Highlights of the Silk Road Tour (11 Days)

BEIJING
Full day tour of Beijing including Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. After lunch, we include a cycle ride around the traditional neighbourhoods called Hutongs. Here, you can observe elders whiling away the night with a game of Chinese chess or mahjong, shopkeepers selling traditional snacks like jian bing (pancakes) and baozi (steamed buns), and hear calls announcing the arrival of the knife sharpener or cardboard collector. Finish off the day with a renowned Peking Duck Dinner.

BEIJING
Morning visit to a less crowded part of the Great Wall at Mutianyu, where you can take a short and easy hike and we include a picnic lunch here. Return to Beijing and visit the Summer Palace.

BEIJING-URUMQI-KASHGAR
Morning flight to Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Province. During your brief stay in the city you will visit the Xinjiang Regional Museum and dine in a local Uygurstyle restaurant featuring Xinjiang lamb delicacies, before flying on to Kashgar for two nights.

KASHGAR
We recommend scheduling your arrival to coincide with the Sunday Morning bazaar. This lively market attracts thousands of people from the far corners of the region. They come here to sell, bargain and trade everything ranging from camels and donkeys to embroidered caps and ornate knives. As Kashgar is the centre of Islam in China, a visit is included to China’s largest mosque, Id Kah. Evening Tajik dance performance.

KASHGAR TO TURPAN
Fly back to Urumqi to continue by road across the desert to Turpan. En route visit Tuyugou Village with its 2,000 history of Islam and Buddhism, followed by a visit to the Bezelik Caves. Overnight stay in Turpan.

TURPAN TO DUNHUANG
Morning excursion to the ancient city of Jiaohe and lunch at local Uiyghur family’s house, followed by a visit to the Keraz Well and Sugong Tower (the largest Islamic Tower in Xinjiang), before boarding the overnight train to Dunhuang.

Day 8

DUNHUANG
Morning arrival in the ‘City of the Sands’, so called because of its proximity to the Taklamakan Desert. Morning excursion to the Mogao Grottoes with their 45,000 Buddhist paintings and 2,000 Buddha statues. As dusk falls you will have the opportunity to ride a camel to the summit of the Mingsha Sand Dunes to visit Crescent Moon Lake. The day finishes with a chance to explore the Shazhou Night Market.

DUNHUANG TO XIAN
Early morning flight to Xian. On arrival, visit the site of the famous Terracotta Army, who still guard the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang. Return to the city and check-inhotel for overnight stay. Sunset walk along the Ming Dynasty City Walls followed by a local Xian dinner.

XIAN TO BEIJING
Morning visit to the Shaanxi History Museum followed by the Great Mosque and finishing the day with the Big Goose Pagoda, before catching the flight back to Beijing for overnight stay.

DEPART BEIJING
Transfer to airport for flight back to UK.