- Information
- Itinerary
- Gallery
- Trip Notes
Tour Highlights：
Terracotta Army: Witness Qin Dynasty military grandeur Mogao Caves: Buddhist art spanning 10 centuries Karez System: Ancient underground water tunnels Karakoram Highway: World’s highest paved international roadWhy Choose This Tour?：
✅ Cultural Depth: Engage with Han, Uyghur, and Tajik traditions ✅ Expert Guides: Historian-led insights at key sites ✅ Logistical Ease: Flights + trains + private vehicles ✅ UNESCO Sites: 5 World Heritage locations includedEssential Info：
Best Time: April to Oct Packing: Layered clothing (desert days 40°C/mountain nights 5°C) UV sunglasses + SPF 50+ sunscreen Sturdy hiking shoes for ruins and dunes.Destinations
- Dunhuang
- Kashgar
- Tashkorgan
- Turpan
- Urumqi
- Xi'an
- Xinjiang
Tour Price
Please consult us ！ more people will be more cheaper。
Tailor Make Your Tour
- Your Schedule
- Your Interests
- Your Hotel Preference
Tour Start and End
Xi'an, Kashgar
Price Includes
- Accommodation-4 star Hotel
- Professional English speaking tour guide
- Transportation with air-conditioned car/bus
- Hotel and meals for guide and driver
- Train Ticket fee from Dunhuang to Kashgar
Price Excludes
- All flight tickets
- Meals during the tour
- Entrance tickets to monuments and tour spots
- Excursions other than those specified in trips
- Personal expenses
- Tips to guide and driver
The ancient Silk Road began in present-day Xi’an and stretched westward to Rome, passing through legendary cities like Dunhuang, Turpan, and Kashgar. This journey takes you through China’s most iconic Silk Road destinations, where history, culture, and breathtaking landscapes converge.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Xi’an
Highlights: Ancient Capital Introduction
Your guide will greet you at Xi’an Airport and transfer you to your hotel.
Xi’an, known as Chang’an in antiquity, served as China’s capital from the 3rd century BCE and marked the Silk Road’s eastern starting point.
Evening at leisure to absorb the city’s imperial ambiance.
Overnight: Xi’an
Meals: No
Accommodation: 4 Star
Day 2: Xi’an Cultural Immersion
Highlights: Ming City Wall, Great Mosque, Terracotta Warriors
Walk atop the Ming Dynasty City Wall (14th century), the world’s best-preserved ancient fortification.
Visit the Great Mosque of Xi’an, a unique blend of Chinese courtyard architecture and Islamic design.
Lunch at Hui Min Street, a vibrant Muslim quarter buzzing with sizzling lamb skewers and aromatic flatbreads.
Explore the Terracotta Army Museum, featuring 8,000 life-sized warriors guarding Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s tomb (3rd century BCE).
Overnight: Xi’an
Meals: No
Accommodation: 4 Star
Day 3: Fly to Dunhuang – Gateway to the Western Regions
Highlights: Dunhuang Museum, Night Market
Morning flight to Dunhuang, a Silk Road oasis bordering the Taklamakan Desert.
After lunch, visit the Dunhuang Museum showcasing 4,000+ artifacts, including Han Dynasty bamboo slips and Tang Dynasty silk paintings.
Evening exploration of Dunhuang Night Market, where camel-hair carpets and jade carvings line lantern-lit alleys.
Overnight: Dunhuang
Meals: No
Accommodation: 4 Star
Day 4: Dunhuang’s Desert Wonders
Highlights: Mogao Caves, Singing Sand Dunes
Discover Mogao Caves (UNESCO): Watch an introductory film before viewing 4th-14th century Buddhist murals in 8 carefully curated grottoes.
Afternoon at Crescent Moon Lake:Camel ride across Mingsha Shan (Singing Sand Dunes)，Sandboarding down 200m-high crimson dunes，Photograph the oasis where desert meets spring-fed lake。
Board an overnight soft-sleeper train to Turpan.
Overnight: Train
Meals: No
Accommodation: On the Train
Day 5: Turpan – Oasis of Fire
Highlights: Flaming Mountains, Tuyuk Village, Jiaohe Ruins
Morning arrival in Turpan, China’s hottest and lowest basin (-154m).
Drive past the Flaming Mountains, their rust-red ridges rippling like flames.
Explore Tuyuk Village, a 1,700-year-old Uyghur settlement with traditional mud-brick homes.
Visit the Karez Underground Irrigation System, a 2,000-year-old engineering marvel sustaining desert agriculture.
Wander Jiaohe Ruins, a 2,300-year-old city carved into a cliff between two rivers.
Overnight: Turpan
Meals: No
Accommodation: 4 Star
Day 6: Turpan to Urumqi – Xinjiang’s Heart
Highlights: Dabancheng Wind Farm, Xinjiang Museum
Pass Dabancheng Wind Farm (Asia’s largest) and Salt Lake (China’s "Dead Sea").
Lunch in Urumqi followed by the Xinjiang Regional Museum:See the 3,800-year-old Loulan Beauty mummy Admire Han Dynasty tapestries and Sogdian gold artifacts, Evening flight to Kashgar.
Overnight: Kashgar
Meals: No
Accommodation: 4 Star
Day 7: Kashgar’s Living Heritage
Highlights: Apak Hoja Tomb, Sunday Bazaar, Old Town
Visit Apak Hoja Tomb (1640), a masterpiece of Islamic architecture with intricate blue-tile mosaics.
Experience the Kashgar Livestock Market, where nomadic traders barter sheep and camels using ancient hand signals.
Get lost in the Sunday Bazaar, Asia’s largest open-air market, spanning spices, silk, and samovars.
Stroll Kashgar Old Town (UNESCO): Peek into courtyard workshops crafting copperware and embroidered caps.
Conclude at Id Kah Mosque (1442), where 20,000 worshippers gather under golden domes.
Overnight: Kashgar
Meals: No
Accommodation: 4 Star
Day 8: Karakoram Highway Adventure
Highlights: Karakul Lake, Muztagh Ata Peak
Drive the Karakoram Highway (KKH), traversing valleys flanked by the Pamir and Kunlun ranges.
Stop at Opal Village to picnic supplies and photograph Oytagh Valley’s Martian-red cliffs.
Arrive at Karakul Lake (3,600m), where the 7,546m Muztagh Ata ("Father of Ice Mountains") reflects in turquoise waters.
Overnight: Tashkurgan
Meals: No
Accommodation: 4 Star
Day 9: Tashkurgan – Roof of China
Highlights: Stone Fortress, Golden Grassland
Visit Tashkurgan Stone Fortress, a 2,000-year-old Pamir Kingdom stronghold.
Photograph yaks grazing on Golden Grassland with snow-capped peaks as backdrop.
Return to Kashgar via KKH, stopping at Khunjerab Pass (4,800m) for panoramic views.
Overnight: Kashgar
Meals: No
Accommodation: 4 Star
Day 10: Departure
Transfer to Kashgar Airport. Optional connecting flights via Beijing/Shanghai/Xi’an.
Meals: No
Accommodation: 4 Star
You can add or delete days or especial activities from the itinerary, services can be adjusted to your own interests, Please contact us via email and let us know your plan, we are ready to offer you the best customized tour!
Please tell us your hotel requests, we will book hotels accordingly, we have 5 star international hotels at bigger cities, 4 star hotels and 3 star hotels, our hotels include breakfast.
Since our tours are private tours, we offer you private transportation, we have all kinds of comfortable vehicles which are suitable for your journey, please feel free to let us know if you have especial requests for the vehicles.
We usually include breakfast and exclude Lunch and Dinner, it is for flexibility, but of course our guides and drivers always responsible to show you nice restaurants, you just need to tell your favorites.
