12 Days Gansu Silk Road Tour with Zhangye Danxia Landform

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There are numerous scenic spots and historical sites along the silk road. After enjoying the highlights of Beijing city, we will experience the mysterious and fascinating Silk Road by visiting Lanzhou, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang.

Highlights:

Experience the mysterious and fascinating Silk Road.
View the breathtaking rainbow mountains in China – Zhangye Danxia Landform.
Visit the glittering pearl that adorns the Silk Road – Mogao Grottoes.
See the starting point of Great Wall of Ming Dynasty – Jiayuguan Pass.

Brief Itinerary

Day 1: Beijing Arrival
Day 2: Beijing
Day 3: Beijing
Day 4: Beijing – Lanzhou
Day 5: Lanzhou
Day 6: Lanzhou – Wuwei
Day 7: Wuwei – Zhangye
Day 8: Zhangye – Jiayuguan
Day 9: Jiayuguan – Dunhuang
Day 10: Dunhuang
Day 11: Dunhuang
Day 12: Dunhuang Departure

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 Beijing Arrival

Sightseeing and Activities:
Accommodation: Beijing
Meals:

Welcome to Beijing! Upon arrival, met by the tour guide and transferred to the hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.

Day 2 Beijing

Sightseeing and Activities: Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City
Accommodation: Beijing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast at hotel, start today’s tour with Tiananmen Square. Go north through the square and you will reach the Forbidden City. As the largest and best-preserved ancient wooden structure in the world, it has more than 8,000 pavilions and thousands of historic treasures. Then enjoy the lunch.

In the afternoon, head to visit the royal altar of the Ming and Qing dynasties – the Temple of Heaven.

Day 3 Beijing

Sightseeing and Activities: Mutianyu Great Wall, Sacred Way, Bird’s Nest and Water Cube
Accommodation: Beijing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Transfer to Mutianyu Great Wall. Great Wall is one of the greatest architecture projects in human history.

Later, we will transfer to the Sacred Way, the first attraction of Ming Tombs. And then go to Changling, one of the 13 Ming Tombs, which is the Mausoleum of Emperor Zhu Di, the third Emperor of Ming Dynasty. It is the largest, original and the best preserved among the 13 Ming Tombs.

At last, drive back to downtown Beijing and drop at the Olympic Park to take some picture from outside of the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube.

Day 4 Beijing – Lanzhou

Sightseeing and Activities: Summer Palace, Beijing Hutong
Accommodation: Lanzhou
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Visit the Summer Palace in the morning, which used to be the summer resort for royal families and emperors. Then experience old Beijing culture in Beijing Hutong alleys.

After that, take the flight to Lanzhou. And the local guide will wait you at the airport. Then transfer you to the hotel and help you check-in.

Day 5 Lanzhou

Sightseeing and Activities: White Pagoda Hill Park, Bingling Temple Grottoes
Accommodation: Lanzhou
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, head to visit White Pagoda Hill Park which is built in honor of a famous Tibetan Lama, who died of illness on his way to meet Genghis Khan. Then continue the tour 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.

Day 6 Lanzhou – Wuwei

Sightseeing and Activities: Gansu Provincial Museum, Tiantishan Grottoes
Accommodation: Wuwei
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, start the tour with Gansu Provincial Museum. It has collections of over 350,000 artefacts and has held almost 300 exhibitions, and items from its collections have been exhibited worldwide.

After the visit, drive to Wuwei and visit Tiantishan Caves. It is a series of rock cut Buddhist cave temples excavated from the eastern cliffs of the Huangyang River in the Qilian Mountains.

Day 7 Wuwei – Zhangye

Sightseeing and Activities: Leitai Tomb, Wuwei Wen Miao, Zhangye Danxia Landform Park
Accommodation: Zhangye
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today 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 that, drive 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 8 Zhangye – Jiayuguan City

Sightseeing and Activities: the Giant Buddha Temple
Accommodation: Jiayuguan
Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, visit the Giant Buddha Temple, 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 the tour, drive to Jiayuguan city.

Day 9 Jiayuguan City – Dunhuang

Sightseeing and Activities: Jiayuguan Pass, Overhanging Great Wall
Accommodation: Dunhuang
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. Then continue to visit Overhanging Great Wall, the northern extending part of Jiayuguan Pass.

Day 10 Dunhuang

Sightseeing and Activities: Yumenguan Pass, Yadan National Gepark
Accommodation: Dunhuang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Morning after breakfast, drive to visit Yumen Pass. Yumen Pass was a significant military pass and a vital pass on the route of Silk Road. Then head to visit Yadan National Gepark. Situated 180 kilometers in the northwest away from Dunhuang City, Yadan National Gepark features the unique and wonderful scenes and landscapes of gobi desert.

Day 11 Dunhuang

Sightseeing and Activities: Mogao Grottoes, Crescent Moon Spring, Mingsha Sand Dunes
Accommodation: Dunhuang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Morning after breakfast, 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.

Then move on 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.