11 Days Luxurious Silk Road Tour from Xian to Kashgar

Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

The next morning will see you visiting the Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, a must-see when in Xi'an. Around 8,000 ancient, life-sized figures were created to accompany the first Emperor of China to the afterlife, and were part of his mausoleum. Each figure has a unique facial structure and expression, as if they had been made from living people. The warriors were buried with the Emperor in 208BC and were not discovered until 1974.

After the warriors, you will head over to see the Bell Tower, the emblem of Xi’an city. It was used to keep time for the town and to sound alarms. Then you will go to another of the most visited sites in Xi'an, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Built in 652, the pagoda is a repository of Buddhist figures and scriptures brought to Xi'an from India by, Xuanzang, the first abbot of Daci'en Temple. In the evening, you will also enjoy the Tang Dynasty show.

Stay overnight in Xi’an.

Shaanxi History Museum

City Wall of Xi'an

The first trip of the day will be to visit the Shaanxi History Museum, where you can take in the glory and ancient history of China. The museum holds artifacts that date back as far as the Paleolithic era, up to the more recent Qing Dynasty. The museum is packed with thousands of exhibits from all periods of history, and is a busy, popular attraction.

In the afternoon you will be able to enjoy the ancient City Wall of Xi'an by bicycle tour. The wall around the inner part of the city was built in the 14th century and is 14km long. It is an amazing example of ancient defensive structures. Then you will head to the Grand Mosque, a Chinese traditional Alhambresque architecture, with a great combination of Islamic and Chinese culture.

Stay overnight in Xi'an.

Mogao Grottoes

Shazhou Night Market

In the morning, you will be transferred to the airport to take the flight to Dunhuang. After your arrival and check-in in the hotel, we will the famous Mogao Grottoes in the afternoon and walk around the Shazhou Night Market.

The Mogao Grottoes is commonly known as the Thousand-Buddha Grottoes, and is praised as the most valuable cultural discovery of the 20th century. It was built in the pre-Qin Period of the Sixteen Kingdom. Now it has formed a large scale, including 735 caves, 45,000 square meters of frescoes, and 2415 clay figurines, being the largest and most abundant Buddhist art sacred sites in the world. Then when walking around the Shazhou Night Market, you can enjoy tasty snacks and shop some local specialties.

Stay overnight in Dunhuang.

Yumen Pass

The Crescent Lake of Dunhuang

After breakfast, we will drive to the Crescent Lake, which is surrounded by Echoing-Sand Mountain. It is named by the reason that the water surface resembles a crescent moon. You will enjoy the sunrise here and camel riding in the desert. After lunch, we will head to Yumen Pass, the mountain pass fortified in around 121 BC and used as military garrison outpost. It was also the Silk Road gate for traders travelling between Central Asia and China. After that, you will be transferred to the railway station to take the train to Turpan.

Stay overnight on the train.

Astana Tombs

The Hottest Flaming Mountain

In the morning, our tour guide will meet you at the railway station and take you to the hotel for check-in. After that, we will first go to visit the Astana Tombs, the public graveyards of ancient Gaochang urban and rural officials. Formed around the 3rd to 8th century AD, the ancient tombs were buried by divisions of family names, with natural gravel as the boundary and distinct regions. The bodies in the tombs were naturally air-dried and did not rot. What is shocking is that these corpses are so complete that even some eyelashes are clearly visible.

Then, we will head to Tuyoq Valley, a 12-km long primitive Uighur agricultural valley, about 70 km from Turpan. There are vineyards and fields in the northern and southern valleys, with a narrow ravine connecting them. The valley is famous for its seedless grapes and numerous ancient Buddhist meditation caves nearby.

In the end, we will visit the famous Flaming Mountain. Meaning Red Mountain” in Uygur language, it is once called “volcano” because of its hot weather. Since it is famously described in the classic Chinese mythological novel “Journey to the West”, the Flame Mountain becomes a household name in China. When in midsummer, the sky is red, the atmosphere evaporates, and the whole landscape of the mountain is quite spectacular.

Stay overnight in Turpan.

Karez Irrigation System

Sugong Pagoda

Today, we will first visit the Jiaohe Ancient City Ruins, which is located in the western suburbs of Turpan city, on a leaf-shaped plateau between two deep river valleys. The architecture was built earlier than the Qin and Han dynasties but was unfortunately destroyed by the continuous war of the Yuan Dynasty in the first half of the 14th century. Now it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Silk Road Sites.

Then we will head to visit the Karez Irrigation System and Sugong Minaret. The Karez Irrigation System is a unique irrigation system in Turpan, dating back to the ancient times. It takes advantage of the slopes and draws the underground water to flow by itself to irrigate the farmland. The Sugong Minaret was built in the Qing Dynasty and located 2km to the east of the city of Turpan. The surface of the tower is composed of 15 kinds of geometric patterns such as triangular lines, four-petal patterns, water ripples, and rhombuses, which are endlessly varied and have a strong Islamic architectural style.

After that, we will return to Urumqi by bus, and visit the International Bazaar in Urumqi. The Bazaar is the largest one in Urumqi and is quite popular among tourists. Here you can find kinds of goods, like fruits, clothing, knives, carpets etc.

Stay overnight in Urumqi.

Karakul Lake

The Tents beside the Karakul Lake

After breakfast, we will go to the Sunday Bazaar to experience the local life for a while. The Sunday Bazaar is a big market open daily, even though it is the busiest on Sundays. It is crowded with plenty of farmers and buyers, together with their donkey carts, trucks, horses, motorbikes etc.

Then we will head to Karakul Lake, which is located at the foot of the Muztag Ata Peak, and is kilometers from Kashgar. The lake is surrounded by mountains, with lush grasses on the lakeside. Kyrgyz herders are the often residents there. When the weather is fine, the clear water will reflect the silver-colored mountain peaks, and the scenery is picturesque. In summer and autumn, the lake is the base camp for mountaineers and it is also a popular place for visitors to appreciate breathtaking scenery.

Stay overnight in Kashgar.

Apak Hoja Tomb

Handicraft Street

Today we will first visit Apakh Hoja Tomb and the Old Town. The Apakh Hoja Tomb belongs to a large family of five generations. It covers an area of 30 acres and was built around 1640 AD. It is a typical Islamic style tomb building. The tomb is like magnificent palace, consisting of a five-part gatehouse, a mini-temple, a temple for worship, a Buddhist temple, and a tomb. Then you will enjoy a stroll on the streets of the Old Town. Here you will get to understand the ancient city of Kashgar, as the legendary Central Asian hub of Silk Road, while enjoying the culture and history through these small alleys and deep courtyards.

After that, you will visit the Handicraft Street, also known as Zhiren Street. It is a fascinating place gathering many full-time handicraftsmen working on the street. Here you can see a number of traditional Kashgar and mid-Asian handicrafts.

Stay overnight in Kashgar.

On the last day of your tour, you will be transferred to the airport for the flight home or your next destination.