10 Days Silk Road Tour from Xining to Urumqi

Today your flight will touch down in Xining, the capital city of Qinghai. When you arrive at Xining you can meet your driver at the Airport, and then your driver will take you to the hotel to relax. Finally, I would like to wish you have a pleasant journey and Bon voyage.

Situated on the edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and heavily populated by minority groups, Xining has earned a reputation as one of the more mysterious and diverse cities in China.

The Qinghai Lake trip generally includes a stop at Xining's other gem, after enjoy your nice buffet breakfast at the hotel,then we will take you to visit Ta'er monastery (Kumbum Monastery), which is the centre of Tibetan Buddhism in Northwest China, and enjoys a high reputation in China and Southeast Asia. Next, travel to the beautiful Qinghai Lake, This is the largest inland salt water lake in China. It is no exaggeration to say that Qinghai Lake is a miracle that is endowed by a deity. Outside, He encircled the lake with four continuous mountains and extends broad grassland at the foot of them. Inside, like a master baker, He decorated the water with many little islands. All these natural attractions come together perfectly to form a Xanadu on earth to win many tourists' favour. 

After breakfast at the hotel, our professional tour guide will bring you to visit the Grand Buddha Temple, which is one of the important travel destinations of the Silk Road, where you can visit the largest indoor clay statue of Buddha in China and the exquisite mural sculptures plus the ancient buildings. 

Then we will head to visit the Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, which is 64.7 kilometres (One hour) , it is situated in the north of Qilian mountains. The area includes the colour hills in Linze country, ice hills, Danxia GanZhou District and PingShan lake. The scenic Danxia, is a distance of 40 km from east Zhangye city, north from Linze county town by 20 km, this is the most typical arid area of northern China. 

Today we will drive to Jiayuguan and begin our journey to the Jiayuguan Fortress. Standing among vast desert and surrounded by rolling mountains,it looks like a dignified general guarding the grand land. It was constructed with the most integrated defensive system: an inner city, an outer city, and a moat. Besides functioning as a frontier military fortress, it was also an important traffic hub along the Silk Road, the oldest worldwide trading route.

After that, you will explore the Great Wall Museum, which was opened to the public in October 1989 and it is the first one to exhibit the Great Wall culture in a comprehensive and systematic way.

Continue the sightseeing to renowned underground gallery Weijin Tombs. There we can enjoy lifelike and succinct wall paintings covering a wide range of subjects including politics, economics, culture, military affairs, folk customs, and science and technology during the Wei and Jin periods (4AD)

Today we will drive to Dunhuang to appreciate the Holy Center of Buddhism Culture and Art-UNESCO of Mogao Grottoes, enjoying the 40mins 4D movie to learn the development of the grottoes and then we will be escorted by the professional guides from Mogao to enjoy the the 8 caves mainly.

After an extraordinary day, freshen up and enjoy a good dinner, we continue to appreciate the bustling Shazhou Night Markets dotted with special commodities and souvenirs.

Today is another day to explore Dunhuang.

Morning meet your guide and driver at the hotel, then head 2hours to vist the Yangguan Pass, a scenic spot built on the basis of the ancient Yangguan Site. There you can appreciate ancient buildings and exhibition halls displaying  cultural relics and historical sites on the ancient Silk Road.

Then we will be visiting the Yumenguan Pass, it got the name because the famous Khotan jade entered the Dunhuang from here. Yumenguan pass and Yangguan pass were the two critical defensive passes protecting Dunhuang from invasion from the West about thousands of year ago. From here you can not only learn more history and culture about the ancient Silk Road, but also learn many famous poems of Tang Dynasty. 

Thereafter, we will travel to the amazing Yardan National Geological Park, also called "Yadan Ghost City", which is the largest one of Yadan Landform found so far. The park stretches twenty-five kilometers from north to south and about two kilometers from east to west. It features the unique and wonderful scenes and landscapes of Gobi desert.

Today we are going to appreciate the Echoing Sand Mountain, where you can ride the camels for 40mins to experience the beautiful desert scenery in the sunset. It is also fun to climb up to the top of the sand dune by the ladders to have the bird-view of the park and slide down to the bottom.

Afterwards, say farewell to Dunhuang as we will take high-speed train to Turpan, a pivotal city along the Silk Road. Enjoy the scenery of Jiaohe Ruins, resembles Pompei, but 300 years older，a Chinese archaeological site found in the Yarnaz Valley, 10 km west of the city of Turpan and a natural fortress located atop a steep cliff on a leaf-shaped plateau between two deep river valleys where you can experience the way of life of the Uygur ancestors.

Continue tour to Tuyoq Valley, an ancient oasis-village. We will have lunch in the local Uighur family before exploring this traditional village surrounded by the impressive grape trellis and the stories of the adventurers all of the world. Following is the visiting to Sugong Minaret, a conduit for cultural exchange between different ethnic and religious groups.

Back to Urumqi and head to visit Grand International Bazaar where you can watch Uygur dance show and taste local delicacies.

We will drive 1.5 hours to entrance of the Heavenly Lake about 08:30, following is the 40-minutes shuttle bus twisting through the picturesque Tianshan mountains to the edge of the Lake. Either Trek around the lake, enjoy the boating cruise, or even take the cable car to the explore the Maya Mountain for the incredible view of Bogoda Peak. Lunch will be arranged in the Yurt of the local Kazakhs. 

Back to Urumqi and head to Xinjiang Regional Museum, where are many archaeological treasures of the Silk Road and Xinjiang's minority cultures. You will learn about the history of Xinjiang and its peculiar ethnic customs. If time allowed, you will visit Grand International Bazaar and have dinner there.

Today you will say goodbye to Urumqi, be transferred based on your flight or train schedule. Wish you a pleasant journey home!