12-day Ancient Silk Road Route Trip

Day 1Arrival in Chengdu

Welcome to Chengdu Sichuan! Upon arrival in Chengdu, your private guide will meet you and escort you to check in your hotel.

Day 2Chengdu/Leshan/Chengdu

Today you will take a morning drive (within 2 hours) to visit Leshan Giant Buddha, the world's largest stone carving Buhhda. After Leshan tour, you will visit Huanglongxi Ancient Town, with a histor of 1,700 years, on the way back to chengdu city. Then take a free relax on Jinli Old Street and Kuanzhai Alley. Overnight in Chengdu.

Day 3Chengdu/Xi'an

After breakfast, you will pay a morning visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. In the afternoon, you will take a 4 hours' bullet train to Xi'an. Upon arriving in Xian, your local guide will meet you at the train station and escort you to check in the hotel for rest.

Day 4Xian

A full day Xi'an tour will start with a morning visit to Terra Cotta Warriors. Then visit Treeacotta Factory to learn about how to make Terracotta models. In the afternoon , you will take a walk or biking on the top of Ancient City Wall. Then you have a relax on Muslim Street.

Night Option: Chinese dumplings Feast and Tang Dynasty Show, which brings the pageantry and music of the ancient Tang Dynasty to life.

Day 5Xian/Kashgar

After a morning visit to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, you will fly from Xi'an to Kashgar. Upon arrival, your local guide will transfer you to check in your hotel. Overnight in Kashgar.

Day 6Kashgar/Karakul Lake/Kashgar

Drive 200km to Karakul Lake along China-Pakistan highway,enjoy the majestice Pamir plateau,encounter the local nomads called”Kirgiz”.admire the snow-capped mountain called “Muztagh Ata”(7546M in altitude),and “Konger Shan Mountain”(7719M.),walk around(1-2 hours) the Karakul lake (3800M), Coach back to Kashgar.

Day 7Kashgar/Urumqi

Kashgar is a fabled city embracing a rich mix of peoples and cultures, with Mosques and veiled women contributing to its Middle Eastern atmosphere. No visitors to Kashgar should miss the Sunday bazaar. In the teeming market, you can buy anything from herbal medicines to carpets, from a cradle to a camel.

In the afternoon, visit the town center the vast Id Kah Mosque. afterwards, you visit the a school and a workshop where traditional carpets are made. You also tour in a donkey cart taxi the Old Town, a warren of twisting alleys and white-washed walls, and the Tomb of Abakh Khoja(also called Fragrant Concubine tomb). Then take evening flight back to Urumqi.

Day 8Urumqi/Turpan

After pay a morning visit to Erdaoqiao International Grand Bazaar, you will take a excursion to Tianshan Mountains, to visit the beautiful mountain lake-the Heavenly Lake and Mt.Bogoda Shan(5445m in altitude). it is snow-capped all year around.Then drive back to Urumqi.

Day 9Turpan

A morning drive to visit Grape Valley, the oasis town of Turpan famous for its melons and vineyards. Here Marco Polo first encountered spaghetti, an idea he took home to Italy. In the late afternoon, you winder through the streets of ruined city Jiaohe, inspect the 2000 year old Karez Wells, a remarkable underground irrigation system.

Day 10Turpan/Dunhuang

Today's tour includes morning visits to the Bezeklik Caves whose walls are adorned with Buddhist frescoes and the legendary Flaming Mountains. and also see the Astana Underground Tomb. In the afternoon, we will explore Emin Minaret, one of the finest buildings on the Silk Road. we will walk through the amazing village street . Take an overnight train to the City of Dunhuang via Liuyuan.

Day 11Dunhuang

Dunhuang oasis was a strategic staging post on the Silk Road, and the end of the Great Wall. Today’s highlight is to tour the Mogao Caves, popularly known as the “Thousand Buddha Caves”. An art gallery in the desert, the walls of the caves lined with Buddha frescoes and sculpted figures, said to be the finest examples of Buddha art in the world. Mixing India and Chinese styles, they are a remarkable record of Silk Road civilization.

Late afternoon, visits to Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Moon Lake set in an amphitheater of sand dunes. In the evening, you sample a local snack and a drink at the pavement cafes in the main street.

Day 12Dunhuang/Beijing Departure

After breakfast, you will take a morning flight to Beijing. Contiue your tour in Beijing or leave for your next destination.

Kind notes: This 12 days' tour package can be extend 2 days (That's 14 days) for sightseeing in Beijing.