Silk Road Pilgrimage

Welcome to start your northwestern China adventure! Whether you arrive by air or high-speed railway to Lanzhou, please make your own way to the hotel we have reserved for you.

► Transportation Reference: 
1. From Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport (LHW): Direct flights are available from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Osaka; connecting flights from Shanghai, Beijing, or Chengdu are also available. Upon arrival, a taxi to your hotel takes about 1 hour 10 minutes and costs about USD 45. For a budget alternative, take a high‑speed train C610, C604, or C616 from Level B2 of Terminal 2/3 to Lanzhou Railway Station, then a taxi to your hotel, with a total travel time of nearly 2 hours and a fare of USD 8.

2. From Lanzhou West Railway Station: If arriving by high‑speed rail from cities such as Beijing, Xi’an, or Guangzhou, take Rail Transit Line 1 for 5 stops to Wenhuagong (Exit C), transfer to Bus 136, 106, or 130 to Yongchang Road South Entrance, then walk north 2 minutes to your hotel. The trip takes about 30 minutes and costs USD 0.7. A taxi takes 20 minutes and costs USD 6.►Free-time Inspirations in Lanzhou
After dropping off your luggage, you can rest at the hotel or explore the city on your own. A good starting point is the Gansu Provincial Museum, which is a 15‑minute taxi ride (USD 4) or a 30‑minute bus ride (Bus 136 or 106, USD 0.3) from your hotel. Inside the museum, you can dive into the rich history of the Silk Road and gain a playful snapshot of ancient Chinese life through pottery of human and animal figurines in whimsical shapes and vivid expressions. Don’t miss the Bronze Galloping Horse, once praised by Queen Elizabeth II as “the brightest star.”
● Entry to the museum is free, but reservations are required. If you wish to visit, simply inform us early and we will handle the reservation for you. Note: The museum is closed every Monday.

From the museum, take Metro Line 1 (30 min, USD 0.3) or a taxi (10 min, USD 3) to the Yellow River Mother Sculpture. Then head to White Pagoda Park via Bus 25 (25 min, USD 0.3) or taxi (10 min, USD 3) for a panoramic view of the city and the Yellow River. A 15‑minute walk will lead you to Zhangshan Bridge over the river; cross it, and another 15‑minute walk will bring you to Zhangye Road Pedestrian Street, where you can sample local snacks like sizzling lamb skewers or creamy fermented rice. From there, it’s a 15‑minute walk south back to your hotel.

Accommodation: Mercure Lanzhou Zhengning Road (4 stars)

After check-out this morning, please follow Day 1’s transport instructions in reverse to reach Lanzhou West Railway Station by yourself. Here, take the 2-hour high-speed train we’ve booked for you to Zhangye. Upon arrival, your private local guide and driver will pick you up at the exit of Zhangye West Railway Station. 

Hopping on your private car, let’s head directly to the Giant Buddha Temple. According to local legend, in 1098 AD a state preceptor, while on retreat here, heard string and wind music coming from underground. Following the sound, he dug and unearthed a green jade reclining Buddha statue. Taking this as a divine omen, he petitioned the emperor for permission to build this temple on the site. Once you step inside the temple, along the central axis, you’ll enter the main hall centered on a 1.2‑meter‑high (4-foot) lotus‑shaped altar, on which rests a colossal reclining Buddha measuring 34.5 meters (113 feet) in length, eyes closed as if in a deep, peaceful slumber. Thanks to its ingenious hollow‑core clay‑over‑wood construction and built-in ventilation channels, which allow air to circulate, the statue has survived nearly a millennium. It is truly a testament to the advanced engineering of its time. 

Leaving the temple, we’ll drive 50 minutes to Danxia Geopark, a geological wonderland famed for its vividly colored sandstone hills. Before modern science, myth offered its own explanation for the formation of this magnificence: seven celestial maidens, on a visit to the mortal world, left behind their colorful silk ribbons in their haste to return to heaven, which turned into the vibrant, undulating mountains we see today. Geologists now attribute this landscape to tectonic shifts and erosion that occurred between 135 and 65 million years ago. From the viewing platform, you can admire not only the vivid hues of Danxia landform, but also the signature that our planet has left through its slow geological processes. We’ll surely not let you miss the most brilliant moment. As the golden light of sunset spills over the ridges like honey, brushes across the ravines, and ignites layers of red, orange, yellow, and muted purplish‑grey, the sandstone hills stacked like pages of an ancient book transform before your eyes and each ripple and crevice glows with a soft, diffused warmth.
► Photography Tip: Dark or solid‑colored clothing, such as black or red, and sunglasses and a scarf can help you capture striking photos.

At the end of the day, your guide and driver will escort you to the hotel that we handpicked for you for check-in. 

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Ducheng Holiday Hotel, Zhangye (4 stars)

This morning, please make your way to Zhangye West Railway Station for a 1‑hour 20‑minute high‑speed train to Jiayuguan. The train ticket is included in our price, and we’ll reserve a second-class seat for you. Upon arrival, proceed to the hotel we’ve booked for you from Jiayuguan South Railway Station.

► Transportation Reference:
1. Hotel → Zhangye West Railway Station: A taxi takes about 10 minutes and costs around USD 1. By bus, walk 5 minutes east to Zhangye Middle School Bus Stop, take Bus 20 for 4 stops to Jingfuningyuan Market, then walk 12 minutes south to the station. The total journey takes about 30 minutes and costs USD 0.3.

2. Jiayuguan South Railway Station → hotel: A taxi takes about 20 minutes and costs about USD 4. Alternatively, take Bus 18 from the station for 12 stops to Fengmaiyuan Station, then walk 10 minutes to your hotel.

► Jiayuguan Free-time Recommendations:
After settling in, you can visit East Lake Ecotourism Scenic Area on your own. A 5‑minute taxi ride to the west gate costs about USD 1. Alternatively, walk 8 minutes to Fenglinyuan Bus Stop, take Bus No. 4 to Walking Street Stop, then walk 10 minutes south to the entrance. Inside, climb the dolphin‑shaped meteorological tower for a panoramic view of the city and the lake. Stroll along the north shore, exit via North Gate 2, and walk 2 minutes north to Datang Food Street. As night falls, the street will bustle with local food stalls offering specialties like big plate chicken, pit‑roasted meat, and red willow skewers.

For the return from the food street, a 7‑minute taxi ride costs about USD 1. By bus, take Bus No. 5 from Datang Food Street for 1 stop, transfer to Bus No. 4 at Jiayuan Community, ride 6 stops to Fenglinyuan Stop, then walk 7 minutes back to your hotel. The bus journey takes about 30 minutes and costs USD 0.3.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Holiday Plaza Hotel Jiayuguan (4 stars)

This morning, your private guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel and escort you to Jiayuguan Pass, the most formidable fortress at the western end of the Great Wall. First built as a simple earthen fort in 1372 AD, it took 168 years of continuous reinforcement and expansion to become the imposing barrier standing in the Gobi Desert. Climb up the wall, and you’ll see the snow‑capped Qilian Mountains stretching across the horizon, while the vast, desolate Gobi lies spread beneath your feet. Looking at such an open terrain, you might wonder: doesn’t it actually favor a large-scale enemy assault? That is precisely the trap the garrison intended. Once the enemy charged onto this open ground, they would be fully exposed to concentrated fire from the fortress’s main towers and corner turrets. At the same time, 66 beacon towers scattered across the surrounding area would relay warnings in rapid succession, leaving the attackers with nowhere to hide. Inside the pass, you can still see hidden defenses such as ditches and cavalry‑trapping pits, while a moat outside the wall further obstructed the enemy’s advance, turning the open field into a death trap.

Next, we’ll visit the Overhanging Great Wall, just a 20‑minute drive away, which formed a coordinated defense with Jiayuguan Pass. From a distance, the wall appears to plunge abruptly from the mountaintop, snaking along an almost vertical ridge like an outstretched arm, poised to intercept any force attempting to bypass it. The artisans used local materials such as gravel, stone slabs, and loess and layered them into the walls so that it could blend seamlessly with the mountain, like a natural backbone of the ridge. Once you reach the highest point, you can look back and see Jiayuguan Pass in the distance.
► Tip: Over 400 steps lead to the top, some quite steep and may require using hands and feet. The round trip takes 40 to 60 minutes, so please assess your fitness before climbing.

Above the Gobi stand these mighty passes, while beneath lie the souls of the ancestors. Our next stop is a cluster of Mural Tombs of Wei-Jin Period dating from the 2nd- 5th century. They are not so much tombs as underground folk art galleries. On the brick walls, you’ll find numerous small murals depicting scenes of daily life from farming and cooking to trading, and other scenes from the past. After visiting, your guide and driver will escort you on a 4.5-hour private car transfer to Dunhuang and help you check into the hotel we’ve reserved for you. 

► Free-time Recommendation in Dunhuang:
After dropping off your luggage, you can explore Shazhou Night Market on your own, which is only a 5-minute walk from your hotel. Don’t hesitate to taste local delicacies, such as desert shallot beef pancake, apricot drink, and donkey meat yellow noodles. Moreover, you can also see artisans making clay reliefs, doing woodblock carvings, and sand arts on the stalls. 

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Tianrun Yibo Hotel, Dunhuang (4 stars)

After breakfast, your guide and driver will meet you at your hotel lobby, and we’ll then embark on a full day tour of Dunhuang. Dunhuang was a vital Silk Road hub from the 2nd century BCE onward, a crossroads where Eastern and Western civilizations met and mingled. As Buddhism traveled eastward along these routes, it left behind a rich legacy of grottoes. Among them, the Mogao Grottoes, first carved in 366 CE, are the largest and longest‑lasting.

Upon arrival at the Mogao Grottoes, let’s begin with films that introduce the grottoes’ history and their most celebrated murals and sculptures. Your guide will then accompany you into the caves. Amid the interplay of light and shadow, the serene faces of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and celestial beings gradually emerge from the walls. One particularly captivating type is the apsara, heavenly spirits often depicted mid‑air, swirling as if caught in an eternal dance. In Buddhist lore, they entertain the divine by playing music during sermons and scattering flowers during worship. Hence, you’ll often see them holding flower baskets or cradling Chinese lutes.

★ Ride a Camel to Explore Echoing-Sand Dune 

Next, we’ll head to Echoing‑Sand Dune, named for the low, drum‑like sound produced when wind moves across its surface. Legend has it that an ancient general leading his army westward was ambushed at night, and a fierce sandstorm engulfed both sides. Since then, the roar of war drums is said to echo beneath the sand. From the foothills, the golden ridges rise and fall like pyramids melting under the sun. We’ve included a camel ride to escort you to the dune tops. As the wind brushes the sand, you’ll hear a low hum of shifting grains mingling with the crisp jingling of camel bells, making you feel like a merchant crossing the desert centuries ago.
►Tips:
1. Camel hair is coarse and may be prickly, so long trousers are recommended.  
2. Desert winds can be strong, so please choose a hat with a chin strap to keep it from blowing away. Sunglasses and a mask are also advisable to shield against sand.  
3. The camel ride lasts about 30 minutes. You cannot dismount to retrieve any dropped items during the ride. Please keep your belongings secure at all times.

After dismounting, a 5-minute walk will lead you to the Crescent Lake, where you can ascend the viewing tower to admire the sunset of the desert and panoramic views of the water face. At the end of the day, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel. 

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Tianrun Yibo Hotel, Dunhuang (4 stars)

This morning, we’ll accompany you to visit the Dunhuang Museum. Through the bamboo slips, documents, weapons, and silk fragments on display, you can gain an insight into the history of the Silk Road. In the exhibition hall, you’ll also find a 5th‑century Buddhist stone pagoda, whose surface is carved with Buddha images and scriptures. Locals believe that walking around it three times while making a wish will bring blessings.

After the visit, your guide and driver will escort you to Liuyuan South Railway Station, where you’ll board a high‑speed train for about 3 hours to Turpan of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Upon arrival at Turpan North Railway Station, our driver will meet you and escort you to the hotel we’ve reserved for you.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Mercure Hotel Turpan Downtown (4 stars)

Today, your guide and driver will accompany you into the heart of Turpan. Following the road along the mountain foothills, you’ll first head to Tuyoq Valley, one of the oldest Uyghur settlements nestled in the hollow of the Flaming Mountains. At the center of the valley lies Mazar Village, a traditional village where Islam was first introduced. Here, you can see a green mosque with four minarets rising dramatically against the backdrop of dusty rock mountains. As you wander deeper into the lanes, traditional square earthen houses unfold in layers. Some walls are adorned with colorful tapestries, giving you the feeling as if you were in Morocco. Given the region’s extreme heat, villagers build walls over 1 meter (3.3 feet) thick using yellow clay and raw earth, effectively insulating against the scorching daytime heat and the chilly nights. Even in high summer, air conditioning is rarely needed indoors. You may also notice hillside structures with hollowed‑out walls. These are raisin drying houses. Ripe grapes are hung inside for about 40 days, where the dry, hot winds gradually turn them into sweet, chewy dried fruit.

As we make our way along the canyon floor, vividly colored rock faces of the Flaming Mountains unfold before you. Steep slopes are etched with deep ravines, and under the midday sun, the mountain appears to blaze with red flames, hence its name.

Leaving the canyon and heading west for about half an hour, we’ll arrive at the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. Though carved about a century later than the Mogao Grottoes you have visited in Dunhuang, they are far less well preserved. Carved into a cliff, this site once housed over a thousand Buddhist grottoes, but only 83 remain today. Natural erosion has taken its toll, and in the early 20th century, roughly 90% of the murals were removed by foreign expeditions and dispersed to museums in Germany, the UK, Russia, and elsewhere. Thanks to the mineral pigments used and Turpan’s extreme aridity, surviving frescoes retain remarkably vivid colors, opening a window into the cave’s original splendor.

At the end of the day, your guide and driver will offer you a smooth drive back to your hotel. 

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Mercure Hotel Turpan Downtown (4 stars)

After checkout, your guide and driver will escort you to the Ancient City of Jiaohe. Over 2,000 years ago, this loess‑terrace settlement was a vital Silk Road hub. The viewing platform at the entrance offers the best vantage point for a panoramic view, from which you can see the sheer cliffs on all sides, forming a natural defensive barrier. Inside the ruins, you’ll notice that the city was not built with bricks or stone, but excavated from the ground: houses, streets, and courtyards were carved out, leaving the remaining earth as walls. This integrated construction made the buildings exceptionally stable, which is the main reason most have survived to this day.
►Tips:
1. There is no shade in the ruins, so please be sure to bring sun protection. Because of the strong wind and sand, a mask or scarf is recommended.
2. It is advisable to carry your own drinking water, since there are no stores in the scenic area.

Afterwards, we’ll continue to the Karez Well Museum to learn about Turpan’s unique water system. In this hot, arid region with little rainfall and high evaporation, an extensive network of vertical wells, underground channels, open ditches, and reservoirs was built to combat water shortages. Using the terrain’s natural slopes, people channeled melted snow from the Heavenly Mountains (Tian Shan Mountains) and diverted rainwater into towns and farmland, creating the Turpan oasis. Inside the museum, you can see the tools once used for digging the wells, and workers’ everyday items like kettles and bowls. Walking through the various channels, you can gain a basic understanding of how the system works.

Afterwards, we’ll make a brief stop at the Emin Minaret (Sugong Tower), Xinjiang’s largest ancient minaret, with a history of over 240 years. This inverted-baseball-bat building is adorned with the finest Islamic geometric patterns in the region. At dusk, the low golden light offers a perfect chance to capture a silhouette of the tower against the fading sky. 

Finally, your guide and driver will escort you on a comfortable 2.5-hour drive to the hotel we’ve booked for you in downtown Urumqi, and assist you with check-in. 

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Excemon Xinjiang Yilite Hotel, Urumqi (4 stars)

After breakfast, your guide and driver will escort you on a drive of 1.5-2 hours to Heavenly Lake nestled in Heavenly Mountains. Upon arrival, you’ll be captivated by the jade‑blue water cradled by surrounding peaks, with the snow‑capped Bogda Peak perfectly mirrored on the lake’s surface. You can stroll along the wooden boardwalk that hugs the shoreline, dip your hand into the cool, crisp water, and breathe in the scent of spruces and cedars. In the distance, the white snow on the high peaks stands in vivid contrast to the lush pine forests that blanket the lower slopes. Perhaps it’s this near‑perfect scenery that leads locals to believe the lake is a gathering place for deities. On the shore stands the Temple of the Queen Mother of the West, enshrining the supreme goddess in Chinese mythology, where you can make a wish for your family’s health and peace.
► Tips:
1. Please carry your passport with you, as you will need to present it to obtain a permit when entering the scenic area.
2. At an elevation of about 1,910 meters (6,266 feet), UV rays are strong, and temperatures can be quite cool, so sunglasses and an extra layer are recommended.

Afterwards, we’ll return to downtown Urumqi and visit the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, the city’s largest pedestrian shopping street and a vibrant cultural hub. With over 3,000 shops and stalls, it offers a dazzling array of carpets, ceramics, musical instruments, spices, dried fruits, and snacks, which is a true sensory feast of color, sound, and aroma. You can also see performers in traditional ethnic costumes playing Uyghur folk music or dancing with infectious energy. Just feel free to sway along or try a few steps to get drawn into the festive atmosphere. Finally, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Excemon Xinjiang Yilite Hotel, Urumqi (4 stars)

Today marks the end of your epic tour. After breakfast, please make your own way to Urumqi Tianshan International Airport (URC) or Urumqi Railway Station for your departure. If you wish to extend your journey eastward to Xi’an, Shanghai, or other cities, just contact us for more details.

► Hotel → Urumqi Tianshan International Airport:
1. Taxi: 30 minutes, USD 15
2. Public Transport: 1.5-2 hours, 15 US cents. Walk 2 minutes to Lengku Bus Station, take Bus 51 to Terminal 2, walk 6 minutes to take the Airport MRT to the North Terminal, then walk 10 minutes to the departure hall. 

►Hotel → Urumqi Railway Station:
1. Taxi: 20 minutes, USD 7
2. Public Transport: 1 hour 10 minutes, 15 US cents. Take Bus 909 from Lengku Bus Station for 17 stops, and you’ll reach the railway station directly. 

Meals: Breakfast