10-Days Silk Road Tour from Kashgar to Xi’an

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Daily Tour 10 day
Kashgar

Tour Highlights

  • Enjoy stunning sceneries along the Karakorom Highway with Tajik and Kyrgiz people’s cultures.
  • Enjoy the old city, livestock market, grand mausoleum and the rich culture of Kashgar.
  • Visit Karez underground irrigation channels one of the three Great Projects in China.
  • Experience the live ancient Tuyuk Village with a lunch at a local house.
  • Admire the most valuable Buddhist Treasure house of Mogao Grottoes in the World.
  • Experience an ancient city by walking or biking on the Ancient Xi’an City Wall.
  • Visit a unique combination Chinese and Islamic architecture of the Great Mosque of Xi’an.
Day 1, Arrive Kashgar

Activities: pick you from Kashgar airport and transfer to your hotel
Details:Our professional tour guide and driver will welcome you at Kashgar airport and transfer to your Hotel. Have a good rest after a long flight.
Kashgar, an oasis city in Xinjiang, is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the borders of Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. It has a history of over 2,000 years and served as a trading post and strategically important city on the Silk Road between China, the Middle East and Europe.

Day 2, Kashgar to Tashkorgan

Activities: Drive along the KKH, Stop at Opal Village, Oytagh Kunlunshan Colorful mountain range, Gaz Valley and check point, Bulungkol Valley (white sand mountain), Karakul lake and local Kyrgyz family visit
Details:We set out along the Sino – Pakistan Karakorum Highway, on the Pamir plateau (the roof of the world) visit Karakul Lake (3600m above sea level). The lake sits at the foot of the notorious, Muztagh Ata (7546m) and Gongur (7719m) mountains. ‘Muztagh Ata’ means Father of the Ice Mountain and is one of the most beautiful and mysterious mountains in the world.
Lunch will be at a local Kyrgyz family by Karakul lake.
Along the way stop at small Kyrgyz villages and Tajik villages. especially Tagharma Tajik village is very interesting,This village is located in between mountain and grassland, people are very friendly. You can pay a visit to one of the Tajik families and join their cup of tea.
Arrive Tashkorgan by dinner time and stay overnight

Day 3, Tashkorgan to Kashgar

Activities: Visit Stone Fort, Tajik village, Hike on the Grassland and drive back to Kashgar after lunch
Details:Tashkurgan Tajik autonomous county was once an important hub on the old Silk Road. The area borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan  via the Kunjerab Pass and Wahan Corridor.
After breakfast, you’ll have an opportunity to see the town’s ancient Stone Fort – still standing after 2200 years! ‘Tashkurgan’ is a translation of ‘Stone Fort.’ Later Hike on the grassland next to the Stone Fort.
After lunch, drive back to Kashgar and you can make stops along the way if you like.

Day 4, Explore Kashgar City/fly to Urumqi

Activities: Visit Grand mosque, Apak Hoja tomb (which is also called Fragrant Concubine Tomb), Old city walking tours, livestock market, Sunday market and Take late evening flight to Urumqi
Details:Explore the rich, endless culture of the Uighurs in Kashgar. First stop is livestock market which happens on every Sunday and people bring their horses, sheep, goats, camels and other livestock to the market for sale. It provides a great opportunity to take photos of the faces of local people, study traditional local market culture, test-drive a donkey or horse or even make its shoes. Like opening a window, today is a real glimpse into a time lost in the annals of the Silk Road’s past and an opportunity not to be missed.
Later move on to Sunday market main Bazaar which is considered one of the largest market in Central Asia. From fluffy sheepskin hats to rugged camel-hide boots, not to mention beads, buttons and buckets of locals. Everything – including plenty of kitchen sinks – is for sale at this fairytale bazaar. It is the best to chance to practice your bargaining skills.
After lunch, spend some time by the Id Kah mosque, the largest mosque in China and marvel at the intricate architecture of Kashgar’s historic Apak Hoja Tomb which is also known as Fragrant concubine tomb).
We’ll visit the Kashgar Old Town and have some walking tours through some ancient historical parts; Stop at a century-old tea house for a short break and taste local medicinal teas such as such as those containing rose, saffron, honey and other ingredients.
Finally take late evening flight to Urumqi

Day 5, Urumqi to Turpan By Fast Speed Train

Activities: Take fast speed train to Turpan after breakfast and visit Idikut (Gaochang) ancient city, Astana tombs, Toyuq village, Bizeklik Thousand Buddha caves and Flaming Mountains.
Details:You take a bullet train from Urumqi to Turpan which takes around 50 minutes and arrive at Turpan North Train station where our driver will wait for you with your name on a board.
Then start a wonderful day in Turpan with a visit to the ancient city of Idikut (Gaochang). The city was first built in the first Century BC and later became capital of the Idikut (Gaochang) Uighur Kingdom in the 8th Century. 
We’ll spend in about 40 minutes in this ancient city and then drive to Karakhoja Astana tombs, a Tang-dynasty burial ground which also known as the “Underground Museum”. Astana means “capital” in the Uighur language and Karakhoja is name of a legendary hero of an ancient Uighur Kingdom who saved his people by killing a vicious dragon.
Then Move on to Toyup village, an old, beautiful and timeless village with a friendly Uighur community. Here we visit several local families and have lunch with a local family in their home. This could be the highlight of your tour today.
After lunch we visit Bizeklik Thousand Buddha caves which used to be an important center for Buddhist worshipers under the Xizhou Huigu government of the Idikut (Gaochang) Kingdom.
On the way back to the hotel we will stop at the Flaming Mountains which people claimed to be the hottest and driest along the silk road that “flying birds even a thousand miles away dare not to come”.

Day 6, Turpan for whole day

Activities: Visit Yargul (Jiaohe) Ancient city, Karez underground Irrigations system and Emin Minaret
Details:After breakfast,we start our tour in Turpan with a visit Yargul (Jiaohe) Ancient city which is one of the best preserved ancient cities in China. The ruins of the buildings are divided into temples, civilian dwellings and government offices. Workshops and residential houses in the streets are still visible and time there is time spent in a world long disappeared.
After an hour of walking around the city area, we’ll push on to see the world famous Karez irrigation system, unique to this part of the world. The system is considered as one of the three great projects in China with the other two being the Great Wall and the Grand Canal.
Then visit the Emin Suliman minaret which is a magnificent combination of ancient Uighur and Islamic architecture. It is the tallest ancient pagoda in Xinjiang and the only Islamic ancient pagoda in the country. Locals call it “pure tower.”

Day 7, Turpan To Dunhuang By Fast Speed Train

Activities: Take fast speed train to Dunhuang and visit Crescent Lake and Mingsha Echo-sand Mountain.
Details:After breakfast at the hotel, take fast speed train to Dunhuang which takes around 3.0 hours.
Our guide and driver from Dunhuang will pick up you from Liuyuan train station and then drive to Dunhuang city.
Our guide and driver will pick up you from Liuyuan Train station and First have lunch, then visit Mysterious Crescent lake which its name derives from the crescent moon shaped by the small pool of spring water between two large sand dunes. Here you’ll have chance to ride camels across the sand dunes of Sounding Sand mountain which makes sounds when the wind blows (camel is on your own expenses)
Stay overnight in Dunhuang

Day 8, Dunhuang to Xi’an

Activities: After breakfast Visit Mogao Grottoes; After lunch take afternoon flight to Xi’an
Details:We spend the whole morning at Mogao Grottoes which were constructed over a millennium ago from the 4th to 14th centuries. The caves are also known as the Thousand Buddha Caves with two distinctions of being one of the most notable grottoes in China as well as the best-preserved treasure house of Buddhist art, sutras, murals and sculptures in the world.
After lunch our guide and driver see you off at Dunhuang airport for your flight to Xi’an.
Our Xi’an local driver/guide will pick up you from Xi’an airport and transfer to your hotel

Day 9, Explore Xi’an For Whole Day

Activities: Visit Bell Tower, Wild Goose Pagoda, Grand Hui mosque, city wall and Provincial Museum
Details:After breakfast, Visit Bell tower which is located in downtown area. it is a Chinese traditional building and geographical center of the ancient capital, best preserved and largest wooden tower in China.
After touring here for about an hour continue our tour to wild goose Pagoda which is a well preserved ancient holy building for Buddhism.
later visit the Hui grand mosque located in Hui minority area, construction of the mosque has rich Chinese features combined with Arabic style. It is one of the oldest and largest mosque in China.
After lunch Drive to Xi’an city wall which is the symbol of Xi’an and the most ancient existing city wall in China until today. We enjoy the City Wall for a few hours by walking around or riding bicycle as your like (on your own expenses)
Finally visit Shanxi provincial Museum which is one of the first huge state museums with modern facilities in China and one of the largest. The museum houses over 370,000 items, including murals, paintings, potteries, coins, bronze, gold and silver objects. The modern museum was built between 1983 and 2001 and its appearance recalls the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty.

Day 10, Xi’an to your Next destination

Activities: See you off at Xi’an airport
Details:Today is the last day of your tour with us, so we hope this tour shouldn’t be the last. We strive to make every day of your time with us the one that you’ll always remember and if you’d like to book some other tours please Contact us for more information

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