The Silk Road 18 Days

Live history as you travel along the fabled Silk Road through deserts and distant outposts, following the ancient route of merchants, explorers, and religious teachers who changed history.

Beijing • Great Wall • Xian • Lanzhou • Xiahe • Dunhuang • Turpan • Kashgar • Shanghai

• Itinerary and Tour Map
  

  Day 1 – Arrive Beijing
  Arrive Beijing airport where you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
  Stay three nights at the Novotel Peace Hotel.
  Day 2 – Beijing
  Tour the major sites of Beijing – the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven. In the evening be entertained by a Kong Fu Show. (B,L,D)
  Day 3 – Great Wall excursion
  Witness the traditional craft of cloisonné at a workshop on the drive to the Great Wall of China. Visit the section known as Badaling Remnant Great Wall, where there’ll be plenty of time to walk on this amazing structure and take photos. Stop at the Ming Tombs to stroll along the Sacred Way lined with animal statues. Enjoy a Peking Duck banquet for dinner. (B,L,D)
  Day 4 – Beijing – Xian
  Take a tour of the Hutongs, an area of narrow lanes and traditional homes typical of early Beijing. Transfer to the rail station for the high speed train to Xian, the start of the Silk Road.
  Stay two nights at the Grand Noble Hotel. (B,L)
  Day 5 – Xian
  The amazing archaeological relics of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses are visited today. See the large exhibition halls where excavation work is still going on. Later visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and its northern square before ending the day with a traditional Dumpling Banquet and Tang Dance show. (B,L,D)
  Day 6 – Xian – Lanzhou
  Visit the City Wall and the Shaanxi Museum this morning before boarding a high speed train to Lanzhou.
  Stay two nights at the Jinjiang Sunshine Hotel. (B,L)
  Day 7 – Lanzhou
  Travel out to Yongling County through vast corn fields to the Liujiaxia Resevoir. Take a boat across to the Bingling Thousand Buddha Cave, one of the best preserved collections of cave art in China. (B,L,D)
  Day 8 – Lanzhou – Xiahe
  Travel by road to Xiahe, nestled in a beautiful mountain valley and known as “Small Tibet”. Encounter Han Chinese, Muslim and Tibetan people, all with different lifestyles.
  Stay one night at the Baoma Hotel. (B,L,D)
  Day 9 – Depart Xiahe
  Step into another world at Labuleng Monastery, the most revered centre for Tibetan studies outside Lhasa. Travel back to Lanzhou to board an overnight train to Dunhuang.
  Stay one night on overnight train. (B,L)
  Day 10 – Arrive Dunhuang
  Arrive Dunhuang and check into your hotel. After breakfast and time to refresh, view Buddhist art in the dramatic cliff setting of the Mogao Caves.
  Stay one night at the Grand Sun Hotel Dunhuang. (B,L,D)
  Day 11 – Dunhuang – Turpan
  Encounter the singing sand dunes surrounding Crescent Moon Lake, with time to climb the dunes or take a camel ride. Transfer to Liuyuan railway station for the high speed train to Turpan.
  Stay three nights at the Huozhou Hotel. (B,L,D)
  Day 12 – Turpan
  Visit the Imin Mineret and the ruins of the ancient city of Jiaohe, ransacked by Genghis Khan. Tour a karez, the region’s unique and ancient underground irrigation system. (B,L,D)
  Day 13 – Turpan
  Visit Gaochang City ruins, Astana Tomb and have lunch with a local Uyghur family. See the Flaming Mountain, Bezekik Buddhist Caves and an evening performance of dancing and singing by the Uyghur people. (B,L,D)
  Day 14 – Turpan – Kashgar
  Travel by coach to Urumqi then fly to exotic Kashgar in far north-west China, a major trading hub of the Silk Road for over 2000 years. Visit Idkah Mosque and Abakh Hoja Tomb.
  Stay two nights at the Tianyuan International Hotel. (B,L,D)
  Day 15 – Kashgar Bazaar
  Most of the day is devoted to the mind boggling Sunday Bazaar – without doubt the best of its type in Asia! The town’s population swells by tens of thousands as people flock in to sell an amazing array of wares and livestock to buyers from Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and eastern China. Explore the old town in the afternoon. (B,L,D)
  Day 16 – Kashgar – Shanghai
  See local artisans at work in the arts and crafts street. Fly to Shanghai.
  Stay two nights at the Sofitel Hyland Hotel. (B,L)
  Day 17 – Shanghai
  Start the day with a panoramic view over the city from the sightseeing floor in the 2^nd Sphere of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Learn about Shanghai’s development from a small village to the present metropolis at the History Museum at the base of the tower. Visit the classical Yu Garden and enjoy a farewell dinner this evening. (B,L)
  Day 18 – Depart Shanghai
  Transfer to the airport for your flight home. (B)

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• Group departure dates and prices

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  Prices are per person, in Australian dollars.  Please confirm prices when booking.

• Price Includes:
  • • 16 nights in quality, well located 4 star hotels, or best available in remote areas.
    • 1 night on overnight train, Lanzhou-Dunhuang, soft class, two berth sleeping compartment.
    • 17 breakfasts, 16 lunches, 11 dinners, plus a glass of local beer, tea or bottled water with lunch and dinner
    • All transfers, sightseeing, entrance fees, evening entertainment
    • Flights Urumqi-Kashgar-Shanghai, airport and airline taxes and fuel surcharges
    • High speed trains Beijing-Xian-Lanzhou, Liuyuan-Turpan, first class seats

   
  Price Excludes:

  • Visa fees
  • Gratuities

   
  Tour prices and inclusions based on a minimum of 6 passengers.