9-Day Silk Road Tours From Xi’an To Urumqi

travel-route
Daily Tour 9 day
Xi'an

Tour Highlights

  • Experience the live ancient Tuyuk Village with a lunch at a local house.
  • Visit mysterious Crescent Lake in the middle of Gobi Desert.
  • Admire the most valuable Buddhist Treasure house of Mogao Grottoes in the World.
  • Enjoy the greatest archaeological discoveries of Terra-Cotta Warriors in China.
  • Understand the secrets of the longest ancient underground irrigation system Karez.
  • Admire the oldest Wooden Pagoda and the largest reclining Buddha Temples in China.
  • Enjoy the beauty of nature in Danxia National Geological Park.
  • Enjoy ancient cities perspectives by walking in the streets of Jaohe and Gaochang.
Day 1, Arrive in Xi’an

Activities: Pick up you from airport and transfer to your Hotel
Details:Our professional, friendly local guide will meet you with experienced driver at the airport and transfer to your hotel. It takes about one hour to your hotel from airport. Rest of the day is your time to explore this ancient city by yourself.
It is said, if you want to see 800 years of China’s history, visit Beijing; if you want to see 3000 years of China’s history, go to Xi’an. The root of Chinese history and culture remains there. It used to be the ancient capital of many dynasties and the starting point of Silk Road of China.

Day 2, Explore Xi’an For Whole Day

Activities: Visit Terra-Cotta Warriors; Bell Tower; Wild Goose Pagoda and Hui Mosque
Details:After breakfast, we start our wonderful one day tour with a visit to Terra-Cotta Warriors which is one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. This site is about an hour drive from Xi’an city.
After lunch 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 an hour here we continue our tour to wild goose Pagoda which is a well preserved ancient holy building for Buddhism.
Finally visit 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.

Day 3, Xi’an to Zhangye

Activities: Visit Xi’an city wall ,Provincial Museumand and take a bullet train to Zhangye
Details:After breakfast visit the city wall which is the symbol of Xi’an and the most ancient existing city wall in China until today. We spend a few hours by walking around or riding bicycle as your like (on your own expenses). Then drive to provincial Museum which is a famous first-class museum in China with its outstanding architectural buildings, internal apparatus and exhibits.
After lunch take a bullet train to Zhangye which takes about 7:00 hours.
Our local guide/driver will pick up you from Zhangye railway station and transfer to your hotel

Day 4, zhangye Tours

Activities: Danxia National Geopark (Rainbow Mountain) and Giant Buddha Temple
Details:After breakfast visit Danxia, National Geopark (also called rainbow mountain) which is Known for its colorful rock formations, known for the unusual colors of the rocks, which are smooth, sharp and several hundred meters tall. They are the result of deposits of sandstone and other minerals that occurred over 24 million years. It has been voted by Chinese media as one of the most beautiful landforms in China.
After lunch visit Giant Buddha Temple is an ancient Buddhist temple in Zhangye, notable for its gigantic reclining Buddha statue of around 1100ft, which is thirty-five meters long. The temple’s huge statue is made of clay on a wooden frame and depicts the Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana, and with his ten disciples standing behind him.

Day 5, Zhangye to Jiayuguan

Activities: Jiayuguan fort ; Overhanging cliff great wall ;Weijin Ancient Tomb ;
Details:After breakfast we will drive to Jiayuguan, 250km 3Hs; then visit Jiayuguan fort the greatest and the best preserved one along all of the Great Walls in China ;
then drive to Overhanging Cliff great wall the north part of Jiayuguan fort defense system, You can climb up to the top according to your body condition;
Later visit Weijin Ancient Tomb which is well-known as the biggest underground art gallery in the world;
Finally check into your hotel we booked

Day 6, Jiayuguan to Dunhuang

Activities: After breakfast Drive to Dunhuang and visit Crescent lake
Details:After breakfast at the hotel , Drive to Dunhuang which takes around 5 hours. Once arrive in Dunhuang First have lunch and 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). If you like you can stay till sunset and back to the hotel later

Day 7, Dunhuang to Turpan

Activities: After breakfast Visit Mogao Grottoes; After lunch fast speed train to Turpan
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 drive Dunhuang fast speed train station for your journey to Turpan which is about 3:30 hours train ride. Our Turpan local driver/guide will pick up you from Turpan railway station and transfer to your hotel

Day 8, Turpan For Whole Day

Activities: Visit Yargul (Jiaohe) Ancient city,Toyuq village,Flaming Mountains Karez underground Irrigations system and Emin Minaret
Details:After breakfast,we start our tour in Turpan with a visit to 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, residential houses and the streets are still visible and time there is a time spent in a long lost world.
After an hour of walking around the ancient city,Move on to Toyuq 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’ll head 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.
On the way 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” (just on the road side for photo)
Finally visit Emin Suliman minaret which is a magnificent combination of ancient Uighur and Islamic architecture. It is the tallest ancient tower in Xinjiang and the only Islamic ancient minaret in the country. Locals call it “pure tower.”

Day 9, Turpan to Heavenly Lake to Urumqi

Activities: Drive to Heavenly Lake and spend a few hours for hiking or boating as you like, then drive to Urumqi city , visit Dongkuruk International Grand Bazaar
Details:After breakfast drive to Heavenly lake which takes about 4 hours.
Heavenly lake offers some great hiking routes through the valleys on wooden pathways or up to the mountains as you like.
Your stay at the heavenly lake is the time to go for boating, take photos or simply trek around the lake (on your own expenses)
Whenever you are done at the lake, drive to Urumqi and enjoy the Dongkuruk International Grand Bazaar and have a nice dinner at a local restaurant.
Stay overnight in Urumqi

Day 10, Day trip to Tianshan Grand Conyon and Visit Xinjiang Museum

Activities: Day trip to Tianshan Grand Conyon in the morning and visit Xinjiang Provincial Museum in the afternoon.
Details:After breakfast drive to Tianshan Grand Canyon which is located about 48kms from Urumqi city.
This area is surrounded by mountains on three sides and average altitude is 2200 meters with average temperature of 4-6℃. Here you can see the most integral and the most admirable virginal forest of spruce in snow hills. You will enjoy Kazakh Folk customs park, High mountain and Grassland ecological zone.
What the mother nature offers as a gift for the people of the world. A definite choice not to be regretted.
A panoramic view of North Xinjiang in this surprising Canyon.
whenever you are ready at the Canyon, drive to Urumqi city.
In the afternoon, visit the Xinjiang Museum which houses an impressive collection of exhibits, covering artifacts and relics from more than 12 minority groups. By this way you have some understanding about Xinjiang and the Silk Road

Day 11, Urumqi To Your Destination

Activities: See you off at Urumqi 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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