26 days silk road tour in china

includes: beijing, urumqi, dunhuang, xi'an, xining, and lanzhou

d1 arrive in beijing, meet at beijing airport, and transfer to the 4 star hotel.

d2 morning visit the tian'anmen square and the forbidden city. after lunch, transfer to airport to take a flight from beijing to urumqi, meet at urumqi airport, and transfer to the 4 star hotel.

d3 morning visit the lake of heaven from where you can see the bogda peak (5445 m high), afternoon visit the famous erdaoqiao bazaar in urumqi. stay in 4 star hotel.

d4 drive 508 km from urumqi to bayanbulak lake, watch birds at the lake. camping by the lakeside.

note: because military reason, enter into bayanbulak area has to get a special permit first.

d5 morning continue viewing birds at the lake, after lunch, drive 238 km from bayanbulak lake to kuqa. stay in the 2 star hotel.

d6 morning visit the kizil thousand buddha cave, subashi ancientcity, and the kuqa grand temple, after lunch, drive 255 km from kuqa to aksu. stay in the 2 star hotel.

d7 drive 440 km from aksu to kashgar. stay in the 2 star hotel.

d8 visit the sunday bazaar, the grand mosque, the fragrant concubine tomb, and the kindergarten. stay in hotel.

d9 drive 549 km from kashgar to hetan, on the way, visit the shache king mausoleum, and the yinjisha knife market. stay in the 2 star hotel.

d10 morning visit the jade factory, the silk factory, the king of walnut tree. after lunch, drive 321 km from hetan to mingfeng. stay in the 1 star hotel.

d11 drive 524 km through the taklimakan desert from mingfeng to luntai, which is the longest desert road in the world, then drive 163 km from luntai to korla. stay in the 4 star hotel.

d12 relax in korla, sightseeing in the bosten lake. stay in hotel.

d13 drive 395 km from korla to turpan, afternoon visit the jiaohe ruined city, and the karez underground irrigation system. stay in the 3 star hotel.

d14 visit the flaming hill, bezeklik thousand buddha cave, the grapevalley, astana tomb, and the gaochang ancient city. at night, board train on soft sleeper from turpan to liuyuan (708 km).

d15 your train will arrive in liuyuan in the morning, meet at liuyuan railway station, and drive 123 km to dunhuang. after lunch, visit mogao grottoes, singing sand dune, and the crescent-shape pond. stay in the 3 star hotel.

d16 drive 366 km from dunhuang to jiayuguan, afternoon visit the jiayuguan great wall. stay in the 3 star hotel.

d17 drive 243 km from jiayuguan to zhangye, afternoon visit the drum tower, the wood tower, and the grand buddha temple. stay in the 2 star hotel.

d18 drive 361 km from zhangye to xining. stay in the 3 star hotel.

d19 sightseeing in xining, including the taoist north hill temple, the dongguan grand mosque, and the famous taer monastery. stay in the 3 star hotel.

note: today, you also can choose to viewing birds at qinhai lake which is the largest salt water lake in china.

d20 drive 324 km from xining to xiahe. stay in the hostel beside the labrang monastery.

d21 one day visit the labrang monastery, in the late afternoon, drive 101 km from xiahe to linxia. stay in the 1 star hotel.

d22 drive 88 km to the liujiaxia gorge of the yellow river, take a boat cruise on it, then drive to visit the binglingsi grottoes, in the late afternoon, drive 116 km from the grottoes to lanzhou. stay in the 4 star hotel.

d23 take a morning train on hard seat for 360 km from lanzhou to tianshui, afternoon visit the maijishan grottoes. stay in the 2 star hotel.

d24 take a morning train on hard seat for 330 km from tianshui to xian. afternoon visit the xian old city wall and the belltower. stay in the 4 star hotel.

d25 visit the terra-cotta army, the wild goose pagoda, and the grand mosque. then take an evening flight from xian to beijing, meet at beijing airport, and transfer to the 4 star hotel.

d26 morning visit the yonghegong lamasery. after lunch, transfer to airport for your departure flight back to frankfurt.