Classical Silk Road

Upon landing at the airport, you will find our private guide waiting for you outside the customs hall. Our guide and driver will transfer you to the hotel that we booked for you, and they will also help you check-in. The rest of the day you are on your own. You can get advice about things to do from our guide.

Meals: No meals, advice freely available

After a buffet breakfast in the hotel, you will leave for Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. We will explore the largest city center square in the world, around which you can see many historical sites such as the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Great Hall of the People and the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao. Afterwards, you will take a stroll to the Forbidden City, an unparalleled masterpiece of Chinese classic architecture. It used to be the living palace of 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Afterwards, an a la carte lunch will be arranged in a local high quality restaurant. After a short rest, you will proceed to the Temple of Heaven, which is an ancient royal temple where emperors used to pray for blessings for the people. 

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte lunch

Today's private sightseeing starts with the world wonder, the Great Wall. Badaling is the most typical and best preserved section and is noted for its majestic vigor and stunning scenery. You will climb up the wall and take a relaxing walk along the top.

Then we will drive to the Sacred Way and the Ming Tombs. The sacred way is a long, wide passage leading to the tombs, with a lot of sculptures towering on both sides. Later, you will go back to the downtown Beijing. On our way back to the hotel, the bus will pass by the Bird Nest National Stadium. During the short pause, you can take a photo of its unique structure from a distance.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

After breakfast, we will head to the Summer Palace, a well-preserved imperial garden, which used to be the summer resort for the royal families. It is a man-made stunner based on the shapes of Kunming Lake and Wanshou Mountain. Every gallery, corridor and pavilion is worth savoring.

Lunch is on your own arrangement. Then, you will take an onward flight to Urumqi. Our guide will pick you up outside the arrival lobby and escort you to the hotel we booked for you.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

After breakfast, take a morning flight to Kashgar, a city located in the eastern part of Xinjiang province. Our guide will be waiting for you at the airport, and will help you check in to a nice hotel. After a short rest, we will gather to start exploring the city. The fascinating Sunday Market is your destination. It is a large market for international traders. People from different areas and countries come to this place for business. It is open every day, but Sunday is the busiest. In the market, you can select some crafts or dried fruits to take home.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, you will pay a visit to the greatest mosque of Xinjiang Province, Id Kah Mosque. Located at the city center, the grand mosque has a history reaching back over half a century. Take a stroll for a few minutes, and you will reach the old street quarter. Touring the narrow alleys, you will see local people's dwellings. Next, we'll make our way to Abakh Khoja Tomb, a typical Islamic tomb complex for a family of many generations. Afterwards, board a flight back to Urumqi. Our guide will meet you in the airport, and they will drive you to Turpan. After arrival, you will check in to a hotel and have a good rest.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

Today's private tour starts with the Jiaohe Ruins, one of the largest and oldest earth architectures in the world. It used to be a prosperous city along the ancient Silk Road, and you can still see traces of it through the ruins. Then you will go to the Islam Sugong Pagoda built in 1778 and the Bizaklik Thousand Buddha Cave. It is a 57-cave complex, inside which you can view a lot of Buddhist statues and murals. Near the cave, we will drop by Flaming Mountain. The temperature at the mountain is pretty high. It can reach 47.8 ℃ in the summer heat. You can see the changing temperature from the giant thermometer. Viewed at a distance, the mountain seems like it's on fire.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, you will visit the Karez Well. In this barren land, water is an important resource, but it will easily dry up. Taking advantage of the mountain slope, ancient Xinjiang people created a huge underground irrigation system. There are thousands of water channels with a total length of 5,000km. After sightseeing, you will take a high-speed train to Dunhuang. You will be met at the Liuyuan railway station, and our guide will help you check in at the hotel in Dunhuang. The transfer takes about two hours from Liuyuan Station to Dunhuang.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today, your journey begins with the famous Mogao Caves, which are known as one of the four most renowned caves in China. Thousands of Buddhist murals and statues lie in the cave awaiting your exploration. Then we will pay a visit to Duhuang Museum, where you can learn more about the ancient Silk Road through the abundant relics.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, you will visit the well-known Echoing-sand Mountain. When wind blows over the sand dunes, it rustles loudly. Walking in the sand will also make such a sound. Then you will have an interesting activity, a camel ride, which is a great way to experience Silk Road culture. After that you will come to the Crescent Lake. The lake is really a natural wonder, which never dries up in the vast desert. At last, you will board a flight to Xian, and our guide will meet you in the airport and escort you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

Today you will visit the highlight of Xian, the Terracotta Warriors and Horse Museum. It is the largest underground military museum anywhere. Thousands of life-size pottery figures are buried with the dead emperor Qinshihuang. If you observe them carefully, you will find every figure wears a different look.

Then we will go to the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum. The museum collects about 370,000 exhibits most of them dating from the Han and Tang dynasties. You can follow a time line to cover different exhibition halls for bronzeware, murals, ancient weapons, pottery figures and bronze mirrors. Afterwards, continue your travel to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a landmark of Xian. With a history of over 1,300 years, it used to be the pagoda for the Xuanzang Master to translate the sutra.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Our first stop today is the ancient City Wall surviving from the Ming Dynasty. It's a fantastic experience to cycle on the wall. Finishing the sightseeing, we prepare a local family visit for you. The hostess will treat you to an authentic a la carte lunch, and you will also get a chance to learn to cook Chinese dishes. After a short rest, board a flight to modern Shanghai city. Our guide will pick you up in the airport and drive you to the hotel for rest.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Home-cooked a la carte lunch

After the breakfast, you will visit Shanghai Museum, located at the south side of People's Square. The museum displays exhibits such as bronzeware, ceramics, jade, sculptures, currency and ancient furniture. There you will sense the wisdom of China's ancient people. Next, we will journey to Yuyuan. It is a classic garden, which was a private palace owned by a celebrity in the Ming dynasty. With smart design, it is characterized by its delicacy and elegance, and that can be traced through every tile, brick and carving.

Afterwards, you will take a cruise on the Huangpu River, which enables you to view the modern and futuristic building complexes for a different perspective. Landing at the Bund area, where you can take a relaxing stroll, enjoy the soft breeze and refresh yourself. Finally, we will visit an old-fashioned street before returning to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte lunch

Your private Silk Road tour comes to an end. Our guide will see you off at the airport according to your homebound flight schedule. If you plan to travel on to other cities, please feel free to contact our travel consultant.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast