It was the world's
first superhighway, a series of desert and mountain crossing that
enabled silk to make its way from the ancient Chinese capital of Xi'an.
The Silk Road allowed links between China and the West to flourish, an
exchange of art, ideas and culture as well as trade.
Long before Xi'an
became famed internationally for its silk, China's first emperor was
embarking on a remarkable project which has survived almost intact to
this day, over a spell of two thousand years. The terracotta warrior
tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, with its rows and rows of thousands of
clay warriors - each with a different expression - is one of the most
stupendous sights in the world.
Day by day Itinerary
Day1.Fligt in to xi'an
Take a
direct flight from Beijing to Xian - the
capital of 12 dynasties in Chinese history and starting point for the
great trade caravans of the ancient Silk Road. The importance and
prosperity of this ancient capital left behind a wealth of valuable
historical sites and fabulous archaeological discoveries.
Day2. Xi'an
The day's
highlight will be a visit to the amazing Terracotta Warriors - a world
famous archaeological site. Next you will visit the Huaqing Hot Spring,
once the favourite bathroom for the Tang Dynasty Concubine Yang Kui Fe.
Browse the National Museum of Shaanxi History. Enjoy a dumpling
banquet.
Day3. Xi'an / Lanzhou Approx. 1 hour flight
Morning take Car drive to Xiahe to
visit Lahborun monstary which is the maximal Tibtan lamasery.Over night
at the hotel there.
Day4. Xihe / Lanzhou /
Jiayuguan Approx 10 hours by over night train
The first pass at
the west end of the Great Wall--Jiayuguan Pass.Visit the Jiayuguan Pass,
the Wei-Jin Art Gallery and the First Fire Tower of Great Wall.After
drive to Dunhuang by Car
Day5. Dunhuang
Dunhuang, meaning "Blazing
Beacon", was the centre of cultural and economic exchange between the
East and the West. Leading institutes of the world regard the Dunhuang
collection as an important source of studying Chinese culture, with a
stream called "Dunhuangology". Visits will be made to the County Museum,
with exhibits from Mogao Caves and sacrificial objects from the Han to
Tang Dynasties; and the Yangguan Pass, south-west of Dunhuang with
eroded Han Dynasty beacon towers.
Day6. Dunhuang / Liuyuan
Station / Turpan
Overnight train Spend the morning at the
world-renowned Mogao Caves - the largest and richest ancient art
treasure in the world and also "World Heritages" site by the UNESCO in
1987. Try sand surfing or camel riding around the Mingsha Sand Dunes and
mysterious Crescent Moon Lake. Transferred to the Station for an
overnight train to Turpan.
Day7. Turpan
Transferred to
hotel for breakfast and a rest. After lunch, visit the Emin Minaret, a
typical Uygur architecture; the Karez - an amazing irrigation system
which made Turpan a rich oasis; and the Ancient City of Jiaohe - a
UNESCO "Natural Heritage" site. Be the guest of a Uygur family and
savour specialties like milk tea, nan, shish kebabs and poluo rice etc.
Return to the hotel for the Uygur performance.
Day8. Turpan / Urumqi
Coach
Drive past the Flaming Mountain, made famous by the story of the Monkey
King; take a donkey cart ride around the Ancient City of Gaochang which
contains traces of Nestorian, Christian, Persian and Manichean
influences; and the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. Travel to Urumqi -
the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Enjoy
souvenirs-shopping at the Bazaar.
Day9. Urumqi
Cruise around
the Heavenly Lake which is surrounded by alpine meadows and rugged
snow-capped mountains densely covered in fir, pine and cypress. After
lunch, visit the Xinjiang Regional Museum with exhibits on
archaeological treasures from the Silk Road including 3000-year-old
mummies and the carpet factory.
Day10. Urumqi / Karshgar Approx. 1.5 hours flight
Take
a flight to Kashka,and chickin to your hotel.
Day11. Karshgar
Trips Around Karshgar
Day12.
Trips Around
Karshgar,afternoon flight back to Urumqi
then fly back to Beijing ,end this
trip
Packages: in Chinese
RMB.￥. per
group
|
2 - 3 star
standard |
Groups
of 1p / 40,000Y |
Groups
of 2 p / 54,400Y |
|
Groups
of 3 p / 69,800Y |
Groups
of 4 p / 85,800Y |
|
Groups
of 5 p / 100,800Y |
Groups
of 6 p / 116,000Y |
| 4 - 5 star standard |
Groups of 1p / 60,000Y |
Groups of 2 p / 80,000Y |
|
Groups of 3 p / 100,000Y |
Groups of 4 p / 120,000Y |
|
Groups of 5 p / 140,000Y |
Groups of 6 p / 160,000Y |
Terms:
Payment in advance please!
Totel price
includes: domestic
flight, local transport with
driver, guide, hotel includes all meals / twin / double
rooms.
National holidays
will incure an additional cost of 30% due to increased hotel and other
prices.
The package will excludes: national holidays
increased hotel and other prices, entrances, insurance, any of medical
treatment cost.
You should check that
your own travel insurance cavers you for any of these
activities.
Please confirm that the Eco-tours of Buena Vista Club are Not Liable for any
accidents.
Silk Road Around
Taklamakan
The Silk Road
evokes exotic images of long caravan lines stretching across vast sand
dunes and dusty travelers relaxing in the shade of a desert oasis.
Skirting the deadly Taklamakan Desert to the north and south, the Silk
Road took tradesmen and monks, across mountains, deserts and seas from
Europe to Asia. The commercial system of oasis settlements across the
desert enabled the spread of goods, religious beliefs (Buddhism, Islam,
Christianity), and science and technology. The Silk Road and its many
towns and cities were forever immortalized in Marco Polo's accounts of
his travels.
Our journey
skirts around and crosses over the treacherous Taklamakan. We start in
the provincial capital of Urumqi before heading out to Kashgar, the
final settlement in China before the Silk Road crossed into Central
Asia. The colorful markets here still bustle with activity, and are a
testament to the importance Kashgar once played on this ancient trading
route. From Kashgar, we journey to Khotan, home to beautifully
handcrafted silks that are famous across Central Asia for their rich
colors and intricate designs. We then cross the Taklamakan Desert to
finish our adventure in Kucha, home to the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves
and site of pre-Islamic Buddhist civilization. Weather permitting, we
can camp in the Taklamakan before reaching Kucha, which is an amazing
opportunity to experience the awesome isolation of the
desert.
Day by day
itinerary
Day 1: Urumqi to Kashgar
Our journey
begins in Urumqi. During our brief stay we visit the Xinjiang Regional
Museum. Although the facilities here are not as modern as other museums
around China, the collection does contain some interesting treasures
from the Silk Road and Xinjiang's minority cultures. Of particular
interest are several mummies whose physique and attire attest to both
the diversity and wealth found along the Silk Road thousands of years
ago. After dinner, we fly
to Kashgar.
Day 2:
Kashgar
Kashgar is the largest
oasis city in Chinese Central Asia. We schedule our arrival to coincide
with the Sunday morning bazaar, a massive gathering of farmers and
merchants from across the area. This colorful and lively market provides
a great opportunity to pick up some of the Silk Road's most interesting
souvenirs, from hand made leather boots, to traditional musical
instruments, to bags of fresh spices. Kashgar is also the heart of Islam
within China, and thus we pay a visit to the Id Kah Mosque, the largest
in mosque in China. This beautifully decorated mosque more closely
resembles a mosque in Pakistan or Afghanistan than China, and will
attract up to 10,000 worshippers for Friday prayers. In the evening, we
enjoy a Tajik dance performance.
Day 3: Kashgar to
Khotan
We rise early to drive
across the desert to Khotan (Hetian). The modern conveniences of air
conditioned vehicles provides a much more comfortable alternative to
traversing this route on camel back. The road to Khotan is lined with
many small oasis towns, and occasionally we stop to visit the local
mosques and bazaars. Yarkand (Shache), for example, once had a larger
bazaar than Kashgar and today retains the quaint atmosphere of a small
trading town. If you're up for a bit of a culinary adventure, you can
sample some of the traditional specialties such as laghman, a kind of
noodle, poluo, a tasty fried rice pilaf, or even goat's head soup! Of
course, the most popular food, lamb kebab seasoned with Xinjiang spices,
is everywhere. In the late afternoon, we arrive at Khotan, and explore
the city on donkey-drawn carts.
Day 4: Khotan to
Kucha via Tazhong
For
centuries, Khotan was an important supplier of jade, silk, and carpets
on the Silk Road. These goods - such as the traditional hand woven
Aidelaixi silk, and intricately embroidered wool carpets - were
treasured in China and Central Asia for their outstanding craftsmanship.
We visit one or two family workshops to see how carpets, silk, and other
handicrafts are traditionally made, and have the opportunity to pick up
some of these treasures for ourselves. We then set out for Tazhong,
crossing over the heart of the Taklamakan Desert. If departing during
the summer, we have the option to camp overnight in the desert. As we
sit beneath the enormous desert night sky, warming ourselves around a
campfire - we can begin to appreciate our relation to the vast and
uncompromising wilderness around us.
Day 5: Tazhong to
Kucha
After crossing the
Taklamakan Desert, we will arrive at Kucha on the Northern Silk Road.
This quaint oasis town, not often visited today, was once the center of
a Buddhist civilization in the Tarim Basin. On the outskirts of the
present day town lie the ruins of an ancient capital, and scattered
around the surrounding countryside are several grotto complexes, which
attest to the significance Buddhism once played here. The most important
of these is the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves. Having arrived in the late
afternoon, we first freshen up at the hotel before a traditional dinner
of Uygur food at a local restaurant.
Day 6:
Kucha
During the cool of the morning, we have time to roam
through the open Kucha bazaar and see the local mosque before heading
out to the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves in the afternoon. The Grottos
hold some of the most impressive Buddhist art in Central Asia and date
to the third century. Unfortunately, many of the finer frescoes were
removed by foreign archeologists in the early twentieth century;
however, what remains is truly worth the visit. The surrounding
countryside is pretty area of mulberry and poplar trees and streams,
which make for a very pleasant afternoon.
Day 7: Kucha to
Urumqi
We explore some of the other Buddhist grottos around Kucha
today. On our way to the Kizilya Valley, where the rocks in the red
mountain appear to be the result of a huge explosion, we visit the ruins
of the ancient city of Subashi, or "old Kucha." In the evening, we take
a flight to Urumqi.
Overnight in Urumqi.
Day 8:
Urumqi
The morning is at our
leisure before and you will board your flight back
home.
Packages:
in USD $. per group
Packages: in Chinese
RMB.￥. per
group
|
2 - 3 star
standard |
Groups
of 1p / 26,000Y |
Groups
of 2 p / 34,000Y |
|
Groups
of 3 p / 42,000Y |
Groups
of 4 p / 50,000Y |
|
Groups
of 5 p / 58,000Y |
Groups
of 6 p / 66,000Y |
| 4 - 5 star standard |
Groups of 1p / 36,000Y |
Groups of 2 p / 48,000Y |
|
Groups of 3 p / 60,000Y |
Groups of 4 p / 72,000Y |
|
Groups of 5 p / 84,000Y |
Groups of 6 p / 96,000Y |
Terms:
Payment in advance please!
Totel price
includes: domestic
flight, local transport with
driver, guide, hotel includes all meals / twin / double
rooms.
National holidays
will incure an additional cost of 30% due to increased hotel and other
prices.
The package will excludes: national holidays
increased hotel and other prices, entrances, insurance, any of medical
treatment cost.
You should check that
your own travel insurance cavers you for any of these
activities.
Please confirm that the Eco-tours of Buena Vista Club are
Not Liable
for any accidents.
