9 Days Dunhuang Jiayuguan Zhangye Xining Silk Road Tour

Welcome to Dunhuang, home of the western end of the Great Wall of China! Upon your arrival at the Dunhuang airport or train station, your local guide and driver will meet you to escort you to your hotel. You will have the rest of the day to rest and relax from your trip to Dunhuang, or you can begin to explore this small city on your own.

Accommodation: Overnight in Dunhuang

We will get an early start this morning as we pick you up from your hotel – so much to see and do today! We will start off by driving to the Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark that features fantastical rock formations created by nature over hundreds of thousands of years. Along the way we will have time to stop at Yumenguan (Jade Gate Pass), a gate that named for the many jade carvans that passed through it on the ancient Silk Road. The gate was originally built during the Han Dynasty (202 B.C. – 220 A.D.) around 121 B.C. as part of the western end of the Great Wall of China and as the final outpost of Chinese territory for caravans traveling on to India, Parthia (now northeastern Iran) and the Roman Empire.

After visiting the geopark and a nice lunch, we will visit the Mingsha Shan (Singing Sand Mountains), with the name coming from the sound that the sand dunes make when the wind blows just right, or when sliding down the sand dunes. From there we can visit the fascinating Crescent Lake – a beautiful oasis in the desert surrounded by sand dunes all around. It is amazing to see this little lake sitting in the middle of a vast sea of sand.

After visiting Crescent Lake, we will drive back to Dunhuang to spend the night.

Accommodation: Overnight in Dunhuang

After breakfast at your hotel, we will take a short drive outside of the city to visit the ancient Mogao Grottoes (aka Thousand Buddha Caves), an incredible repository of ancient Chinese art and Buddhist scriptures created between 366 and 1368 A.D. A visit to the Mogao Grottoes begins with a stop at the Mogao Grottoes Digital Exhibition Center where you will have the opportunity to view two excellent educational documentaries that introduce the history and culture of the manmade caves, providing you with a great foundation for a better understanding of what you are about to see. The first caves were dug out of the side of the cliffs around 366 A.D. as places for Buddhist meditation and worship, and at one point there were more than one thousand of these caves. Some have been lost over the centuries and there are reportedly 735 caves that still exist at Mogao; the best-known ones are the 487 caves located in the southern section of the cliff which are places of pilgrimage and worship. 248 caves have also been found to the north which were living quarters, meditation chambers, and burial sites for the monks. The caves at the southern section are decorated, while those at the northern section are mostly plain. About 40 of the caves are open to the public, and due to the method of handling tourists at Mogao, you will be able to visit 7 or 8 caves with a group, and possibly visit others on your own. There are also 10 “special” caves with extra fees that are available for visiting.

After this exhilarating visit to the Mogao Grottoes, we will travel on to Jiayuguan to check into our hotel, passing through stunning Gobi Desert landscapes along the way.

Travel tips for visiting the Mogao Grottoes:
1) During the peak tourist season from May to October, it can be very crowded so it is recommended that you make a reservation at least 7 days in advance.
2) If you want to see the Special Caves that are restricted to a limited number of individuals or small groups with reservations and are not included in the regular visit, please contact our friendly travel consultants who can help arrange this for you.
3) Photos are not allowed inside the grottoes to protect the ancient artwork.

Accommodation: Overnight in Jiayuguan

This morning we will have the opportunity to visit the western-most pass of the Great Wall of China at Jiayuguan. Jiayuguan was constructed as more of a fort than a simple gate with three lines of defense consisting of an outer city, an inner city, and a moat. Jiayuguan has both an east gate and a west gate with both sides of the pass connected to the Great Wall. Built during the early Ming Dynasty around 1372 A.D., Jiayuguan is the most intact ancient military building among all of the passes on the Great Wall of China. There is also a museum on site where you can learn all about the history of Jiayuguan and the Great Wall of China.

After lunch, we will drive on to Zhangye to visit the Zhangye National Geopark, with its spectacularly-colored landforms and unique topography. Covering an area of 322 square kilometers (124 square miles), these amazing, rainbow colored mountains developed over millions of years as deposits of sandstone and different minerals were deposited. There are four different viewing platforms scattered across the park, and you will get to visit each of them as shuttle buses are arranged for transport between all of them. After plenty of time for viewing the incredible mountains and cliffs, we will check in to our Zhangye hotel to spend the night. Today’s travel tips:
1) As you will be outside all afternoon, be sure to use plenty of sunscreen, sunglasses, protective clothing and hats to protect yourself from the strong sunlight at the higher altitude.
2) Sunset is the best time for taking photos, with the sun setting around 7 – 8 p.m. during the summer and 6 to 7 p.m. during the winter.

Accommodation: Overnight in Zhangye

This morning we will travel about 65 kilometers (40 miles) outside of Zhangye to visit another of the area’s main attractions at the Mati (Horse Hoof) Temple. The Mati Temple is no ordinary temple – it is more of a complex of hanging cliff cave temples, grotto carvings and fantastic mountain landscapes combined with the unique culture of the Yugur minority people. The Yugurs are descendants of nomadic tribes from Mongolia that were under the control of Tibetan kings, and they are known for their unique music, dancing and fantastically colored and embroidered clothing. The temple also houses many ancient and historical relics, including the Standing Buddha from the Jin Dynasty (266 – 420 A.D.), an imperial robe of Qing Dynasty emperor Kangxi, a saddle from Qing Dynasty emperor Qianlong, and much more.

After a full day of exploring the Mati Temple area, we will return to Zhangye to spend the night.

Accommodation: Overnight in Zhangye

This morning we will have the opportunity to visit the Dafo (Great Buddha) Temple, the home of the largest indoor reclining Buddha in all of China. This huge Buddha measuring 35 meters (115 feet) long was constructed of of clay over a wooden frame sometime around 1100 A.D. It remains largely unaltered since the days of the Western Xia Dynasty (1038 – 1227 A.D.) and it is amazing that it has survived intact for more than 900 years. The temple also houses around 6,000 ancient Buddhist scriptures and a Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911 A.D.) mural that depicts the story of the famous Buddhist monk Xuanzhuang riding a horse with the monkey king Sun Wukong kneeling on the ground.

After a nice local lunch, we will take you to the Zhangye train station for the high-speed (bullet) train to Xining. The train journey will only take about 2 hours as you speed through the amazing scenery along the way. Your local tour guide will greet you at the Xining train station to escort you in a private car to your downtown Xining hotel. The rest of the day will be free for you to explore the local area around your hotel on your own, or just rest and relax in your hotel room.

Accommodation: Overnight in Xining

We will get an early start today to take you on the scenic 2 ½-hour, 130-kilometer (80 mile) drive to reach the beautiful and massive Qinghai Lake. This lake is the largest lake in China, and it is classified as an alkaline salwater lake. Sitting at an altitude of 3,205 meters (10,515 feet), Qinghai Lake has a surface area of 4,317 square kilometres (1,667 square miles); an average depth of 21 metres (69 feet), and a maximum depth of 25.5 meters (84 feet). The lake is considered to be a holy Tibetan Buddhist site, so you can often see many pilgrims walking along the lakeshore. We will take you to the Erlangjian Scenic Area, where you can walk out on a long pier over the calm waters to enjoy the beauty of Qinghai Lake. Enroute we will pass through some fascinating landscapes of vast grasslands, wide open blue skies, herds of yaks and sheep, and a view of Riyue (Sun & Moon) Mountain so it is an interesting drive getting there and coming back. If you are interested, we can add in some optional sites such as the Dangaer Ancient City or the Jinyintan Prairie along the way.

Due to Qinghai Lake’s location and massive size, it serves as a popular stopover point for many species of migrant birds, particularly on the aptly named Bird Island. The best time to visit for bird watching would be during May and June. Another great time to visit is from late July to early August to see the amazingly beautiful rape flower fields that surround Qinghai Lake.

After a full day of exploring around Qinghai Lake, we will drive back to Xining to spend the night.

Accommodation: Overnight in Xining

This morning we will take you on a pleasant half-hour drive to one of the most important monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism – the Ta’er Monastery. This monastery was founded in 1583 A.D. on the foundations of some earlier temples that were built to mark the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug (“Yellow Hat”) sect of Buddhism, who was born in 1357 A.D. This huge complex contains ancient relics of the Yellow Hat sect including a silver tower covered with precious gems and wrapped in ten layers of silk, and a tower reportedly made of pure gold and containing the ashes of Tsongkhapa. Ta’er Monastery is also known for its barbola embroidery, impressive murals and yak butter sculptures known as “suyouhua”.

After visiting the monastery, we will drive back to Xining and explore the Qinghai Provincial Museum, which traces the 2,100-year history of Xining as well as the more ancient history of the Qinghai area. There are numerous exhibits featuring the art and culture of the regions various cultures that have inhabited the area for thousands of years.

After learning all about Xining and Qinghai at the museum, we will transfer you back to your hotel for the night.

Accommodation: Overnight in Xining

This morning after breakfast at your hotel, we will take you to visit the Dongguan Mosque, the largest mosque in Qinghai. Originally built in 1380 during the Ming Dynasty, the Dongguan Mosque is regarded as one of the “Four Great Mosques” in China. Proper dress is required, so no shorts or tank tops are allowed, but it is an interesting place to visit if you have the time. You will then have the rest of the day free until it is time to take you to the airport or train station for your departing flight or train on to your next destination.

Accommodation: None