Qinghai Lake Zhangye and Dunhuang Tour

Meet your friendly guide and driver when your flight touches down in Xining, then we will take an exploration of the most famous Ta'er Monastery (Kumbum Monastery), the most populous monks outside of Tibet. You will pay a visit to the Ghee flowers, murals and pile embroidery, known as "Three Best Arts of Ta'er Temple", enjoy an incredible view of The Monastery at Thangka Sunning Terrace where is one of a great place to view the monastery and surrounding landscape. Apart from the magnificent Buddha stupas and frescoes, prayer wheels are also must-see attractions. The whole monastery is surrounded by wheels, walk along the corridor, rotate the wheels, and pray to get out of all troubles. 

Enjoy a delighting breakfast at the hotel and set off by the private vehicle to enjoy the most charming landscape of Chaka Salt Lake, which was nominated by the national tourist geography magazine as one of the 55 places to go. We will arrive at the ticket office after 4hrs driving, the guide will assist you with the tickets. Entering the scenic area, you will follow a long salt lake avenue to the Prayer Square and Mirror of the Sky Square, see a variety of salt sculptures, as well as the exquisite Muyaoluosang Goddess Statue. Take a small train to explore the depths of Chaka Salt Lake and leave some fabulous photos in the Mirror of Sky Square Experience Area. Believe you will have a beautiful day at Chaka Salt Lake.

Meet your friendly guide at the hotel lobby and drive all the way to the magnificent Qinghai Lake, which is the largest inland salt water lake in China. It is no exaggeration to say that Qinghai Lake is a miracle that is endowed by a deity. Outside, He encircled the lake with four continuous mountains and extends broad grassland at the foot of them. Stroll around the lake, you will see the local herdsmen who graze and live here. If you are interested, Horse riding and Cycling tour around the Qinghai Lake are also highly recommended. 

Travel back to Xining for overnight stay in the late afternoon. 

This morning you will catch the express train from Xining to Zhangye. Proceed the tour to Mati Temple where was built in Jin Dynasty. It is one of the cultural relics with a long history and high artistic value in Gansu Province. You can explore the massive Thousand Buddha Caves, which are more than 500 stupa caves. It was a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the Yuan Dynasty and now is a Chinese Buddhist monastery. Visit the Thirty-three-heavens Cave, the main building of the Horseshoe Temple, and you can see many ancient Buddha statues. Enjoy the lively and enthusiastic performance of the Yugu people in local yurts and taste the silver bowl's unique fine wine. The Mati Temple Scenic Area is still an excellent place to enjoy the scenery of Qilian Mountain. We will spend a night at Kaoshan Tent.

Spend a whole day exploring Zhangye Danxia Landform. The first site we will visit today is Binggou Danxia, which is the most significant geological and geomorphic relic of the window lattice palace in China, mainly composed of sandstone geomorphic relic landscape. It is a paradise for photography lovers. 

Then Continue our journey to the spectacular Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, one of the most beautiful danxia in China. Ribbons of red, white, yellow and green-blue slice through the rock, so people also call it "Rainbow Mountain". Coming to the Geopark, we can enjoy the different views of Danxia in four platforms and shuttle bus will also stop at each platforms.

Today we begin our journey to the Jiayuguan Fortress. Standing among vast desert and surrounded by rolling mountains, it looks like a dignified general guarding the grand land. It was constructed with the most integrated defensive system. It was also an important traffic hub along the Silk Road, the oldest worldwide trading route. We will have a 2hrs walking tour at Jiayuguan Fortress, Please wear your comfortable shoes due to many steps from one tower to another.

After that, you will 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 systematic way. 

Say farewell to Jiayuguan and travel to the historical city Dunhuang. Enjoy the natural wonders of Echoing Sand Mountain&Crescent Lake. the sand is blown up and makes a loud sound when there is wind, you are like hearing the sound of an ancient musical instrument. There is also a Crescent Lake surrounded by the sand. Climb to the sand sea at the top of the mountain and the crescent spring at the bottom of the mountain when the sunsets. Ride a camel in the vast desert to experience the ancient Silk Road.

Thereafter, enjoy a walking tour at the Shazhou Night Market, the most bustling place of Dunhuang at night, taste the local cuisine and buy some souvenirs for your family and friends.

Spend another day to explore the geological landscape of Dunhuang, we will visit Yangguan Pass, a scenic spot built on the basis of the ancient Yangguan Site. There you can appreciate ancient buildings and exhibition halls displaying  cultural relics and historical sites on the ancient Silk Road. The travel will end up with the majestic Yadang National Geological Park, also known as "Dunhuang Devil City".

Afterwards, pay a visit to Yardang National Geological Park, Geological Park is famous for its nighttime sounds and vivid rocks in various shapes that look like animals or world-famous attractions. There you can appreciate unique and wonderful scenes and landscapes of Gobi desert.

This morning we will visit Mogao Grottoes, this UNESCO World Heritage site is one of the great artistic and religious wonders of the world and it is famous for its exquisite murals and various sculptures inside the caves, which was built in different dynasties, spanning 1,000 years of Buddhist art. Next travel to Dunhuang Museum was officially founded in October, 1979. Built with three storeys and covers an area about 2400 square meters, the exhibition building of the museum was completed in 1984. Dunhuang Museum is a comprehensive topography one principally exhibits historic and cultural relics. Now it has collected over 4000 precious cultural relics in the locality. Afternoon, you will go head to the Dunhuang Painting and Calligraphy Institute, visit the Painting and Calligraphy exhibition, The Murals of the Mogao Grottoes. If you like, you can also experience and copy the murals of Mogao Grottoes or make the lithographs.

Enjoy your leisure time in the morning, we will arrange airport transfer according to your flight schedule, wish you have a pleasant journey home!