13 Days China Silk Road Tour from Beijing

Nihao, welcome to Beijing, the capital of China. Be transferred to the hotel. Relax and prepare for your Natural wonders and Culture Adventure.

Today discover the city from Tiananmen Square - the spiritual heart of China, followed by the Forbidden City, which had been the centre of power for more than 500 years from 1406 to 1912. Your heritage tour to the Forbidden City includes a regular visit to the three main palaces on the central axis and an in-depth exploration of other places where most tourists do not go.

Then, you will visit the incredible Temple of Heaven - a vast sacred place to perform ceremonial rites on behalf of the Chinese nation, and now is a refreshment place for the locals to enjoy their free time. 

After visiting, you will be escorted to the airport and catch the flight to Urumqi.

Today take the flight back to Uruqmi, upon arrival, head to Xinjiang Regional Museum, where are many archaeological treasures of the Silk Road and Xinjiang's minority cultures. You will learn about the history of Xinjiang and its peculiar ethnic customs. Stroll around the Red Hill Park, enjoy your leisure time. If time allowed, you will visit Grand International Bazaar and have dinner there. Then take the bullet train to Turpan.

Our first stop is Tuyoq Valley, an ancient oasis-village. We will have lunch in the local Uighur family before exploring this traditional village surrounded by the impressive grape trellis and the stories of the adventurers all of the world. Following is the visiting to Sugong Minaret, a conduit for cultural exchange between different ethnic and religious groups.

About 3pm, head up to the Karez Well irrigation system that produce the best melons and grapes in China. Following is the visiting to Sugong Minaret, a conduit for cultural exchange between different ethnic and religious groups.

Today's tour end up with the 2hrs's exploration of Jiaohe Ruins, resembles Pompei, but 300 years older, a Chinese archaeological site found in the Yarnaz Valley, 10 km west of the city of Turpan and a natural fortress located atop a steep cliff on a leaf-shaped plateau between two deep river valleys where you can experience the way of life of the Uygur ancestors

Say goodbye to Turpan then 4 hours train ride to Liuyuan Station. Another 2hrs to Echoing Sand Mountain, where you can ride the camels for 40mins to experience the beautiful dessert scenery.

After an extraordinary day, freshen up and enjoy a good dinner, we continue to appreciate the bustling Shazhou Night Markets dotted with special commodities and souvenirs.

Let's start our Dunhuang adventure. This morning we are going to appreciate the Holy Center of Buddhism Culture and Art-UNESCO of Mogao Grottoes. First, you will watch two movies to get a rough idea of the history of the Silk Road and the Mogao Grottoes. Then take the sightseeing bus to the original cave area, where a professional expositor will lead you to visit seven caves.

After lunch, our tour guide will take you to the Dunhuang Museum. The museum has a great exhibition of the Silk Road culture, and it has duplicate caves with exquisite murals and statues that you can take photos of.

After breakfast, we will head to Jiayuguan with about 4.5 hours driving.

Then, Continue the sightseeing to renowned underground gallery Weijin Tombs. There we can enjoy lifelike and succinct wall paintings covering a wide range of subjects including politics, economics, culture, military affairs, folk customs, and science and technology during the Wei and Jin periods (4AD)

After breakfast, have a visit to the Jiayuguan (Jiayuan Pass), the western end of the Great Wall built in Ming Dynasty. It is known as 'the First and Greatest Pass under Heaven', and best preserved and most magnificent military fort in China. Then we drive 7 miles away for the Overhanging Great Wall. It got the named for riding on a mountain ridge that is 45 degrees from vertical and resembling a huge dragon. After visiting, we will take the train to Lanzhou for overnight stay.

With a early start today, we will arrive Binlings Temple at 09:30 after 1.5hrs' driving. Taking the 40mins fast boat to the inside of the park, enjoy the variety of artworks in different styles and observe the social situations and customs in ancient times when seeing the stone sculptures and appreciate the miracle of Buddha caves. 

We will then head back to downtown to visit Gansu Museum, which is the biggest comprehensive museum in the province. It is one of the best sights in the city and a visit is well worthwhile. Continue tour at the Yellow River's Mother Statue consisting of “a mother” and “a baby boy” which symbolizes the mother of the Yellow River nurturing the Chinese nation.

In the morning, we will visit the Waterwheel Garden, originated from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the waterwheel is the oldest irrigation tool in Yellow River area of Lanzhou. The Waterwheel Garden is a theme garden exhibiting the waterwheel culture. Here, we could appreciate the waterwheel driven by the flowing water all year round to collect water from the river or cofferdam. After lunch, we will transfer to train station for high-speed train to Xi’an. It takes only three hours to complete the 700-kilometer distance on China’s fastest and comfortable bullet train. Upon arrival, meet your Xi’an guide and transfer to hotel.

Tour starts at 08:00 and then drive about 1 hour to the countryside of the Xi'an city and visit the most imposing historic site Terracotta Warriors, the most significant archaeological excavations of the 20th century, and pay avisit to the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, situated underneath a 76-meter-tall tomb mound shaped like a truncated pyramid, which was constructed over 38 years.

Continue to Huaqing Hot Spring, also witnessed the famous romance of emperor Xuanzong and his concubine Yang Guifei. From here we can also enjoy the scenery of Li Mountains, the witness of the history of the Chinese nation. Evening we will enjoy the show “The Song of Everlasting Sorrow”, which is the milestone works in our country's contemporary large-scale vocal music works.

Today you have enought time to explore this historical and cultural city on your own

Followed by the ancient Bell Tower, it is the most well-preserved ancient military defensive systems and the landmark of Xi'an. It is amazing to wander along the city wall with the bird's-eye view of the whole city.

Continue our sightseeing of the popular Muslim Street, Relax with free wandering along the street when tasting he local delicacies and experiencing the local lifestyle. Then drive to the hotel and have a good rest.

Today our journey comes to an end after a good breakfast. You will be transferred to the airport or train station based on your schedule.