It was the first bridge built over the Yellow River in China and was named Zhongshan after Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who had a big effect on the country during the later Qing Dynasty in the beginning of the 20th century. It is one of best places to enjoy the view of Yellow River in Lanzhou city. It is available for tourists walking and cycling along the bridge. You can truely admire the feats of both nature and man, represented by the Yellow River and the Iron Bridge, respectively.

At last, you will visit the Sculpture of Yellow River Mother, it is regarded as one of the best sculptures depicting the civilization of the Yellow River in China. The whole sculpture embodies a mother and a baby. The mother, with long hair and lean body, lies on the water looking happy and kind. The sculpture connotes that the Yellow River has nourished generations of Chinese.

After the tour, you will be taken back to your hotel in Lanzhou.

Day 3 Lanzhou to Zhangye by train

After breakfast, transfer to Lanzhou train station to take train to Zhangye, it takes around 4 hours from Lanzhou to Zhangye by bullet train. Once you arrive,our Zhangye local guide will meet you at the exit of Zhangye train station with the same sign "China Silk Road Tour".

Firstly, our guide will arange an authentic lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, you will head to visit the Zhangye Danxia Geopark. It is located about 40KM from Zhangye city.The national park encompasses an area of 510 square kilometers. The Geopark is well-known for its spectacular, colorful rock formations. it is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China. This site is popular among photographers, many popular movies and TV shows such as "A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop" & "The Sun Also Rises", were filmed in Zhangye Danxia Geopark. It attracts thousands of both domestic and international tourists visit here every year.

When you in the park, you will have chance to enjoy the amazing Danxia landscape from different viewing platfoms. There are 5 platforms where you can take some photos. You will take the shuttle buses which starting from the main entrance and travels to the different stops (viewpoints) along the way.

After you finished the sightseeing at Danxia Geopark, our guide will take you to your hotel in Zhangye.

Day 4 Zhangye to Dunhuang by vehicle

After breakfast, our guide will take you to visit the Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple, it is named after a statue worshiped inside the temple. It also known as Sleeping Buddha Temple, is very famous because it contains the biggest indoor sleeping Buddha all around China. The buddha is 34.5 meter long and its shoulder spans across a width of 7.5 meters. Up to eight people can stand on the ear of the reclining Buddha. Established in 1098 (Western Xia Dynasty) and rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty. Due to its extensive history, it is listed as an immovable cultural relic under state protection.

After the tour, drive you to Duhuang city. It takes around 5 hours from Zhangye, you can enjoy the scenery along the way. Once you arrive, check in your Dunhuang hotel.

Day 5 Dunhuang

After breakfast, you will visit the Mogao Grottoes, known also as the Mogao Caves are a network of Buddhist cave temples in China. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in China. This ancient city was once located in an oasis on a strategic point of the ancient Silk Road. Thus, Dunhuang was a center where not only trade, but also cultural, religious, and intellectual exchanges took place. The Mogao Grottoes serve as a testimony to the high level of sophistication that was achieved by Dunhuang during its heyday.

Next, you have chance to visit the Yumenguan Pass, it was built about 2000 years ago for military defense purpose when the famous Wudi Emperor of the Han Dynasty (202 B.C. - A.D. 220) was on his throne. At that time, the Huns were very powerful and always invaded the territory of Han. So Wudi ordered the young but capable general Huo Qubing to strike back. And then Han built up a military base here. In the ancient times, Yumenguan is an important pass along the Silk Road which connected West and East.

In the afternoon, spend a leisure to visit the Dunhuang Museum. The museum reflects the flourishing social development and cultural exchange between China and the West during the time when Dunhuang was a major center along the Silk Road. A trip to the Dunhuang Museum will provide visitors with a greater understanding of the history and culture of the Chinese people and their ancient civilization.

After the tour, you will be taken back to your hotel in Dunhuang.

Day 6 Dunhuang to Turpan by train

After breakfast, continue your Dunhuang tour to visit the famous Echoing Sand Mountains & Crescent Lake in Dunhuang. The city of Dunhuang is located at the borders of the Gobi desert and from here there are views of the Echoing Sand Mountain, a name that derives from the sweet sound that is made by the sand being caressed by the wind or rapidly sliding down from the dunes. The legend says that in this area in the foothills of the mountain there once lived a lively village surrounded by sacred temples. One year, during a celebration at one of the temples, the songs of the opera and the noise of the celebration was so deafening that it bothered the Yellow Dragon Prince that slept in a nearby desert.

Then, you will visit the Crescent Lake which is considered a natural wonder of the Gobi Desert, the lake is something of an enigma as it has existed for thousands of years and was considered a special place during the Han Dynasty (202BC to 220AD). Because the lake is dwarfed by the surrounding sand dunes, it’s a wonder it hasn’t filled up and been covered over many times, but due to a natural depression, the winds blow the sand across the nearby singing sand dunes and away from the spring.

After the tour, transfer to Liuyuan train station to take bullet train to Turpan. You will be picked up from Turpan train station by your local guide who holding a sign "China Silk Road Tour" once you arrive and take to your hotel in Turpan.

Day 7 Turpan

After breakfast, our guide will show you the famous Karez Well, it is one of the UNSECO World Heritage Sites in China. Karez well system is the underground transmission and water harvesting system in the Turpan Depression of Xinjiang. For over 2000 years, it has provided the water supplies to the communities of Xinjiang Uygur region. Karez well system works as an impressive hydraulic engineering project. The commuters here consider it as the “Mother River” and “spring of life” because of its safe and reliable water process. This project was initiated by ancient people and it benefits both later generations and contemporaries.

After lunch, you will visit the Emin Minaret, it is the tallest minaret in China, it was built in 1777 during the Qing Dynasty. In order to commemorate the general Emin Khoja and patriot who defended unifying China throughout his life,hence its name "Emin." It is the largest ancient tower in Xinjiang as well as the only Islamic old tower among China's one hundred famous towers.

The last stop for today is the Ruins of Jiaohe Old City. It is considered one of the oldest, largest and best preserved earthen cities of its time in China. It was built 2,300 years ago and its ruins are located along the Silk Road. As wood was rarely used in those times, all its buildings were constructed out of earth. People dug houses and rooms downward from the earth and built with dried bricks.The Ruins of Jiaohe Ancient City is very unique and rare.

After the tour, you will be taken to your hotel in Turpan.

Day 8 Turpan

After breakfast, our guide will take you to visit the Grape Valley, it is one of most popular places in Turpan. As Turpan known as the "Land of Fruits", especially grapes. Turpan grape valley has become a unique tourist spot where visitors come to get refreshed and enjoy the different varieties of grapes.

Then, drive you to visit the Flaming Mounatin, it is combination of red sand and rocks that makes the mountain looks like a red dragon sleeping on the area basin. If you look the mountain from a distance, under the sunlight, the heat wave and the floating clouds will make you have the illusion that the mountain is on fire as tongues of fire. Every summer when the sun shines, the mountain could reach 80°C in temperature. There is a huge thermometer at the centre of the Flaming Mountain Museum will show you how hot it is.

In the afternoon, drive you to visit the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. It is a complex of Buddhist cave grottos along the silk road. The history can be dated from the 5th to 14th century between the cities of Turpan and Shanshan. It's very close to the Flaming Mountains,and most of the surviving caves date from the West Uyghur kingdom around the 10th to 13th centuries.

After the tour, you will be taken back to your hotel in Turpan.

Day 9 Turpan to Urumqi by train

After breakfast, transfer to Turpan train station to take train to Urumqi. Our guide will meet you at the exit of train station once you arrive, you'll find the same welcome sign "China Silk Road Tour". Drive you to your Urumqi hotel to check in. Your tour in Urumqi starts at Xinjiang Regional Museum. It is a comprehensive historical museum in China. Xinjiang Regional Museum was originally established in 1953, but was rebuilt and greatly enlarged at its current location in 1962. The current museum, which is built in a semi-modern style that compounds traditional architecture borrowed from the region's ethnic minorities, especially the ethnic Uyghurs. It is a very solid structure with a dome that stands 30 meters high and which offers one of the best views of the city of Urumqi.

Next, you will visit the International Grand Bazaar. It is a huge market where local people and tourists would go for shopping. In the grand bazaar you could easily find good quality of local specialty. Your tour guide will give you a introduction about local productions such as nuts, dried fruit, silk and carpets. You could also have some authentic local food and snack in the food street.

After the tour, you will be taken back to your hotel in Urumqi.

Day 10 Urumqi

After breakfast, drive you to visit the Heavenly Lake in Xinjiang. It takes around 2 hours from the downtown of Urumqi. The lake in the shape of crescent, with an altitude of 1,928 meters, Heavenly Lake is located at the base of Bogda Peak, the highest peak of the east side of Tianshan Mountain. Covering a total area of 380.69 square kilometers, the scenic spot includes the lake and surrounding mountains.

Once you arrive there, you will have around 40 minutes internal bus journey in this reserve park to reach the Heavenly Lake, you will be rewarded with picturesque view along the winding road. After the bus ride, our guide will lead you to visit the well-known Heavenly Lake. (Note: There is an option for you to either walk or catch the electric car to go Heavenly Lake, it will be your own expense). You will take a cruise to enjoy the charming view of Heavenly Lake. If you are lucky, there will be a short Kazakh’s dance performance during the cruise. If you want to hike up, the cruise made a stop for those who like to do some hiking up the temples and small pavilion. Heavenly Lake in Tianshan is where Kazakh nomads live, you can also rent a traditional Kazakh costume to shoot some picture with heavenly lake.

After the tour, drive you back to your hotel in Urumqi.

Day 11 Urumqi Departure

Free on your own until transfer to Urumqi airport or Urumqi train station for your next place.

Price Per Person in US Dollars

Price Includes 1. All transfer and city transportation 2. Air-conditioned car or van 3. Hotels specified in the itinerary, all based     on two persons sharingone standard room; 4. Meals specified in the itinerary: Western     breakfast in hotels Chinese lunch and     dinner in local restaurants 5. Sightseeing: All arrangements mentioned     in the itinerary will be covered All first     admission/entrance fees in the itinerary 6. Tour guide: Conducted by a professional     English & Chinese speaking tour guide

Price Excludes 1. International air-tickets 2. Airport departure tax. 3. International or domestic air tickets which     are not listed in the itinerary. 4. Insurance coverage of personal loss, illness     or damages incurred during your trip 5. Tips to the tour guide and driver 6. Meals not specified in the itinerary. 7. Personal expenses: phone bills, laundry,     optional tours, postage, excess baggage     charge, entertainment fees out of the     itinerary. 8. Single Room Supplement.