6 Days China Silk Route Adventure: Xian, Jiayuguan & Dunhuang Tour Package

Summary

D1 Xian Arrival: Take train or flight to Xian, visit Terracotta Warriors
D2 Xian to Jiayuguan by bullet train: Xian Ancient Cit Wall, take bullet train to Jiayuguan
D3 Jiayuguan: Jiayuguan Pass, The First Beacon Tower of the Great Wall
D4 Jiayuguan to Dunhuang by private vehicle: Drive to Dunhuang from Jiayuguan, visit Yadan Geopark
D5 Dunhuang: Echoing Sand Mountains, Crescent Lake, Mogao Grottoes
D6 Dunhuang Departure: Transfer to Dunhuang airport or Dunhuang train station

Day 1 Arrive in Xian

Make your own arrival arrangement to Xian. Pick up service is arranged at Xian airport or Xian train station by our Xian local guide, you will find a welcome board. Transfer to downtown to check in your Xian hotel.

In the afternoon, our guide will take you to visit the Terracotta Warriors. This UNESCO World Heritage site displays more than 8,000 terracotta warriors, horses, and around 10,000 bronze weapons. Excavations continue, and more than 300 pieces were unearthed in June 2012 alone. These warriors were made as part of the funerary goods for Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.), first emperor of the Qin Dynasty. The human-size figures are said to be models of Qing's real-life army. The army stands in three exhibition pits. Pit one is the largest, measuring 230 meters long, 62 meters wide and seven meters deep and housing around 6,000 troops in battle formation.

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

Day 2 Xian to Jiayuguan by bullet train

After breakfast, you will visit the Xian Ancient City Wall. Built more than 600 years ago in the Ming Dynasty, the City Wall of Xi'an is one of the best preserved fortifications in China. And the best way to see the wall is by bike. Visitors are allowed to cycle on the wall, which is 15 meters wide. Cyclists will be able to view the city from a unique angle -on one side stands the Xi'an from the past; on the other hand erects soaring high-rises of the present and future.

After the tour, transfer to Xian train station to take train to Jiayuguan. You will be picked up from Jiayuguan train station once you arrive, transfer to your hotel in Jiayuguan.

Day 3 Jiayuguan

After breakfats, our tour guide will take you to visit the Jiayuguan Pass. Known as the 'mouth of China' because of its position at the end of the Great Wall of China where it guarded the western boundary of Ming Dynasty China. It is not only the western end of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, but also the vital passage of the famous Silk Road, which was first built in the 5th year (1372) of the Hongwu reign in the Ming Dynasty. It is so called because it is built at the foot of Jiayu Mountain. There is a museum for those who are interested in the history of Jiayuguan Pass and China Great Wall.

In the afternoon, you will visit the The First Beacon Tower of the Great Wall. This fire tower is the first one of the Great Wall, hence the name. It is also called Taolaihe Dun and Tou Dun in Chinese. It was built in Ming Dynasty, all 14 meters in length, width and height. After hundreds of years, it still stands there firmly, although not so completely. There are 39 fire towers inside and outside of Jiayuguan Pass, big or small. All the towers undertake the important task of military at ancient time.

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

Day 4 Jiayuguan to Dunhuang by private vehicle

After breakfast, drive you to Dunhuang from Jiayuguan directly, it takes around 4 hours. You will visit Yadan National Geopark when you arrive in Dunhuang. It is one of the interesting and unique natural landmarks in China. The name of the park appeared due to the landscape: The Yadan is a unique rock formation created by the action of wind. The word itself is of Turkic origin, meaning ‘steep bank'. This term was introduced to the scientific world by the Swedish scientist Sven Anders Hedin in 1903. The area of 398 sq km is covered by rectilinear furrows in the direction of the dominant wind with asymmetrical steep slopes. They are divided by sharp ridges consisting of clay and loam: they are formed by the wind that for around 700,000 years has been blowing away loose grounds and leaving here only hard formations.

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

Day 5 Dunhuang

After breakfast, you will 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.

And 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.

In the afternoon, drive you to visit the Mogao Grottoes, known also as the Mogao Caves are a network of Buddhist cave temples in China. It is one of 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.

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

Day 6 Dunhuang Departure

Free on your own until transfer to Dunhuang train station or Dunhuang airport 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.