Great Silk Road Tour from Xining

Today our guide will pick you up from the airport. And then you will go to your hotel and have a good rest.  

This morning we will take you to visit the Ta’er Monastery which is also known as Kumbum Monastery. It is an important Tibetan Buddhism activity center in northwest China. Thangka Exhibition Festival is a grand festival in Ta’er Monastery. The large Thangka which is about 30 meters long and 20 meters wide will be opened and spread out on the mountain. Thousands of visitors can enjoy the Thangka together. The butter sculpture is one of three wonders in Ta’er Monastery. It is different shapes of sculpture made of butter. They are used to replace the real animals for sacrifice. After that, we will take you to visit Qinghai Lake. It is the largest inland lake in China. Watching the sunset at Qinghai Lake is a good choice for you. Besides the unique natural scenery, the tour of Qinghai Lake International Road Cycling Race is also world-famous.

This morning, you will take D2692 10:24/12:33 to Lanzhou. Our guide will meet you at the train station. After lunch, you will visit the Gansu Museum (It is closed each Monday). People always say if you want to know more about this city, you should visit the museum there. There are different exhibition halls in this museum. You cannot miss the Gansu Silk Road Civilization Hall where you can see more than 400 Silk Road cultural relics.

After breakfast, we will take you to visit Liujiaxia and Bingling Temple. If you do not have enough time to take the Yangtze River Cruise and enjoy the scenery along the Yangtze River, you should come and visit Liujiaxia. It is called Pearl on Highland. And you can take a cruise to enjoy the scenery along the way. You will disembark at Bingling Temple. Bingling Temple is famous for its grottoes and murals. Carved stone statues in Bingling Grottoes are in different dynasties and different styles. But most of the statues are with strong religious culture. Different from the statues, the murals here reflect people’s daily life such as clothes and dance.

Today, we will drive to Xiahe. And you will visit the Labrang Monastery which is a famous Tibetan Buddhist building. There are many copper pagodas which are from different countries such as India and Nepal. The most precious relic in the temple is a Buddhist scripture written in golden and silver ink. It is rare in the world.

After breakfast, we will take you to visit the Sangke Grasslands. Some of the Tibetan here are nomads. Grasslands are the natural pasture for them. There is a river that goes through this lush pastureland. You will see a peace idyllic scenery here. After lunch, you will be transferred back to Lanzhou.

Today we will drive to Wuwei. Wuwei is an important city on the ancient Silk Road. It used to be the political and economic center of northwest China. You will visit the Leitai Han Tomb. This is a tomb with more than 1,700-year history. The famous Horse Stepping on Flying Swallow is excavated here. And then you will visit the Confucius Temple which is also called the secondary historical museum in Gansu Province. Confucius has a great reputation in China. Therefore, there are many Confucius Temples in different cities in China.

Today we will drive to Zhangye. And then you will visit the Giant Buddha Temple. This Giant Buddha Temple is one of the famous tourist spots on the Silk Road. It is also the largest Clay sculpture Buddha in Asia. The Buddha’s ear is 2 meters long. You can imagine how large is the whole Buddha. The temple walls were decorated with delicate frescos reflecting the Buddhist culture. And there are more than 6,000 Buddhist scriptures stored in the temple. Some of them are even written in golden or silver ink. And then you will visit the Zhangye Danxia landform. It has been selected as one of the top 10 Geographic wonders of the world. Peaks here are with unique shapes and bright colors.

This morning, we will drive to Jiayuguan which is a transportation hub on the Silk Road. You will visit the Jiayuguan Pass. It is called the greatest pass under heaven. It is also the western end of China Qin Great Wall and the largest existing pass on the Great Wall. According to the Silk Road sculpture, famous people like Mond Xuanzang, Maco Polo have visited there. And then we will go to visit the Wei-Jin Tomb with murals. It is also called the underground art gallery. There are 13 tombs and two of them are open to tourists now. The mural on the wall of No. 6 tomb is the most precious. It shows the herding, farming, hunting and other life scenes, as well as dances and costumes which can reflect the extravagant life of the tomb owner.

After breakfast, we will drive to Dunhuang which is the important economy and transportation center on the Silk Road. After Lunch, you will visit the famous Echoing-sand Dune and Crescent lake. Dunhuang is surrounded by desert. The most famous part of the desert is Echoing-sand Dune. Echoing sand is also known as singing sand. It is a kind of peculiar natural phenomenon. But in the local story, they said there used to be a group of soldiers and horses which was buried under the sand. So when the wind blows, you will hear the horse whinny. Crescent Lake is surrounded by the Echoing-sand Dune. There is a story said the Crescent Lake is the holy water from Buddha. And that is why it can keep clear and clean for thousands of years.

This morning, you will visit the world-famous Mogao Grottoes. It is a comprehensive art building integrating architecture, color sculpture and painting. There are more than 500 existing caves and 492 color sculptures. The painting themes on the wall are various. Some are about stories. Some are about natural scenery and some are about Buddhas. It has a great value of China history, culture and Buddhism study. The Dunhuang Apsaras is a typical image in Dunhuang frescoes. That is why you will see many apsaras sculpture on the street in Dunhuang. After that, we will take you to visit the Yumen pass. It is a scenic spot which you can not miss on the Silk Road. Yumen means jade gate in Chinese. So it will be easy for you to understand that jade used to be imported through this pass in ancient times.

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 be transferred to your hotel. The rest of the time will be yours. You can walk around the city.

After breakfast, we will take you to visit the Gaochang Ruins. The Gaochang city used to be the center of Turpan and its total size is about 2,000,000 square meters. Until now you can still find the palace and city wall ruins there. In the afternoon, we will take you to visit the Flaming Mountains. If you have read the novel Journey to the West, you must know that the Flaming mountains have been mentioned in the novel. Although it is the hottest place in China, there is no fire on the real Flaming Mountain. Because of the color of the rocks, it looks like fire under the sunlight.

Today you will take estimated train Z179 9:17/10:48 to Urumqi. And then you will be transferred to the airport and fly back to your sweet home.