18 Days Silk Road and Great Wall of China Tour

Arrival in Beijing, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer to hotel. Beijing, the capital of People’s Republic of China, is a fascinating place for tourists home and abroad. As one of China's four ancient capitals, with its profound history of 3000 years, Beijing is the cultural, political, and historical center of China. It is widely considered to be one of the most magnificent cities in the world.

As the most famous and popular site the Great Wall, we will start early at 7:00 before the big groups arrive. After 2hr’s driving, enjoy the cable car ride to the wall is peaceful and scenic. It is a fantastic experience to walking on the well-maintained wall where you also need a lot of water or an umbrella in the 2hr’s visiting. Lunch will be arranged in the courtyard at the foot of the Great Wall.

Drive back to the city and visit the Bird's Nest National Stadium and Water Cube Aquatic Centre en route. Back hotel around 6pm.

Today is another day to explore culture and history in Beijing.

At 08:00, we will pay a visit to Tianan Men Square for 30 minutes. Continue the 3hrs exploration in Forbidden City, also called Palace Museum. Walk on the steps of the most magnificent and splendid palace complex in China. Feel the enchant atmosphere or to foresee the Emperors were ruling this great county. The Hollywood Movie “The Last Emperor” highly recommended before your visiting

After Lunch in the local Restaurant, make our way to Temple of Heaven, 1-2hrs walking through the vast beautiful park to enjoy the impressive architecture and interesting story of the Chinese Emperors prayed for good harvest

Our final stop is the Summer Palace, a imperial garden consisting of vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in China. You can take the boat cross the island and then walk over to the temple on the hill. The climb up the stairs might be bit tired but so worth to enjoy incredible view from the top.

Take a night flight to Xian(2hrs). On your arrival, your driver will pick up and transfer you to check in the hotel. Have a good rest.

Tour starts at 08:00 and then drive 1 hour to get close to the incredible Terracotta Warriors in China’s first Emperor’s Tomb built 2300 years ago,the most significant archaeological excavations of the 20th century.

After lunch in the local restaurant, head to ancient architecture and a holy place for Buddhists.- Big Goose Pagoda, The restored Buddha and building are beautiful with spectacular timber work and gilded features are recently built by donors, they make a fine job of explaining the role of Buddhism in China’s history.

Afterwards, drive to the Ancient City Wall, the most well-preserved city wall and the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. You will have a bird's-eye view of panorama of Xi'an city when wandering along the city wall

After breakfast, head to visit the Shaanxi Province Museum, one of the major museums in China. It is home to numerous unearthed cultural artifacts and represents the imposing image of a 13-dynasties capital.

Then take the bullet train to Lanzhou. Be transferred to the hotel. Relax and prepare for your Natural wonders and Culture Adventure.

Let's start our Lanzhou in-depth tours today. As one of the important cities along the ancient Silk Road, Lanzhou has preserved many cultural heritages. With an early start today, we will visit the Binglings Temple. 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.

Later, You will be driven to the Liujiaxia Dam and then you will take a fast boat to cross the gorge where you will enter the Bingling Temple Grottoes, which you will discover are above the water. These caves, which stretch for 200 meters, were built during the 3rd and 18th centuries. They are highly valued for their contribution to research into the history of Chinese paintings and the spread of Buddhism during that time.

Breakfast in the hotel,then transfer to Yellow River’s Mother Statue, explore the ancient history and culture of Gansu Province.

After the visiting, you will be transferred to the train station and take an express train to Zhangye, our driver will pick you up from the train station and transfer you to the hotel check in.

After 1hr's visiting to the 900-years old Grand Buddha Temple, experiencing the impressive Buddha culture and architectural treasures.

We will drive 3hrs to the masterpiece of nature Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, which is situated in the north of Qilian mountains with a distance of 40 km from east Zhangye city. You will be marveled by the colorful layers of mountain ridges in the 4hr's adventure to the different platforms.

Afterwards, 3hrs driving to Jiayuguan for a refreshing dinner and a good rest.

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, economies, culture, military affairs, folk customs, and science and technology during the Wei and Jin periods (4AD)

After lunch, 4hrs driving to Dunhuang to visit Echoing Sand Mountain, where you can ride the camels for 40mins to experience the beautiful desert scenery in the sunset.

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

After enjoy the scenery of Mogao Grottoes and  Echoing Sand Mountain & Crescent Lake, today we will spend a whole day to explore the geological landscape of Dunhuang. 

The first site we will visit is the Yumenguan Pass, it got the name because the famous Khotan jade entered the Dunhuang from here. Yumenguan pass and Yangguan pass were the two critical defensive passes protecting Dunhuang from invasion from the West about thousands of year ago. From here you can not only learn more history and culture about the ancient Silk Road, but also learn many famous poems of Tang Dynasty. Thereafter, we will travel to the amazing Yardan National Geological Park, also called "Yadan Ghost City", which is the largest one of Yadan Landform found so far. The park stretches twenty-five kilometers from north to south and about two kilometers from east to west. It features the unique and wonderful scenes and landscapes of Gobi desert.

Today we are going to appreciate the Holy Center of Buddhism Culture and Art-UNESCO of Mogao Grottoes, enjoying the 40mins 4D movie to learn the development of the grottoes and then we will be escorted by the professional guides from Mogao to enjoy the the 8 caves mainly.

Afterwards, say farewell to Dunhuang as we will take high-speed train to Turpan

After breakfast, the good day begins Tuyoq Village which is an ancient oasis-village in the Taklamakan desert. First we drive to the Flaming Mountains and famous for its seedless grapes and a number of ancient Buddhist meditation caves nearby containing frescos. 

Then we make our way to Bezekilik Thousand Buddha Caves which are a complex of Buddhist cave grottos dating from the 5th to 14th century between the cities of Turpan and Shanshan (Loulan) at the northeast of the Taklamakan Desert near the ancient ruins of Gaochang in the Mutou Valley. visit The Ruins of Ancient City of Gaochang, which was a political, economic and cultural center of Xinjiang in ancient times. The existing parts of it consist of three parts built in different times. Finally our scenic bus will take you to Astana Tombs, a complex of an ancient tomb where you can see many well- preserved aretifacts including mummies.

Today you will have a full day to explore this fertile oasis. Pay a visit to 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. 

Having lunch in the local restaurant, Say goodbye to this amazing town, we will drive back to Urumqi. The rest of the day is free for you to explore the city and our hotel is 1kms from the Red Hill Park, you may visit the park on your own seeing the our people doing exercises.

We will drive 1.5 hours to entrance of the Heavenly Lake about 08:30, following is the 40-minutes shuttle bus twisting through the picturesque Tianshan mountains to the edge of the Lake. Either Trek around the lake, enjoy the boating cruise, or even take the cable car to the explore the Maya Mountain for the incredible view of Bogoda Peak. Lunch will be arranged in the Yurt of the local Kazakhs. 

Back to Urumqi and head to International Grand Bazaar, where you can taste Xinjiang foods and fruits.

Morning 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.  Visit Grand International Bazaar where you can watch Uygur dance show and taste local delicacies.

Say goodbye to Urumqi, be transferred to take the flight to Kashgar. Upon arrival, pick up to check in the hotel.

Today you will enjoy a full-day excursion of Kashgar. Pay a visit to Id Kah Mosque, the largest Mosque in China and the most sacred mosque for the locals to practise their Islamic activities at 09:00. Continue the visiting to Old Town at 10:30 with the open ceremony of Maxilap show. Come and join the exciting movement in this well-preserved Uighur residential area. Our speciality: Relaxing in the Hundred-years Tea house, taste the local rose tea and nang-bread!

Continue to visit Handicraft street, gathered hundreds of handicraft workshops, which has become a boutique exhibition for handicraft in Kashgar and Central Asia.

Our next stop is the famous Sunday Bazaar drive to Sunday Bazaar that is combined two sections. The covered bazaar sells the clothing, nuts, household goods and many things out of your imagination. The outdoor Animal Bazaar is the first bazaar we visit, where the farmers and buyers arriving by donkey cart, truck, bicycle, horseback, motorbike or on foot, with their animals. It's loud, lively and cheerful as they arrive. It is quite interesting to witness their typical methods of the bargain. 

The tour starts with the nice buffet in the hotel, drives about 4hrs to Karakul Lake around 09:00.

After 1hr's driving, we will stop at Opal village for a rest where you may stroll around the local bazaar with the feeling of the traditional local lifestyle.

Continue to enjoy the majestic views of the Sand dunes, mountains, and sandstone valley along the Karakorum Highway, the Hindu Kush Mountains and the Himalayas. It is the world's tallest cross-border roads and most thrilling corridors.Trekking around the Karakul Lake with enjoy the magnificent landscape and the nomadic lifestyle of the local Kirghiz in their yurts.

Back to Kashgar in the afternoon.

Today our journey comes to an end after a good breakfast. based on your schedule, you will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight. Bon voyage!