Famous Sunday Bazaar in Kashgar

Day 01Arrival in Beijing

Our guide will meet you after you pass the baggage claim area at Beijing Airport and transfer you to the hotel. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the city.

Tips: If you get to Beijing early and still feel energetic, we would like to recommend the Beijing Zoo for your free time arrangements. It is one of the largest zoos in China, the Panda House of which is very popular with children. Chongqing is the best place to see pandas but you will not have enough time for that. Therefore you may take the chance to visit the pandas in Beijing, especially if you travel with your children. The zoo is in the western of Beijing and it takes about 20-30 minutes there by taxi without traffic jam. The traffic in Beijing is terribly busy during the rush hours, so please arrange your time proper to avoid that. It opens from 7:30-17:30 and the entrance fee is CNY20 Yuan.

Day 02Beijing

Visit the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. The Beijing Duck Dinner is served at a famous restaurant followed by a lively Peking Opera performance at the Liyuan Theatre.(B+L+D)

Descriptions: 
Tiananmen Square - The daily National Flag-raising Ceremony in the front of the Tiananmen Square assembles a large number of people as a must Beijing morning travel. At the beginning of the ceremony, the national flag guards start from the Tiananmen Tower and march across the Chang'an Avenue to the Tiananmen Square. The national flag is hoisted when the sun is about to rise from the horizon and reaches the top of flag staff when the sun ascending over the horizon. The whole process just takes 2 minutes and 7 seconds.
 
Forbidden Ctiy - The Forbidden City was the imperial palace where the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911) started exercised their rights. By 1911, the year in when Emperor Xuantong of Qing Dynasty abdicated, the Forbidden City had accompanied 24 emperors of the Ming and the Qing. As the core of feudal ruling classes, it was guarded very heavily and the ordinary people were not allowed to approach it. If they dare get close to it, they would be convicted. As its name implies, it makes people feel the majesty of the imperial power.

A family visit in Turpan

Day 03Beijing

Visit the Badaling Great Wall. Lunch will be at a Sichuan food restraint. Visit the Sacred Way and the Ming Tomb in the afternoon. On the way back to downtown, drive by the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium). You will see its appearance at a distance. (B+L, D is included for luxury series.)

Differences: 
Luxury series: An a la carte dinner of Cantonese cuisine will be served for you at a nice restaurant at Wangfujing Street. Afterwards, some free time will be left for you to explore the prosperous Wangfujing pedestrian.
Standard series: We intend to leave the dinner today on your own. You can explore the city to find the food you like or ask your guide for some advice.  
 
Tips: For luxury series, after having dinner, you can walk around Wangfujing Street by yourself instead of going back to hotel at once. At this bustling shopping center, you could be simply window shopping. Not far away stands a glass-decorated Oriental Plaza which is an upscale shopping mall. The plaza has two stories of clothes stores and several museums. In the Central Business District, the six-story Shin Kong Plaza is home to more than 100 stores for brands like Prada and Gucci. The restaurants there offer a variety of dishes, spanning from classic French to traditional Beijing cuisine. Also a luxurious new mall called The Place is located near the Silk Mark

Day 04Beijing - Urumqi

Visit the Summer Palace. Take a flight to Urumqi and transfer to the hotel. (B+L)

Tips: The temperature in Urumqi ranges widely between day and night since it belongs to the semi-arid continental climate. In daytime of summer, the temperature may reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). You have to prepare well for the prevention of heat stroke. You are suggested to bring a hat and some sun block cream and try to avoid walking under the sun directly. While at night the temperature may drop to even as low as 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), so that you have to put on the coat or jacket. It is also extremely arid due to bare precipitation, and you'd better drink more water to compensate the sweat loss. There are two hours time difference between Urumqi and Beijing though Beijing time is also used in Xinjiang Region. The local working time usually starts from 10:00 or later and people are still busy till 19:00. So you do not need to start your travel too early each day in Xinjiang.

Mural paintings on Western Jin Dynasty Brick Tomb, Jiayuguan

Day 05Urumqi - Kashgar

You will take a morning flight to Kashgar - "the pearl on the Ancient Silk Road". Upon arrival, you will be transferred to the local best hotel. Visit the famous Sunday Market.(B+L)

Tips: On the edge of northeast of Kashgar, there is an old area called Kashgar Old Town and most houses here are made of adobes and straws. These houses have been standing here for more than two thousand years. Because of the construct structure and materials, the houses are cool in summer and warm in winter. The old town is just like a maze with more than 20 alleys. There are blacksmiths, butchers, local bread (Nang) bakers and carpenters along the street busy with their works. Some people are making potteries and selling spices. Many local women walk along the alley wearing dark mesh veil. To not be rude, please do not take photos of them unless you get definite agreement.
 
Descriptions: 
Sunday Bazaar - After the long historical development process, the well-known Kashgar Sunday Market becomes a well-known traditional trade market between China and West Asia. Owing to its advantaged location, the international trade between Kashgar and the border countries becomes more and more frequent nowadays. Dealing in different kinds of home-made and imported goods, this Bazaar encourages consumers to make comparison and selection when they go shopping. On Sundays, this bazaar is full of thousands of people who speak different languages and wear fineries with different styles.

Day 06Kashgar - Urumqi - Turpan

Visit the Id Kah Mosque, the Old Street and the Abakh Khoja Tomb. Take a flight to Urumqi and transfer to Turpan. Check in at the hotel.(B+L)

Tips: As the religious center of Kashgar, the Id Kah Mosque is also the largest mosque in China. Due to the Islamic rules, the women are not allowed to enter the mosque for praying, consequently there is no female washing room inside the mosque. However, nowadays the female visitors are allowed to enter for visiting. To respect their religious, you should note some matters they don't preferred when visiting. Before the schedule, the guide will give you the radical information and some guidance about that. Out of the mosque is the characteristic Kashgar Old Street. If you still have some free time in Kashgar, you may catch the chance to look around.

Yangguan Pass, Dunhuang

Day 07Turpan

Visit the Jiaohe Ruins, the Karez Well and the Sugong Pagoda.(B+L)

Tips: During the tour, if you have a chance to visit a local family, you need know some usual manners about Uigur minority. First you are advised to cover a scarf when visit a Uigur family to show your respect. Second, the male visitors had better not enter the hostess' room normally on the second floor even being invited. Third, if the host offers you a cup of wine, it is polite to accept that and drink it out. Last but not the least, after wash your hands in a local family, dry them with a towel instead of fling the water droplets off your hands, which is considered to be impolite. Before the family visit, you'd better ask your guide for more information.   

Descriptions: 
Jiaohe Ruins - Jiaohe City was originally inaugurated by people of Cheshi from the 2nd BC to 5th AD. In Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), it reached its peak period. From 9th to 14th century, Jiaohe city began to decline gradually due to the war. In the end of Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD), Jiaohe City was damaged badly after years of war and finally abandoned. Nowadays, in the ruins, institutions, temples, pagodas and streets are mostly under good preservation. Jiaohe Ruins are crowned as the "Perfect Earthen Castle in the World".

Day 08Turpan - Dunhuang

Visit the Gaochang Ruins, the Baizikeli Thousand Buddha Cave and the Flaming Hill. Take an overnight soft sleeper train to Dunhuang.(B+L+D)

Descriptions: 
Baizikeli Thousand Buddha Cave - In Uyghur, "Bizalkik" means "an exquisite house". It is believed that the caves were the Buddhist center of Gaochang Kingdom from the sixth century. The construction experienced Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties, from rise, prosperity to decline. Now there are about 40 caves kept relatively intact. The murals in caves will take you back to the old times, where you can see the Emperors and Empress and people from all walks of life.

Golden bowl of the royal family from Tang Dynasty (618AD-907AD

Day 09Dunhuang

Pick you up at the railway station and transfer to the hotel. Visit the Mogao Grottoes and the Dunhuang Museum. Breakfast is on your side.(L)

Descriptions: 
Mogao Grottoes - According to the records, in 366 AD, a monk passed by a mountain, and suddenly found thousands of Buddhas in a golden light. Being inspired, he started to chisel the first cave in the rock wall. This great project then lasted for ten dynasties. This is how Mogao Grottoes were formed. Now having 735 caves, murals of 45,000 square metes (11.1 acres) and 2,415 painted sculptures of clay, it is the largest sanctum of Buddhist art including richest content in the world.  

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