16 Days Silk Road and Yunnan Tour

On arrival in Kashgar, you will be meet by your guide and driver at the airport. And then you will be transfered to the hotel. Your guide will assist you with hotel check in.

Today we will enjoy a full-day excursion in Kashgar. Pay a visit to Id Kah Mosque, the largest Mosque in China and the most sacred mosque for the locals to practice their Islamic activities at 09:00. Continue the tour to Old Town at 10:30 with the open ceremony of the Maxilap show. Come and join the exciting movement in this well-preserved Uighur residential area.

(Our specialty: Relaxing in the Hundred-years Tea house, taste the local rose tea and Naan-bread!)

After Lunch, continue to visit Handicraft Street where hundreds of handicraft workshops, which has become a boutique exhibition for handicrafts in Kashgar and Central Asia.

Our next stop is the famous Sunday Bazaar. The covered bazaar sells clothing, nuts, household goods, and many things out of your imagination. The outdoor Animal Bazaar is the first bazaar we visited, where the farmers and buyers arrive by donkey cart, truck, bicycle, horseback, motorbike, or on foot, with their animals. Under the loud, lively, and cheerful atmosphere, it is quite interesting to witness their typical methods of the bargain.

In the morning, enjoy your nice buffet breakfast. And at 09:00 your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel lobby to start the adventure. We will drive along the China and Pakistan highway for about 4hrs to enjoy the landscape of the Pamirs Plateau outside your windows. After about 40 minutes of driving, we will stop in the Opal village to visit the traditional bustling bazaar. Then continue driving toward our next destination. On the way, you can experience beautiful Karakul Lake where the herds of livestock around the lakeside are reflected in the lake. Kirghiz herdsmen usually settle down here and graze their herds.

In the morning, we will catch the flight to Urumqi and arrive at noon. Then drive directly to the entrance of the Heavenly Lake. Take a 40-minute 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 explore the Maya Mountain for the incredible view of Bogoda Peak. Your lunch can be arranged in the Yurt of the local Kazakhs. In the afternoon, we will drive back to Urumqi head to Grand International Bazaar, and have dinner there.

After breakfast, the good day begins. We will drive to Turpan and firstly visit Tuyoq Village which is an ancient oasis village in the Taklamakan desert, 70 km east of Turpan in a lush valley cutting into the Flaming Mountains and famous for its seedless grapes and several ancient Buddhist meditation caves nearby containing frescos.

Then we will make our way to Bezekilik Thousand Buddha Caves located in the center of Flaming Mountains, 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.

Afterward, we will have an exploration of Jiaohe Ruins, which resemble Pompei, but are 300 years older. It is an archaeological site found in the Yarnaz Valley, 10 km west of the city of Turpan, and a natural fortress located atop a cliff on a leaf-shaped plateau between two deep river valleys where you can experience the way of life of the Uygur ancestors.

End up your day with the sunset in Jiaohe Ruins and have a good night!

Say goodbye to Turpan! We will take a 4-hour high-speed train to the Dunhuang Liuyuan Station. Then 2 hours of driving to Echoing Sand Mountain, where you can ride camels for 40 minutes to experience the beautiful desert scenery.

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

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

Afterward, say goodbye to Dunhuang as we will take the flight to Lanzhou, the major bond connecting the Northern Silk Road located on the bank of the Yellow River. On your arrival, your driver will pick you up to check in at the hotel.

Let's start our Lanzhou in-depth tours today! As one of the important cities along the ancient Silk Road, Lanzhou has many cultural heritages. With an early start today, we will first drive to Liujiaxia Reservoir, and then take a speedboat to Binglingsi Thousand Buddha Caves, which stretch for 200 meters, and were built during a long period between the 3rd and 18th centuries. On the way, you will see the green water connects to the yellow water while the blue sky connects to the yellow earth! Perhaps this can only be experienced in Liujiaxia.

Later in the day, we will visit a “holy” place for all the Chinese people -- Yellow River’s Mother Statue, where we to explore the ancient history and culture of Gansu Province.

Today we will get up earlier to catch the morning flight from Lanzhou to Kunming (2hrs). Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan Province in China and is known as a city of continuous spring with a mild climate.

Upon arrival, met and was greeted by a local driver and guide and directly transferred for the tour to West Hill by cable car. The mountain is beautiful with lush vegetation, blooming flowers, green grass, and tranquil surroundings. West Hill has enjoyed fame for its beautiful and unique natural scenery since ancient times and was renowned as "the most beautiful place in Yunnan". Then continue to visit Dragon Gate on West Hill.  

Later in the day, transfer back to Kunming downtown to visit Yuan Tong Temple and walk around the Green Lake. Then transfer to the hotel for check-in.

Start your next-day trip by taking a high-speed train to Dali city, the economic and cultural center of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. After a 3-hour ride, disembark at the train station, where a local driver will pick you up.

Freshen up by visiting the Monastery Santasi (Three Pagodas)， a symbol of the history of Dali City and a record of the development of Buddhism in the area. It occupies a scenic location at the foot of Mt. Cangshan and faces Erhai Lake with a history of over 1,800 years.

Afterward, continue to explore Cangshan Mountain (take a cable car to Gantong Temple) that made up of 17 peaks. Among these, Malong Peak is the highest one reaching a height of up to 4122m. You will catch a cableway up the mountain. On the mountain top, you can enjoy the fantastic view of Erhai Lake. After that, you will have a chance to ascend on the Ancient City Wall of Dali.

Later in the day, return to Dali Ancient Town to explore the town. And then transfer to check in the hotel.

Continue our journey this morning by driving about 2.5 hours to Shaxi. On the way, you will stop to take a visit to Xizhou Village. It is one of the Bai ethnic minority villages around the Erhai Lake and is characterized by old buildings of residents and the morning market. Then continue to head to Shaxi and visit Shibaoshan Grotto and Baoxiang Hanging Temple in Shibaoshan Mountain (Stone Treasure Mountain). The impressive rock carvings of Shibaoshan are over 1300 years old and are testimony of the spread of Mahayana Buddhism from Tibet in the region. Representations of the bodhisattva Guanyin and other Buddhist images are carved into the rocky mountainside. In the late afternoon, stroll around the Shaxi Ancient Town, the remains of an ancient market town and once an active trade stop on the Southern Silk Road that connected Tibet and China with Southeast Asia and on to Europe.

Exciting day! Today wake up early and we will drive about 4 hours to Shangri-la! A mysterious place teeming with natural scenery and historical sites surrounded by Kunlun Mountain with a distance of 220 km. On your arrival, check-in at the hotel and have a short rest.

Then we will continue to visit Dukezong Ancient Town, once a key stopping point on the Tea-Horse Road, and known as ‘the moonlight city' for its white-painted dwellings that seem to radiate a silver glow by night. This lotus-shaped town has preserved the traditional Tibetan way of life for a thousand years, and more recently has attracted inspiration-seeking artists and those aiming to escape the rigors of modern life. 

A full day for you to appreciate the beauty of Shangri-la today! The first stop that is certainly worthy of visiting is the Shangri-la Grand Canyon in the Balagezong Scenic Area. The Birang River flows through the steep gorge and the splashing water from the current immerses the entire gorge in mist. There are many rock paintings on the cliffs of the gorge. Much research was done on the paintings and it was determined that they were drawn by migrating ethnic groups in the ancient times.

In the afternoon, take a visit to the traditional pottery-making village Nixi Village. It is hidden in the mountain valley, and villagers here are engaged in the production of black pottery, teapots, hot pots, pots, etc., 2000 years of pottery making craft as its style of primitive simplicity and Tibetan cultural characteristics.

Another day to explore Shangri-la! After breakfast, we will visit Songzanlin Lamasery which is one of the most important Buddhist monasteries in Yunnan. Here, tranquillity prevails, as its 700 monks and acolytes (often beginning their training at the age of five) go about their daily lives – just as they have done for more than three centuries. The lamasery's murals are one of its highlights – resplendently colorful depictions of the life Buddha, the guardian deities of Buddhism, and the wheel of life, painted by distinguished lamas past and present.

Afterward, we will head to one of the most spectacular sites of Yunnan province, the mighty Tiger Leaping Gorge, known to be one of the deepest canyons of the world, with a depth of approximately 3800 meters, the gorge is located 60km north of Lijiang.

In the late afternoon, drive approximately 3.5 hours to Lijiang and transfer to the hotel for check-in. The rest of the day is free for your acclimatization.

Today we will enjoy a full-day excursion to Lijiang. Our journey begins with a visit to Yuhu Village where we can observe the local way of life and experience the village's original charm. We will also explore the Joseph Rock's Museum, dedicated to an Austrian-American explorer, geographer, linguist, and botanist who lived in Yuhu from 1922 to 1949. During his time there, he studied the flora, people, and languages of southwest China, and wrote a Naxi dictionary, scholarly papers, and articles for National Geographic. Rock's articles are said to have inspired James Hilton's novel "Lost Horizons" about the fictional Himalayan paradise, Shangri-la.

Continue our visit to the Baisha Village of Naxi Minority, one of the oldest villages in Lijiang City. “Baisha” means “white sand” and it got its name from the natural white sand in the area. Baisha Village is not only the cradle-land of the Tusi Dynasty evolved from the Mu Clan, but also the first Naxi minority ancestor settling stronghold. To be found today are many ancient constructions that were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), for example, Dabaoji Palace, Liuli Temple, and Wenchang Palace. Then free time for you to stroll in the Ancient Old Town which was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage in 1997.

There are no activities planned for today. You will end your tour and say goodbye with everyone. We will arrange the airport transfer for you, wish you have a pleasant journey home! if you still want to travel to other places in China, we will be very happy to help you for your next trip.