10 Days Gansu Silk Road In-depth Tour
The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes connecting the East and West which for centuries was central to cultural interaction between them. Gansu was the vital corridor between China and Central Asia for centuries and there are numerous ancient monuments scattered along the entire Silk Road. This tour will take you explore the highlights on the old silk road.
Highlights:
- Visit the glittering pearl that adorns the Silk Road – Mogao Grottoes.
- Marvel at the nature wonders of the Yadan National Geological Park.
- See the starting point of Great Wall of Ming Dynasty – Jiayuguan Pass.
- View the breathtaking rainbow mountains in China – Zhangye Danxia Landform.
- Learn about Tibetan Buddhism in Labrang Monastery and Haizang Temple.
Brief Itinerary
- Day 1: Dunhuang Arrival
- Day 2: Dunhuang
- Day 3: Dunhuang
- Day 4: Dunhuang – Jiayuguan
- Day 5: Jiayuguan
- Day 6: Jiayuguan – Zhangye
- Day 7: Zhangye – Wuwei
- Day 8: Wuwei – Linxia
- Day 9: Linxia – Xiahe – Linxia
- Day 10: Linxia – Lanzhou
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 Dunhuang Arrival
Sightseeing and Activities:
Accommodation: Dunhuang
Meals:
Upon your arrival, tour guide will pick you up from airport or train station and then transfer to your hotel in Dunhuang city. Free and easy time for you to explore this city.
Day 2 Dunhuang
Sightseeing and Activities: Mogao Grottoes, Crescent Moon Spring, Minsha Mountain
Accommodation: Dunhuang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, our local guide will pick you up from your hotel. Then we will head to visit Mogao Grottoes that is known as “The Thousand Buddha Cave”, and noted as one of the most important cultural and historical sites in China.
In the afternoon, drive to Crescent Moon Spring, which is an oasis in the Gobi Desert. Enjoy the rare view where an oasis meets the desert and have some fun sand adventure. After that, ride camels across the sand dunes to Minsha Mountain which can make sounds when the wind passes.
After the visit, enjoy the view of sunset and drive back to hotel.
Day 3 Dunhuang
Sightseeing and Activities: Yadan National Gepark, Yumen Pass and the Great Wall, Western Thousand-Buddha Cave
Accommodation: Dunhuang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, we will head to Yadan National Gepark, Yumenguan Pass. Situated 180 kilometers in the northwest away from Dunhuang City, Yadan National Gepark features the unique and wonderful scenes and landscapes of gobi desert.
On the way to the Yadan Gepark, we will stop at the Yumen Pass and the Great Wall for a brief visit. Enjoy changing scenery along the way from bustling city to desolate Gobi. Yumen Pass was a significant military pass and a vital pass on the route of Silk Road.
On the way back to Dunhuang, stop at the Western Thousand-Buddha Cave, which is located approximately 35km southwest of the urban centre of Dunhuang and about the same distance from the Yangguan Pass. There are 16 caverns, over 800 square meters of murals and 34 painted clay statues, which is considered Duahuang Buddhist art.
Then be transferred back to your hotel in Dunhuang.
Day 4 Dunhuang – Jiayuguan
Sightseeing and Activities: Yulin Grottoes
Accommodation: Jiayuguan
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
After breakfast, drive to Jiayuguan and stay over night here. We will stop at Yulin Grottoes for a visit. There are 42 grottoes that have 53820 square feet murals and over 250 painted sculptures retained in the Yulin Grottoes.
Day 5 Jiayuguan
Sightseeing and Activities: Jiayuguan Pass, Great Wall Mesum
Accommodation: Jiayuguan
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, drive to visit the Jiayuguan Pass. Jiayuguan is a well restored fort marking the edge of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty time, in an important place in the Hexi Corridor. Frist we will stop at the Great Wall Mesum for a brief visit. Afte that, explore the grandoise fortress.
Day 6 Jiayuguan – Zhangye
Sightseeing and Activities: the Giant Buddha Temple, Mati Temple, Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park
Accommodation: Zhangye
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Today we will drive to Zhangye. We will visit the Giant Buddha Temple first, which is the largest architectural relic in Gansu Province of the Western Xia period.
Then continue to visit the Mati Temple, an ancient Tibetan temple carved out of the side of a cliff in Sunan Yugu Tibetan region.
After that, head to Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park, which is known for their otherworldly colors that mimic a rainbow painted over the tops of rolling mountains. Many artists admire this masterpiece which is like a perfect painting on canvas.
Day 7 Zhangye – Wuwei
Sightseeing and Activities: Haizang Temple, Leitai Tomb of Han Dynasty
Accommodation: Wuwei
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, drive to Wuwei. It is about 230km between Zhangye and Wuwei. We will visit Haizang Temple first. It is a well-known ancient temple built in more than 170 years ago in Jin Dynasty, covering an area of 11,600 square meters, which was a key temple on the way of the Silk Road.
Then move to visit the Leitai Tomb of Han Dynasty, which is the largest group of East Han mausoleum unearthed in the Hexi area.
After all the tour, drive back to your hotel in Wuwei.
Day 8 Wuwei – Linxia
Sightseeing and Activities: Linxia Mosque, Jishi Ethnic Village, Dahejia
Accommodation: Linxia
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, drive to Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture. We will visit Linxia Mosque, Jishi Ethnic Village and Dahejia. Stay overnight in Linxia.
Day 9 Linxia – Xiahe – Linxia
Sightseeing and Activities: Labrang Monastery
Accommodation: Linxia
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
After breakfast, drive to Xiahe to visit Labrang Monastery. It is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, which has become known to visitors as the film’s shooting place of “World Without Thieves”.
After that, drive back to your hotel in Linxia.
Day 10 Linxia – Lanzhou
Sightseeing and Activities: Binglingsi Grottoes
Accommodation:
Meals: Breakfast
In the morning, drive to Binglingsi Grottoes, one of the best-preserved collections of Buddhist cave art in all of China. There are three parts: Shangsi, Donggou, and Xiasi.
After the visit, drive to Lanzhou to catch your flight or train. Service ends.
Service Included:
- Admission fees for all of the sightseeing spots listed in the itinerary;
- Meals as listed in the itinerary;
- Hotels as listed in the itinerary;
- Private English-speaking tour guide;
- Private vehicle for transfers & sightseeing with skilled driver;
- Service charge & government taxes;
- Luggage transfers between airports and hotels;
- Domestic train tickets of soft sleeper.
Service Excluded:
- Any arrival and departure international airfares or train tickets;
- Chinese visa fees;
- Excess baggage charged by Airlines;
- Single room supplement;
- Tips to guides and drivers;
- Personal expenses and gratuities to service staff;
- Personal travel accident insurance;
- All optional programs.
