12-Day China Silk Road Tour from Xi’an to Kashgar

Your private guide will be waiting for you in the airport/train station arrivals area. A comfortable vehicle (non-smoking) with an experienced driver will transfer you directly to your hotel. Your guide will help you check in.

Hotel options:
Somerset Xindicheng Xi'an(4-star)
Wyndham Grand Xian South (5-star)

Breakfast and lunch

Xi'an, the eastern end of the Silk Road, your tour starts at the site of the mysterious underground army — meet the life-size Terracotta Army, and you will find the horse are short and small. This is one of the reason that Emperor Wu of Han decided to send the ambassador Zhang Qian to the Western Region-- seek for good steed. It laid the foundation of the silk road.

Then visit a local craftsman in his home — a traditional cave dwelling — where you will learn make a mini terracotta warrior on your own.

After lunch, return to explore unique stalls at the Muslim Quarter and visit the unique Great Mosque, which is an unusual blend of Chinese and Islamic architecture, even the minaret was a Chinese pagoda.

Breakfast

In the morning, have a walk on the ancient city wall. And then pay a visit to Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is part of the Silk Road route。

We will transfer you to the airport to catch your flight to Zhangye.

Hotel options:
Tianyu International Hotel (4-star)
Zhangye Hotel (5-star)

Breakfast and lunch

After breakfast, you will visit the 'Color Palette Overturned by God' — the Zhangye Qicai Danxia National Geological Park, which is home to the Rainbow Mountains.

After returning to the city, enjoy a local lunch and continue to the oldest tower in Zhangye, the Wooden Pagoda Temple.

Admire the largest reclining Buddha in China at the Giant Buddha Temple.

Breakfast and lunch

Drive from Zhangye to Dunhuang. On the way, you will visit a magnificient ancient pass, Jiayuguan Pass. It is the west end of the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty and a well-preserved ancient militery fortress. The tall gate tower, the gobi desert, and the mountains ranges in the distance will make you feel that you have traveled back to the powerful Ming Dynasty.

Have a walk on the Hanging Great Wall which is one part of the Jiayuguan military defense system.

Continue to Dunhuang, you are now at a point of vital strategic and logistical importance, being on a crossroad of two major trade routes within the Silk Road network.

Hotel options:
Dunhuang Hotel (4-star)
The Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel (5-star)

Breakfast and lunch

After breakfast, start your adventure to the Mogao Caves where you will marvel at the exquisite murals and lifelike sculptures.

If you want to see more murals after visiting the Mogao Caves, we will take you to the Dunhuang Research Academy. There, you can linger over copies of murals created by masters and can copy a sample mural on a mud slab with your own hands under the guidance of the teacher.

Visit the Singing Sand Mountains and Crescent Moon Spring in the late afternoon. Ride a camel in the desert and imagine how caravans crossed the desert over 1,000 years ago.

Breakfast and lunch

In the morning, you will visit the ruins of the Great Wall of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). It is the oldest example of this defensive system in China. Check the ruins and you will find it is different from the Great Wall that you have seen in pictures.

After lunch, board the bullet train to Turpan.

Hotel options:
Turpan Friendship Peak Hotel (4-star)
Shuangcheng Hotel (5-star)

Breakfast and lunch

The Emin Minaret is particularly beautiful in the morning, with the shadow of the minaret falling across the mosque. Go into the mosque and try to tell the time by checking the position of the sunlight on the wall.

Then go underground to unveil the secret of the Karez Well System. It's a great place to escape from the heat of the sun.

Instead of building from the ground up, the ancient city of Jiaohe was constructed by digging down into the ground. Explore the ruins of this unique ancient city and learn about the different government structures and residential areas.

Turpan is famous for its grapes so visit a local vineyard and relax as you sit under the grapevines.

Visit Tuyugou Village in the afternoon. It is the oldest Uyghur village with a history of 1,700 years. On the way, you will see the Flaming Mountain.

Breakfast

Visit the Turpan Museum before driving to Urumqi. Every cultural relic in the museum shows you a vivid story of the Silk Road.

Go to the Erdaoqiao Market – the biggest bazaar in Urumqi – and be amazed by the dazzling array of goods.

Hotel options:
Excemon Xinjiang Yilite Hotel (4-star)
Wanda Vista Hotel (5-star)

Breakfast and lunch

After your morning flight from Urumqi to Kashgar, you will start your tour of the westernmost corner of China. Along the Silk Road, Kashgar has been the center of regional trade and cultural exchange for more than two millennia.

Pay a visit to the Id Kah Mosque, the biggest mosque in China. Then walk along the Handicrafts Street, which has an amazing range of handicrafts, including copper, metal, porcelain, woodwork, and other types of goods. Have a break at the ancient teahouse, which has a history of over 100 years, and join in with the local people's conversations and dancing.

Hotel options:
Luxemon Qinibagh Hotel (4-star)
Radisson Blu Kashgar (5-star)

Breakfast and lunch

Drive along the China-Pakistan Highway. Enjoy the seldom-seen scenery of the westernmost point of China.

See one of the best-kept secrets in China: Karakul Lake, a sparkling glacial lake. During the 3-hour drive, you may want to ask the driver to stop so that you can take photos as the scenery is breathtaking. The scenery and lake will draw out your inner photographer.

Snow-capped Muztag Ata and other very tall mountains look like a row of strong guards protecting this land.

Breakfast and lunch

Your guide and driver will take you to Kashgar Airport and wave goodbye to you. You can connect to the main cities in China from this airport.