Silk Road Tour from Xi'an

Your guide will hold your name sign and wait for you at the airport. And then you will be transferred to your hotel. Have a good rest and prepare to enjoy your following trip.

Xi’an is a famous ancient capital city in China. It is also the city where China Silk Road starts. Maybe you haven’t heard about Xi’an but you must have an idea about the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum. Today you will visit the Terra-cotta army first. When you see the terra-cotta army, you will be shocked by the spectacular and splendid relics. All the terra-cotta armies are as tall as real humans. And you can read different emotions on their face. All the terra-cotta horses are not as big as real horses. Some people explain that ancient Chinese believe that the dead people’s soul is not as heavy as the alive ones. So they do not need the big horse. After lunch, we will take you will visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda can be regarded as the typical attraction in Xi’an. The Buddhist Sculptures brought from India by Monk Xuanzang were stored here. There is a story said, when the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was just built, it was only a 5-storey pagoda. But the Tang Dynasty Emperor thought it is not as grand as enough. So another 4 stories were added. Therefore, the pagoda you can see now is a 9-storey pagoda.

This morning we will take you to visit the Old City Wall. You may have a chance to ride a bike on the city wall and enjoy an overlook of Xi’an city. After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport and take an estimated flight MU9649 13:50/16:00 to Zhangye.

Our guide will pick you up from the airport and then you will be transferred to your hotel. You can have a good rest or walk around in the city in the rest of the time.

Zhangye is a significant city on the Silk Road. It is also a tourist city which can be visited all year round. This morning we will visit the Giant Buddha Temple. This Buddha is the largest reclining Buddha in Asia. It is said that there are Buddhist sculptures in its head and body. After lunch, we will take you to visit the Zhangye Danxia Landform. The colorful Danxia Landform mountain is also called rainbow mountain. It is a good place to take photos. Kind reminder: please take sunglasses or a hat to avoid the strong sunlight.

After breakfast, we will first take you to visit the Mati Temple. Mati means horse hoof in Chinese. There is a story that a horse in heaven used to drink water and left tracks of the horse's hoofs here. That is how it got its name. It is not only a temple but also a grotto group. And you will see lots of small stone pagodas which are carved on the cliff. After lunch you will be transferred to the train station and take an estimated train D2711 15:24/18:55 to Dunhuang.

Today you will visit the world-famous Mogao Grottoes. The Grottoes there are not carved in the same dynasty. The earliest grotto was verified to be carved in the early Qin Dynasty. And more and more grottoes were carved from then on. In the Tang Dynasty, because of the culture communication brought by Silk Road, thousand grottoes were carved at that time. So the Mogao Grottoes you can visit now reflects not Chinese Culture but a kind of culture combination. After lunch, we will take you to visit the Echoing-sand Dune and Crescent Lake. They are selected as two of the top 8 Dunhuang tourist spots. Compared with the Mogao Grottoes which is about culture, they are about the power of nature. Especially when you see a clear lake in the middle of the vast desert, you will surely be impressed.

Today you will take estimated train Z69 9:52/15:19 to Turpan. Our guide will meet you at the train station. And then you will visit Karez Well. Tupan is a city lack of water in ancient times. Karez Well is the irrigation form created by local people. It plays an important part in local agricultural production.

After breakfast, you will go to visit the Flaming Mountains. Because of the color of rock, the mountains are like fire under the sunlight. This is also the hottest place in China. It is said that Monk Xuanzang used to pass by Flaming Mountains when he traveled to the west for Buddhist scriptures. After lunch you will visit the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. It was carved in the 4th century AD. And there are 57 existing caves and more than 40 murals. And then you will be transferred to the train station and take estimated train D8815 18:52/19:56 to Urumqi. Our guide will pick you up from the train station and then you will be transferred to the hotel for a good rest.

This morning, you will take the estimated flight CZ6805 10:55/13:05 to Kashgar. Our guide will pick you up from the airport. After lunch, you will visit the Abakh Khoja Tomb. This is an exquisitely and magnificent Islamic building. Although it is more than 300 years old, it still attracts many tourists to come and visit. Some of them are for pray and most of them are to enjoy the Superb architectural skills and artistic style.

After breakfast, we will take you to visit the Id Kah Mosque.  This is the most typical Islamic building in Kashgar. It is also the largest mosque in Xinjiang province. “Id Kah” means “holiday” or “happy square” in Chinese. When big events comes, there will be more than 20,000 people come and do worship here. In the afternoon, you will visit the Kashgar Bazaar. This is a large market in Kashgar. You can taste the local food and buy some gift for your friends.

Today you will take estimated flight HU7892 11:10/13:05 to Urumqi and then take flight fly back to your sweet home.