Day 11Zhangye - Jiayuguan

Drive to Jiayuguan and transfer to the hotel. Visit the Jiayuguan Pass, the First Fire Tower of Great Wall and the Wei-jin Art Gallery.(B+L)

Tips: Here, one of the best souvenirs is the set of wine glasses and goblets of jade. These glasses are translucent and very attractive. You can get them in many handicraft shops. Another nice souvenir is Jiayu ink stone, which Chinese people use for calligraphy. With exquisite carvings, Jiayu ink stone has a long history of 1,700 years and is one of the local treasures worth your collection. You may also savor the watermelon here, which has thin peel, sweet flesh and excellent taste.
 
Descriptions:
Jiayuguan Pass - Jiayuguan Pass was constructed on the middle part of the narrowest valley of Jiayu Mountain, with walls passing across the gobi and desert, adjoining the Overhanging Great Wall to the north and the First Fire Tower of Great Wall to the south. It is the western starting point of the Great Wall constructed in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). With its precipitous terrain and majestic spectacle, Jiayuguan Pass is crowned as “the Greatest Pass under Heaven”.

Day 12Jiayuguan - Dunhuang

Drive to Dunhuang and transfer to the hotel. You will experience a short camel-riding along the Echoing-Sand Dune to reach the Crescent Lake.(B+L)

Tips: Once mentioned Dunhuang, the endless desert scenery comes to mind as the first impression. The average rainfall in Dunhuang is no more than 40 millimeters and the melt ice and snow on the mountain is the main water resource for Dunhuang people's living and irrigation. As it seldom rains in Dunhuang, you will be considered as a lucky dog if you come across the rainy day in Dunhuang. To save the precious water resource in Dunhuang, we suggest you take a quick shower and no waste of any water. Due to the special climate condition, the fruits here are more fragrant and with more sugar, especially the pears here. You can take the chance to enjoy it.

Fruit venders in the bazaar, Kashgar

Day 13Dunhuang - Turpan

Visit the Mogao Grottoes and the Dunhuang Museum. Take an overnight soft sleeper train to Turpan.(B+L+D)

Tips: Mogao Grottoes have 735 caves, 45,000 square meters murals and 2,415 color Buddha statues. It is impossible to look around all the caves in a short time and only several caves are open for visit each day. The site guide will take you to visit the main caves in the grotto and give you detailed commentary. As the photoflash lamps do great harm to the murals, tourists are not allowed to take photos for protection while visiting and the cameras are forbidden to take in. Because there is no light in the caves, we suggest you take a flashlight with you to look more clearly at the murals.

Day 14Turpan

Pick you up at Turpan railway station and transfer to the hotel. After having breakfast at the hotel, visit the Jiaohe Ruins, the Karez Well and the Sugong Pagoda.(B+L)

Day 15Turpan - Urumqi

Visit the Bizaklik Thousand Buddha Caves, the Gaochang Ruins and the Flaming Hill. Drive to Urumqi and transfer to the hotel.(B+L)

Descriptions: Flaming Hill - According to the legend in "Journey to the West", when Monkey King messed up the Heavenly Palace, he kicked down a furnace of alchemy. Several pieces of refractory bricks with remaining fire dropped on the ground and changed into the Flaming Hill. So the fact that Flaming Hill is so well-known also partly attributes to this fairy tale.

Jiaohe Ruins, Turpan

Day 16Urumqi - Shanghai

Take a flight to Shanghai and transfer to the hotel. Afternoon is free. You can take the time to walk around the Bund area and Nanjing Road.(B+L)

Descriptions:
Shanghai - Shanghai is famed as a paradise for gourmets or 'city of cates'. Different styles of food can be found in Shanghai. You can taste delicious food of more than 30 countries there. Shanghai cuisine is a combination of the appealing aspects of exotic cuisines and other national styles of food. Various snack streets offer delicacies from other regions of China with the Old Town God Temple Snack Street being the most famous one.

Day 17Shanghai

Visit the Shanghai Museum and the Yuyuan Garden. After lunch, different schedule is arranged for luxury and standard series. The farewell dinner is served at the Central Hotel, whose restaurant Wang Bao has a history of around 260 years and is the best place to sample Shanghai Cuisine. This memorable dinner will be followed by the Portman Acrobatic Show at the Shanghai Centre Theatre.(B+L+D)

Differences:
Luxury series: You will take a short cruise tour from the Bund area to Wusongkou pier along the Huangpu River in the afternoon.
Standard series: The guide will accompany you walking along the Bund area and visiting a local family in the afternoon.
 
Descriptions:
Huangpu River Cruise - Cruising on Huangpu River is an important tourist festival in Shanghai. It helps you understand the past, see the present and look into the future of Shanghai. Huangpu River is the symbol and miniature of this modern city. During the cruise, you will see Yangpu Bridge, Nanpu Bridge and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, which forms a splendid scroll painting of “Two Dragons Playing with the Pearl”.
 
Yuyuan Garden - Yuyuan Garden is a classical and elegant garden in Shanghai. Once you enter the garden, a beautiful scene delights you wherever you go; you feel that all beautiful scenes are grouped together by nature. Its lotus ponds mirror the halls, pavilions, towers, corridors and trees on the edge, offering tourists wonderful views.

Day 18Departure from Shanghai

Today you will be transferred to the airport for your homeward flight.(B)

Tips: Please note that the hotel check-out time is 12:00 o'clock at noon. Generally you need to get to the airport 2 hours in advance for your domestic flight while 3 hours for your international flight. If your flight schedule is late, you can store your luggage at the reception at your hotel when you check out. It is free of charge. After make an appointment with your guide when to meet at the hotel lobby, you can take the rest time to take a last glimpse of the city. After weeks of visit in China, you may miss your food in your country. Along the Nanjing Road, there are western restaurants like pizza huts, KFC, McDonald and some cafes also offering western food. You can go there for a lunch a conclusion of your China trip.

B-- Breakfast     L-- Lunch     D-- Dinner