14 Days Silk Road Train Adventure

International flight on your own arrangement. Once arrive in Xi'an ,be met & transferred to your hotel. Feel free at leisure for the rest of the day.

The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses

Visit the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, the Bell Tower and the Wild Goose Pagoda. Enjoy the Tang Dynasty show in the evening.
The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses: The greatest archaeological findings of the century: the army of terra-cotta warriors and the bronze chariots entombed in vast underground vaults at emperor Qin's tomb.
The Bell Tower: The emblem of Xian city.
The Wild Goose Pagoda: The pagoda where widely renowned Master Xuanzang (Monk Tripitaka) stored his classics brought from India.
The Tang Dynasty show: The show that presents the palace dances and sings in the Tang Dynasty when Xian was the capital.

Day 3

Xi'an  Lanzhou by night train

The Ancient City Wall

Visit Shaanxi historical museum, Xian City Wall, The Grand Mosque. You will be transferred to the train station and take the soft sleeper train to Lanzhou
The Provincial Museum: One of the main museums in China which holds numerous unearthed cultural relics of China.
The Ancient City Wall: An extension of the old Tang Dynasty structure boasting the most complete city wall that survives through Chinese long history.

Day 4

Lanzhou  Xiahe (300kms, 4hrs)

Binglinsi Temple

Our nice guide will meet you at the train station! Cruise from Liujiaxia Gorge to Binglingsi (fast boat), Binglingsi Thousand Buddha Caves and after lunch drive to Xiahe to visit Songke Grassland to know about the mysterious Tibetan culture.
Binglingsi Thousand Buddha Caves ： These caves, which stretch for 200 meters, were built during the Western Qin, North Wei, Sui, Tang, and Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties (between the 3rd and 18th centuries). They are highly valued for their contribution to research into the history of Chinese painting, and the spread of Buddhism during that tim

Day 5

Xiahe  Lanzhou  Jiayuguan by soft sleeper train

Labrang Monastery

After Break visit the Labrang Monastery and then back to Lanzhou and take the city Tour. after dinner take the night train to Jiayuguan.
Labrang Monastery: One of the major monasteries of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect. The architectural layout follows the Tibetan style, while the construction patterns are mostly Tibetan, Han, or a mixture of the two. The White Towers (in the northeast and in the northwest) are very typical

The Jiayuguan Pass

Meeting and greeting then visit The Jiayuguan Pass, The Great Wall on the Cliff, Weijin Tomb, and Great Walls Museum.
The Jiayuguan Pass: This Ming Dynasty fort guards the strategic Jiayuguan pass, at the western end of the Great Wall – this was the last section built by the Ming Dynasty. It was built in 1372, and subsequently enlarged and strengthened, and was known as 'the strongest pass under heaven'.
The Great Wall on the Cliff: This is a nearby section of the Great wall which was built on the cliff, and includes sections at a 45 degrees angle, making it seem as if the wall is hanging from a cliff.
Weijin Tomb: About 15 kilometers northeast of Jiayuguan, there are over 1,400 tombs which were built during the Wei and Jin dynasties (between the 3rd and 5th century). They feature brick wall paintings showing various social activities of the times.

Day 7

Jiayuguan  Dunhuang (350kms, 4.5hrs)

Yulin Grottoes

After breakfast drive to Dunhuang and visit Yulin Grottoes on the way.
Yulin Grottoes: These caves, with their murals and sculptures, are in a valley among Qilian Mountain, about 180kms from the Mogao Caves. The name is derived from the elms in the valley, and as you travel along the valley road you can easily imagine how it must have been to be a poet or brave solder in the distant past.

Day 8

Dunhuang  Turpan by train

 Caravan in Sand Dune

After breakfast visit Mogao Grottoes, and in the afternoon visit the Echoing-Sand Mountain and the Crescent Lake where you can experience the camel riding as the Silk Road caravan. Be transferred to the railway station to catch the train to Turpan after dinner
Mogao Grottoes: Constructed over a millennium, from the 4th to the 14th centuries, the caves hold the world's richest treasure house of Buddhist sutras, murals and sculptures. Cameras are not permitted.
Echoing-Sand Mountain: Crescent Moon Spring is 6km south of Dunhuang in the Singing Sands Mountains and is quite literally an oasis in the desert. The spring's name derives from the crescent moon shape taken by the small pool of spring water between two large sand dunes. Although the area is very dry, the pool doesn't dry up as one might expect

Tuyoq Valley

Our professional guide will meet you at the train station and then check in the hotel. Visit Bezklik Grottoes, Astana Tombs, Sugong Minerat and Karez well
Bezklik Grottoes It is located 50 kilometers to the east of Turfan City . “Bezeklik”means “a place with beautiful decoration”. There are 83 numbered caves; among them 40 preserved murals totaling 1200 square meters. These caves are first excavated in Qu`s Gaochang period.
Astana Tombs Located over 40 kilometers to the southeast of Turfan, covering an area of 10 square kilometers, Astana Tombs are the graveyard of the residents lived in the Gaochang City in the Jin-Tang times, including large sized family graveyard. Between 1959 and 1975,here had been excavated 13 times, a great number of cultural relics have been unearthed. Known as “the Underground Museum.
Karez Irrigation System,The Karez System is a unique irrigation system in Turfan, which, taking advantage of the slopes, draws the underground water to flow by itself to irrigate farmland. It consists of four parts: vertical wells, underground channels, ground canals and small reservois
Sugong Minerat, Locatedin Mura Village 2 kilometers to the east of the city of Turfa , theTower was built in the 41st year of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty,It is an embodiment of the ancient architectural arts of the Uygur nationality. The tower is 37 meters high and 10 meters in diameter at the base.

Day 10

Turpan Kashgar by Train

Dinner in the Local Uyghur Family

After break check out the hotel and visit the Jiaohe ruins then head to train station.
The Jiaohe Ruins is located on a mesa in willow leaf shape between the Yarnaz River valleys 10 kilometers to the west of Turfan City. running from northwest to southeast, 1760 meters long and 300 meters across at the widest part. The city includes city gates, streets and lanes, government office, temples, domestic houses, cave houses, wells, and an underground temple.

Idigar Mosque

You will meet our nice guide at noon and explore this city after transferred to the hotel. Then visit Visit  Id Kah Mosque, Abakh Khoja Tomb and the Old Town.
The mosque was built in 1426. It is the largest mosque in Xinjiang and the centre of the Moslem activities
The tomb served as the family tomb of Abakh Khoja, the powerful ruler of Kashgar in the 17th century who was revered as a prophet and second only to Mohammed.
The Old city: traditional uygers live in the city.

Day 12

Kashgar  Karakuli Lake (250kms, 3hrs)

Sunday bazaar

In the early morning visit the Sunday Bazaar then driver to Karakul Lake.
Sunday bazaar: Bazaar means farm trade market in Uygur. The bazaar in Kashgar is the biggest one in Xinjiang.
Karakul Lake,At an altitude of 3,600 m. it is the highest lake of the Pamir plateau, near the junction of the Pamir, Tianshan and Kunlun Mountain ranges. Surrounded by mountains which remain snow-covered throughout the year, the three highest peaks visible from the lake are the Muztag Ata (7546m), Kongur Tagh (7,649m) and Kongur Tiube (7,530 m). The lake is popular among travellers for its beautiful scenery and the clarity of its reflection in the water, whose color ranges from a dark green to azure and light blue. There are two Kirgiz settlements along the shore of Karakul Lake, a small number of yurts about 1km east of the bus drop-off point and a village with stone houses located on the western shores.

Day 13

Kashgar  Urumqi

Xinjiang Museum

In the morning take the flight to Urumqi and visit the Xinjiang Provincial museum upon arrival. And then take the city tours.
Xinjiang Museum,the museum is the main institution to collect and investigate the unearthed cultural relics and specimens in Xinjiang. There are more than 50 thousand pieces of various kinds of cultural relics stored in the museum, among them, the ancient mummies represented by ‘the Loulan Beauty', manuscripts in Chinese, Kharosthi, Qiuci, Yanji, Tibetan, Uigurian and other characters prevailed in ancient Westen Regions, the silk ,wool, cotton and hemp fabrics and folk rainment, etc., are unusual tidbits in the world.
The Erdaoqiao Bazaar is the largest in Urumqi. You'll find a bustling market filled with fruit, clothing, crafts, knives, carpets and almost anything that you can imagine. On Sunday, there are more stalls and more goods to buy than any other day. The old streets around the bazaar are really worth seeing.Here is the most welcomed place by tourist especialy by ladies where they can buy some traditional yugur make up cosmetic.

Day 14

Urumqi Your destination

In the morning you will leave Urumqi to your next destination. (The airfare and the tax is on your own, but we can help you book the ticket, and the service is free)