Take your international flight to Beijing, upon arrival, our English-speaking guide will be waiting for you at the airport, transfer to hotel and check in.

Accommodation: Jianguo Hotel Qianmen, 4-star

Transfer to airport, take a morning flight to Urumqi. You will arrive at Urumqi in the afternoon, pick up from the airport and transfer to hotel and check in. Have a rest or explore the city on your own. Our Silk Road summer tour will start tomorrow from Turpan. 

Accommodation: Hot Tak Hotel, 5-star

 

 

Send you to railway station, onboard the train 7556 (10:44am/12:33pm) to Turpan, with train tickets that we deliver to you in advance, upon arrival at Turpan, our local guide will pick you up, transfer to the hotel for check-in. Then lunch at noon.

In the afternoon, visit Emin minaret which was built in 1777 by a local hereditary religious leader of Turpan. The ancient city of Jiaohe is located on a bluff above the confluence of two rivers. Here the excavation is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and in recent years, some major discoveries of Buddhist pagodas and temples have also been made. And the final visit today is the Turpan Museum.

Accommodation: Tuha Petroleum Hotel, 4-star

Morning: visit Bezeklic Caves (from 4th century), and Astana Tombs (3rd century burial ground for the nobles of Gaochang Kingdom, now known by archaeologists as an underground museum). We also visit the Gaochang Ruins (ancient Chinese garrison town on the silk road 1st century AD), where you will be taken by donkey cart to visit the temple area. 

Afternoon: visit Toyuk Village which is located at the foot of the Flaming Mountain Gorge, a beautiful landscape with the special local flavor, and cultural relics such as the Buddha caves and an Islamic shrine. 

Accommodation: Tuha Petroleum Hotel, 4-star

After breakfast, let’s drive to Korla (390km/6 hrs), through the Toksun Gorge. Upon arrival we visit Bosten Lake which is the largest fresh water lake in China. We take a boat-trip on the lake to enjoy the beautiful reeds, and lotus around the lake. 

Accommodation: Loulan Hotel, 4-star

After breakfast, drive to Kuqa (286km/4 hrs), the centre of the ancient Quici Kingdom, which was once one of the most powerful Buddhist kingdoms in central Asia. Visit the ancient city of Subashi, and take a walk through the old town area, including a visit to the Kuqa Museum. 

Accommodation: Kucha Hotel VIP Building, 3-star

Today we visit the Kyzil Buddha Caves; they are among the earliest of Buddhist cave sites in China and show strong design styling from Persia, India and even with central Asian and Greco-Roman influences. 

Afternoon: visit to the Kyzil-gaha Beacon Tower (2nd century BC ancient military communication system on the Silk Road). 

Dinner will be served at Kuqa Imperial Palace with minority dance show. 

Accommodation: Kucha Hotel VIP Building, 3-star

Khotan is home to some very well known archaeological sites in China, and in late 18th century many explorers, from England, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, came to Khotan where some of them almost lost their lives in the desert. All of adventures are described in Peter Hopkirk’s book “Foreign Devils on the Silk Road".
 
Today we will drive (780km/11hrs – with frequent stops on the way and enjoy the gorgeous scenery of the shifting sand dunes and desert bushes, picnic lunch en route) through the second largest desert in the world after the Sahara, the Taklamakan Desert. Taklamakan means no return in local Uygur language. The desert road was completed by the government in 1994, and is the longest desert road in the world. 

Accommodation: Hotan Hotel, 3-star 

Morning drive to Qiraa County Damoko Site (140km, world famous archaeological sites at the edge of the Taklamakan desert, and at the ends of 19th century many explorers such as British Aurel Stein, Swedish Swenheden, French Paul Pelliot, Japanese Ottano etc. came to the village and took many precious artifacts out of the country and almost lost their lives there, especially the wooden inscribed statues with characteristic of Persian and Gandharan art style which were now at the British Museum and Guimet Art Museum of Paris, draw the attention of the global specialists. so many adventurous experiences of those explorers books has made Damoko Village even more famous, recently Chinese Central government invested money for the excavation to the sites and has founded world surprising mini Buddhist temple of 5th century with the freshly preserved murals, and only 0ct. 2008 opened to the visitors). In Damoko Village we will visit the Little Monastery Museum. We will see many perfect frescos with Kandahar style, smallest monastery in the world (4.5 sq.m) and many other perfect national treasures. 

Special lunch in the village, back to the city and visit local family workshops of tie-dyed silk jade carving, silk carpet factory. 

Accommodation: Hotan hotel, 3-star

Morning: visit the ancient Buddhist Rawaq Pagoda Ruins which were built during the Tang Dynasty in 6th century AD, and were a combination of Persian and Indian architectural styles. Here we will also be able to enjoy camel riding. 

Afternoon: visit to the local Uygur Silk Village of Jiya. Here we will see traditional Uygur silk production called Atlas which is tie dye raw silk, loved by central Asian Uygur and Uzbek women since the Han Dynasty 2nd century. In this village, farmers still raise silk worms and will show us the whole procedure of making the beautiful floral silk material. 

Khotan is renowned for its silks, carpets and jade, which are considered the finest in China. We will visit a jade factory in the late afternoon. 

Today we drive to the oasis city of Kashgar (510km/ 8 hrs), the most western gate of China. It was a prosperous city 2,000 years ago in central Asia, and now continues its role as a cultural cross road. Traders still cross the borders with the former Soviet Union and Pakistan to do business in the local markets. 

On the way we drive through many oasis towns including Yarkent which is mostly populated by Uygur ethnic people. Yarkent was the capital of the ancient Uygur Karakhanid Dynasty, and during the silk road trade period it was called the spice route to and from Persia and Afganistan. You will visit the ruins of the king mausoleum at Yarkent.

Accommodation: Kashgar International Hotel, 4-star

Today we drive to Karakul Lake (396km round trip) on the way enjoying the scenery of the magnificent Karakoram Highway, such as glacier and felt camp.

Accommodation: Kashgar International Hotel, 4-star

Morning will be spent at the Sunday Market – taking in all areas of the market place – the boot, hat, textile and spice markets as well as the livestock market (which is now located in another area of the city). We also visit the Mausoleum of Abjak Hoja (a 17th century Muslim leader), and take a walk through the old town quarter. Visit the busiest, and some say the biggest, mosque in China, Id Kah Mosque, occupies the central square of Kashgar, where it has stood since 1442. 

The streets are full of craftsmen including musical instrument craftsmen, jewelers, goldsmiths, etc. 

After dinner, take an evening flight to Urumqi. 

Accommodation: Hot Tak Hotel, 5-star 

Transfer to airport, help you onboard the flight to Beijing. Transfer to hotel, rest of the day is on your own.

Accommodation: Jianguo Hotel Qianmen, 4-star

Transfer to airport, help you onboard your international flight. End of the Silk Road Summer trip!