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17 Day Silk Road Adventure- Beijing to Kashgar Beijing, Forbidden City, Great Wall, Xi’an, Terracotta Warriors, Lanzhou, Xiahe, Labrang Monastery, Jiayuguan, Hanging Wall, Dunhuang, Mogao Caveshga, Turpan, Urumqi, Kashgar and Sunday Market.

Day 1: Beijing
Your trip starts today with your arrival in Beijing. No activities are planned, so arrive early if you can, as there is plenty to see. There will be a pre-tour briefing with your tour leader late in the afternoon. Please note that your Tour Leader will collect the Local Payment during your group meeting so be sure to take the 550 US dollars to the meeting along with your travel insurance details. Please bring new USD notes/bills in large denominations. Please see the notice board in the hotel reception for details. The briefing is usually followed by a optional group dinner – Beijing Duck is delicious!

Days 2-4: Beijing
Beijing is abundant in cultural and historical sites. The vast Forbidden City, built nearly 600 years ago and off limits to citizens for almost all that time, is a truly amazing place. The size might surprise you (it is huge!), but what makes it fascinating is that every square metre is interesting, ranging from intricately carved walkways to colourful, painted ceilings. Temple of Heaven is the fine examples of extraordinary workmanship and architecture. We will travel to Simatai Great Wall, a largely unrestored and, as such, more authentic section of the famous wall, not crowded with hordes of other tourists. Climbing up this incredible man-made engineer and surveying the spectacular surrounding countryside is an unforgettable experience. There is also ample free time in the itinerary, allowing you to make your own discoveries and explorations. In the evening, you have the chance to enjoy a performance of the unique Beijing Opera or Kongfu (Martial Arts) Show(optional).

We leave Beijing on the overnight train in Day 4, travelling in “soft-class”, four-berth compartments. The 11-hour trip is a great opportunity to make Chinese friends if you share the compartment with locals.
Meals included: 3 breakfasts

Days 5-6: Xi’an
Xi”an topped the other ancient capital cities in China. Many wonderful places are on your exploration list. Food options are excellent here as well, ranging from delicious Muslim fare to great little dumplings in local restaurants. Widely known as the first capital of a united China in 221 BC, the city is the deep root of Chinese history.

A half-day tour to the renowned Terracotta Warriors shows us to these unearthed pottery statues, considered one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th Century. Over 6,000 of them were individually sculpted from clay, each having a different costPANDA, height, even facial expression. They are standing in battle formation, facing east in order to protect the tomb of China's first Emperor, the great Qin Shi Huang Di. These soldiers were accidentally discovered by local farmers in 1974.

A free day can easily be spent wandering the narrow streets among the Muslim quarter where we find quaint shops, lively markets, groups of white-bearded men in skull caps sipping tea in dingy cafes. For those who are interested in history, please do not miss Shaanxi History Museum, which introduces you the total history of Chinese civilization.

On the late afternoon of Day 6, we catch the overnight sleeper-class train to Lanzhou.
Meals included: 1 breakfast, 1 lunch

Days 7-9: Lanzhou-Xiahe
We arrive early in the morning in Lanzhou, and we transfer to a bus to Bingling Temple to view some fascinating Buddhist caves. We continue our journey to Xiahe, a major centre for Tibetan Lamaism. We spend two nights in this amazingly remote town set in a beautiful mountain valley, with the highlight being a visit to the impressive 18th century Labrang Monastery. The monastery was built at the background of the hill. Most of buildings are scattered at the foot of the hill. You will see many monks walking around the streets, some of who are on pilgrimage from Tibet. Please note that it is near the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and whether changes quickly, bring warm cloth with you. We travel back to Lanzhou by bus and board another overnight train bound for Jiayuguan.
Meals included: 2 breakfasts

Day 10: Jiayuguan
We travel by train along the Hexi Corridor surrounded by mountains on both sides. The snow-capped Qilishan Mountain will accompany us always. We arrive in the early afternoon at Jiayuguan, the traditional last outpost on the edge of the ancient Han Chinese Empire, and visit Jiayuguan Pass, which actually marks the end of the Great Wall in the west. We also visit the Hanging Wall (another section of the Great Wall) and the Wei-jin Dynasty’s Number 6 Tomb.

Days 11-12: Dunhuang
We travel by bus across the desert landscape to the oasis of Dunhuang, one of the highlight of all Silk Road trip. Spending a night in Dunhuang, we get up to experience the sunrise over desert sand dunes and see Crescent Lake. Nearby are the stunning Mogao Caves, which offer some of the most splendid Buddhist murals. The first cave was carved out and painted in 366 AD, but they had been largely forgotten until a Taoist monk stumbled upon them in 1907. Currently there are more than 492 caves, most containing murals, and over 2,415 coloured statues, in an area covering more than 45,000 square metres. Central in every cave are the painted murals, featuring numerous personages such as the “Flying Apsaras”, the goddesses of fragrance and music often depicted dancing and playing a musical instrument. After Mogao, we transfer to another overnight train heading to Turpan.
Meals included: 2 breakfasts

Day 13: Turpan
Upon arrival in Daheyan in the morning, we transfer by bus for 50 minutes to the delightful oasis town of Turpan. The Turpan Depression is second only to the Dead Sea in Jordan as the lowest point on Earth. The temperature soars here to an average of as much as 40° Celsius during summer, hence its name “Fiery Land”. It is a small city, but the surrounding area is full of interesting places such as Gaochang and Jiaohe, once great ancient cities on the Silk Road. Once upon a time, Gaochang was the capital of the Uyghur people and the ruins are very impressive, with the temples, pagodas and courtyards still distinguishable even though they were abandoned over 700 years ago. The Atsana Graves nearby are where the dead people of Gaochang were buried. Turpan is well known for its seedless, white variety of grapes grown in the surrounding fields. To provide irrigation to this arid land, the local people have devised a unique subterranean waterway. The Karez Wells are fed from melted snow and conducted to the channels that wind their way beneath the city.

Day 14: Urumqi
Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a multi-ethnic province with many languages, customs and colourful ethnic traditions. The city is China’s gateway to central Asia, with air links to all the former Soviet states, and is widely regarded as “the city farthest from the ocean”. Lake of Heaven resembles a little piece of Swiss alpine scenery with hills covered by fir trees and the area dotted with tiny Kazak settlements. The local people live in tent-like structures made from animal skin, known as yurts. In winter the road becomes impassable due to snow.
Meals included: 1 breakfast

Day 15: Urumqi-Kashagar
We fly across the Taklamakan Desert to Kashgar, also known as Kashi, the “crown jewel” of the Silk Road. Situated at an altitude of 1,289 metres at the end of the spectacular Karakoram Highway, the city is still an important trading centre. It first fell into Chinese hands nearly 1,000 years ago when extensions to the Great Wall and explorations along the Silk Road opened the area to trade. When the Han Dynasty collapsed, an interregnum followed until the town was captured briefly for the Tang Dynasty before falling again, this time into Arab hands. The great Genghis Khan occupied the city in 1219, and Marco Polo was reputedly a visitor here in 1265.
Meals included: 1 breakfast

Days 16-17: Kashgar
Kashgar is a great place to finish. The colourful Sunday Market sees the town come alive as merchants from near and far bring in their wares. It is a photographer’s dream with the endless stream of fascinating faces and varied activities taking place. Your tour ends after breakfast on Day 17 (Mon). Your Tour Leader will be on hand to assist with your onward arrangements - if you are flying out of Beijing, why not book our Beijing Add-On for convenience?
Meals included: 2 breakfasts