10 Days Silk Road Group Travel to Xinjiang, Gansu & Qinghai

Welcome to Xinjiang! Today you will be met at the airport and then transferred to the hotel to check in. Have a good rest.

Today is a relaxing day! In the morning, we will drive to the entrance of the Heavenly Lake, then take a 40-minutes shuttle bus twisting through the picturesque Tianshan mountains to the edge of the Lake. Either trek around the lake and enjoy the boating cruise, or even take the cable car to the explore the Maya Mountain for the incredible view of Bogoda Peak. Your lunch will be arranged in the Yurt of the local Kazakhs. 

Afterwards, transfer back to Urumqi about the other 1.5hrs, visit the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, the largest bazaar in Urumqi. You'll find a bustling market filled with fruit, clothing, crafts, knives, carpets and almost anything that you can imagine.

Start the trip off with the 2-3hours driving to Turpan, passing by the wind power station which is the largest one in Asia spreading at the foot of Tianshan Mountain. Following glimpse of Salt Lake in Dabancheng. We'll be amazed by the histroical sites and oasis land of Turpan. A must and first visit is the oldest Uighur village Tuyoq Village located in the very center of Flaming Mountain Canyon. It used to be the holy site of Buddhism and Islam. The village consists of four parts: Canyon scenery, Thousand Buddha Caves, Maza tomb and the old buildings of the ancient village.

Then drive to enjoy the scenery of Jiaohe Ruins with a history of 2,300 years lies between two rivers on a loess plateau atop a cliff of over 30m. It is one of the best preserved ruins of its ancient era in China, it was include in the World Heritage List on June 22, 2014.

In the morning, we will depart from the hotel, and then head to the Karez Well, which is special kind of irrigation system, here you can not only visit this ancient irrigation system, but also get rid of the heat of summer. Then explore the Sugong Minaret, the largest Islamic minaret in China built in 1778. 

After the visiting, you will be transferred to the train station to catch the high-speed train to Dunhuang (Liuyuan station). After arrival, drive about 2hrs to Dunhuang downtown. Have hotel check in and take a good rest.

Today we will have a full day sightseeing in Dunhuang, our first stop is the "cultural treasure" — Mogao Grottoes. Start with the 4D movie tracing back to the thousands of years Chinese history. Then we will visit 8 grottoes with the introducing of the professional guide. Here you can enjoy the magnificent grottoes and mural art, and get to know the history of Buddhism in Dunhuang through explanation and film display, which is the best option for tourists to travel here.

After lunch, then we will head to Echoing Sand Mountain. When there is wild wind, the sands will be blown up and make a loud sound. There is also a Crescent Lake that has been in existence for hundreds of years without ever being buried by the sand. The camel riding in the vast desert and sand sliding are highly recommended.

After enjoying your buffet at hotel, today we're going to drive 4hrs to visit the Jiayuguan Pass. This Ming Dynasty fort guards the strategic Jiayuguan Pass, at the western end of the Great Wall – this was the last section built by the Ming Dynasty. 

After that, we will head to explore the Great Wall Museum, which was opened to the public in October 1989 and it is the first one to exhibit the Great Wall culture in a comprehensive and sstematic way.

Then say goodbye to Jiayuguan, drive about 2hrs to Danxia National Geological Park for  overnight stay. Amazing Starry night is waiting for you.

*Reminder: the climate in Jiayuguan may a bit dry, remember to drink water in time.

Get up early to catch the sunrise in the splendid Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, which is the most typical arid area of northern China. Ribbons of reds, oranges and yellows slice through the rock, to create a rainbow vista contained only by the contours of the jagged mountain peaks. So many people also call it "Rainbow Mountain".  

Continue our trip to Mati Temple, which was built in Jin Dynasty. We are about to drive 2hrs to the site. A series of horse shoe prints are visible in Grotto 9, which are said to be left by a heaven horse. Hence, the temple was named for the horseshoe prints left by the legendary heaven horse, which become the treasure of the temple. 

After the visiting, we will stay overnight in Zhangye, and you can enjoy the relax evening in the night market in the town.

After enjoying your breakfast in the hotel, around 9am, we will take the fast train along the Qilian Mountain with the splendid scenery to Xining. We will visit Ta'er Monastery at 16:00  (Kumbum Monastery) which is the most populous monks outside of Tibet. Standing on Thangka Sunning Terrace, you will have the bird-view of the monastery and surrounding scenery. 

Inside the monastery, apart from magnificent Buddha stupas and wall paintings, prayer wheels are also the must-see spot. The whole monastery is surrounded by wheels, walk along the corridor, rotate the wheels and pray for blessings.

Butter sculpture is one of the "Three Wonders of Art" of Ta’er Monastery. It is a variety of artistic boutiques, such as statues of Buddha, figures, landscapes, pavilions, birds, animals, flowers and trees, which are made of butter.

Another delighted day is coming. We will ride the bikes around the beautiful Qinghai Lake after 2hrs driving, or have the light trekking in the cole flower sea. It's no exaggeration to say that Qinghai Lake is a miracle that is endowed by a deity. 

*Special Arrangement: 

① biking/hiking 1-2 hrs around Qinghai Lake

② having a nice time in Cole Flower Sea

Every year from May to October, the nomadic tibetan family will move to the side of the lake, it is so great to visit their family and learn their lifestyle. After that, drive 2.5 hrs to Chaka for overnight stay.

Today is the last day of our journey, we are going to enjoy the beautiful Chaka Salt Lake, it's the largest saline in Qinghai Province,  “Chaka”  means "the sea of salt" in Mongolian. It lies in the centre of Qaidam Basin, which was nominated by the national tourist geography magazine as one of the 55 places to go.

*Special Arrangement: 

one-way train ride to Chaka Salt Lake

After that, your enjoyable Silk Road trip is about to end, we will drive 4hrs back to Xining to catch your flight. Wish you have a pleasant journey home!