17 Days Silk Road Xinjiang Tour

Our nice guide will meet you at the airport and be transferred to the Hotel. 
Erdaoqiao & International Bazaar, Xinjiang Museum
Xinjiang Museum the museum is the main institution to collect and investigate the unearthed cultural relics and specimens in Xinjiang. There are more than 50 thousand pieces of various kinds of cultural relics stored in the museum, among them, the ancient mummies represented by ‘the Loulan Beauty', manuscripts in Chinese, Kharosthi, Qiuci, Yanji, Tibetan, Uigurian and other characters prevailed in ancient Westen Regions, the silk ,wool, cotton and hemp fabrics and folk rainment, etc., are unusual tidbits in the world.
Erdaoqiao Market & International Bazaar The Erdaoqiao Bazaar is the largest in Urumqi. You'll find a bustling market filled with fruit, clothing, crafts, knives, carpets and almost anything that you can imagine. On Sunday, there are more stalls and more goods to buy than any other day. The old streets around the bazaar are really worth seeing.Here is the most welcomed place by tourist especialy by ladies where they can buy some traditional yugur make up cosmetic.

Drive on the National Road NO 216 and enjoy the scenery passing by Kalamali Nature Preservation and colored mountain on the road. 

Karamali Nature Reserve is the main activity area of ungulate wildlife in Xinjiang. Since the establishment of the reserve in the 1980s, Mongolian wild donkeys, goose-throated antelopes, and other wild animals have increased significantly. Przewalski's wild horses have gradually adapted to wildlife and the beautiful landscape since they were first released in 2001.

Visit Kanas Lake, cruises on the lake Tuwa Tribe village
Kanas Lake the most beautiful mountain lake you have never seen. It is the latest lake open to all tourists in China and has attained a reputation as “the tourism pearl of Mountain Altai”. The lake takes on different colors following the four seasons of the year, sometimes it's crystal blue, sometimes it's dark green, or even gray, you may find it containing many colors setting off each another at a time, thus it has got a name as the color-changing lake.
Tuwa Tribe A Mongolian tribe called Tuwa lives on the south bank of the Kanas Lake. Believing in Lamaism, it is a valiant ethic minority with a long history. Tuwa people speak Turkish, resembling the language of Kazakh, and live on hunting and graze. They also have a special folk custom.

Visit the Hemu village and Enjoy the Horse Riding there(1 hour)
Hemu Village It is one of the three residences of the Tuva Mongol in China. The Tuva Mongol is believed to be the offspring of the troops of Genghis Khan when he crusaded west. The Tuva Mongol of Hemu Village lives in frame houses half-buried in the ground to resist the chillness of winter. They believe in Buddhism and have well preserved the traditional beliefs of their tribe. Religious and traditional festivals are always jolly and busy, while the landscape tempts every visitor come back to experience the wildness of nature.

Drive to Karamay. Visit Ghost City
Karamay("black oil" in the Uygur language) became famous in the 1950s for petroleum production. Oil and natural gas are Karamay's main mineral resources. The city has such tourist attractions as the Wurhe Ghost City, Mt. Black Oil Park, and the No. 1 Well, and so on.
Ghost City the most beautiful Yardan landform in this region.The movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” has left you a deep impression of the multi-colored bay where the heroine Ziyi was hidden, this special desert scene shot in the movie is located at the Gobi desert.

Drive to Turpan Enjoy the Local Uyger Show in the Grape Trellies
Uyger Show The folk dance in Turfan is famous for its grace, nature, lightness and cheerfulness. Under grape trellises in summer, loud and clear sounds of tambourines and Suona horns, graceful dance, and affecting “Meshrep” can clear up the hotness and refresh you after you journey.

Visit Bezklik Grottoes, Astana Tombs, Sugong Minerat,
Bezklik Grottoes It is located 50 kilometers to the east of Turfan City . “Bezeklik”means “a place with beautiful decoration”. There are 83 numbered caves; among them 40 preserved murals totaling 1200 square meters. These caves are first excavated in Qu`s Gaochang period. The exising caves were reconstructed or newly extended by Uighurian people. In some caves one can find that Buddhish murals are painted on Manichean murals. Themes of the murals are mainly the stories about causes.
Astana Tombs Located over 40 kilometers to the southeast of Turfan City , covering an area of 10 square kilometers, the Astana Tombs are the graveyard of the residents lived in the Gaochang City in the Jin-Tang times, including large sized family graveyard. Between 1959 and 1975,here had been excavated 13 times, a great number of cultural relics have been unearthed, including Chinese documents, textiles, epitaphs, coins, clay sculptures, pottery, wooden wares, silk-paintings, crops and foods ,etc., and total number of them reaches tens thousands. Known as “the Underground Museum.

Local Uyger Family with VineyardTurpan is a kingdom of Grapes, all the local uyger families plant the grapes at the back of their house. Local Uyger family visiting is a special experience for you to know their lifestyle in the fireland.

Visit Jiaohe Ruined city, Karez Irrigation System ,Turpan Minority Souvenir and Carpet Shop and in the afternoon back to Urumqi
Jiaohe Ruined The Jiaohe Ruins is located on a mesa in willow leaf shape between the Yarnaz River valleys 10 kilometers to the west of Turfan City. running from northwest to southeast, 1760 meters long and 300 meters across at the widest part. The city includes city gates, streets and lanes, government office, temples, domestic houses, cave houses, wells, and an underground temple. 
Karez Irrigation System The Karez System is a unique irrigation system in Turfan, which, taking advantage of the slopes, draws the underground water to flow by itself to irrigate farmland. It consists of four parts: vertical wells, underground channels, ground canals and small reservois.
Turpan Minority Souvenir and Carpet Shop Located at the suburb of Turpan, mainly manages the Xinjiang carpet, the Hetian jade, some Xinjiang famous raw material for medicine as well as introduces Xinjiang's traveling class books .

Visit Taklamkan Desert, Diversifolious poplars Park
Taklamkan Desert Highway It is the biggest moving desert in the world and most of the people believe that it has buried most of good civilizations among the central Asia. It has occupied land more than 345,000 square km, Taklamakan in local Uyghur language means “Tha desert which buried some places under”, and after some western explorers explore this desert on the early of 20th century, they have given another meaning which is “One go, but never come back”. 
Diversifolious poplars Park it is located in the north of Taklimakan Desert, the middle portion of Tarim River, There are sights of Tarim River, the poplar trees, the desert and the oil industry. It is a good a tourist resort of sightseeing, entertainment, adventure, scientific expedition and vacation.

Visit Kuche Mosque, Subashi ruin and Kizilgaha Beacon Tower.
Kuqa Mosque It is located in the north of the old city of Kucha and covers an area of 1165 square meters. With a capacity of 3000 people, it is the second largest mosque in Xinjiang, The mosque consists of a main worshiping hall, a small worshiping hall, a minaret, a qubbah, a religious court and hostels, etc. The mosque is a representative of Uygur architectural art of the Qing Dynasty.
Subashi ruins The site is located on the ridges on both sides of Kucha River and 23 kilometers tto the north of Kucha City . “Subashi” means “headwater of a river”. It is composed of two parts divided by the river. With a lot of ruins of stupas, temples and grottoes from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the end of the T`ang Dynasty, the site is the biggest site of Buddhist temples in Xinjiang.
Kizilgaha Beacon Tower an ancient military outpost standing high over the bed of the Kuqa River.

Visit Kizil Grottoes
Kizil Grottoes the caves were excavated on the cliff of Qul-tagh Mountain by the Muzart River, as the earlist caves in Xinjiang, they care also the earlist ones in China. The contents of these paintings are very rich. Including jataka stories, Budda's life story and the stories about karma.

Visit Tianshan Sacred Tree Garden , Idgar Mosque, Handicraft street
Tianshan Sacred Tree Garden wood Mazar, in fact, is found in few tens of meters above the ground on a burial mound group. the trees are vigorous, some twists and turns circling, stick close to the stretch; some prostrate, like snakes of the form; some sturdy solid trunk, branches dance in the wind; some of the roots of a tree and connected to, sub- unclear which is the root, which is a branch; some trees fell on the ground, and from the root gives rise to new branches, straight up, grow into towering trees. Park in a plagioclase trees, roots had rotten, but the crown is still alive. Park, the tallest tree in the poplar, according to information on high 96.23 meters, 6.25 meters in diameter, some people hold of them.
Id Kah Mosque:It is the large Mosque in China and most famous one in Xinjiang. The Mosque started to build in the mid of fifteenth century, and has gradually developed to the present size. Id K ah Mosque, with about 16800 square meters in area, consisting of Pray Hall, the Koran teaching Hall, The Corridor, the Arches and other buildings attaching to it. The Pray Hall of the mosque can hold 4000 prayers is supported by 140 carved wooden pillars.The buildings of Id Kah Mosque look magnificent and solemn , and display the artistic styles of Islamic mosque architectures. 
Handicraft Streets near this big market are choked on Sundays with farmers and buyers arriving by donkey cart, truck, bicycle, horseback, Ute, motorbike or on foot, with their animals. It's loud, lively and cheerful as they arrive, eat breakfast, set up their animals and check out the action. Cattle, sheep (they definitely look different), goats, donkeys, horses have their own sections; sellers show their animals are "good eaters"(most go as livestock not meat) and the entire experience is fascinating and fun.

After breakfast take the drive on the China and Pakistan highway to visit the Karakul Lake and enjoy the Pamir landscape.
Karakorum high way It is 1200 kilometers almost Sino Pakistan—Chinese friendship high way build since 1976. Ancient Silk Road Merchants often run Via over Karakorum, Wahan corridor with Hindi Kush Mountain to India, Pakistan until Iran. On the road, enjoy the scenery of the Mt. Muztag, Taxkorgan, Persian language that means, stone castle, the brave Tajiks people lives on the Pamir more than 2000 year with nomadic life. Visit Stone fortress, Tajiks National art gallery museum and walk around the pastureland to see Local Tajiks customs.
Karakul Lake At an altitude of 3,600 m. it is the highest lake of the Pamir plateau, near the junction of the Pamir, Tianshan and Kunlun Mountain ranges. Surrounded by mountains which remain snow-covered throughout the year, the three highest peaks visible from the lake are the Muztag Ata (7546m), Kongur Tagh (7,649m) and Kongur Tiube (7,530 m). The lake is popular among travellers for its beautiful scenery and the clarity of its reflection in the water, whose color ranges from a dark green to azure and light blue. There are two Kirgiz settlements along the shore of Karakul Lake, a small number of yurts about 1km east of the bus drop-off point and a village with stone houses located on the western shores.

Visit Stone city, Honjirap Border.
Stone City Built on a mound of 20 meters high (about 67 feet high), all that remains of the Stone City today are some parts of the periphery of city, such as the gate, city wall whereas the buildings inside the city had all collapsed. However you can still enjoy the view of the ruined city, the surrounding snow-crowned mountains, grasslands, rivers and even the flavor of national traits of the Tajik people.

Honjirap border which means "red wall"in Tajik language,while "blood ditch"in Uygur language.From ancient time up to now,it has always been the natural barrier that is insurmountable .In this place where oxygen is only 48% of the plain and there are just 60 frost free days,how can the soldiers and officers of Honjirap Border Inspection Station manage to live and work? The magnificence of the plateau and the indomitance of the soldiers and officers are fixed into Honjirap's picture.

Visit Sunday Bazaar, Apak Hoja Tomb, Old Town, PM flight around 16:00 to Urumqi.

Sunday Bazaar (livestock Market)Streets near this big market are choked on Sundays with farmers and buyers arriving by donkey cart, truck, bicycle, horseback, ute, motorbike or on foot, with their animals. It's loud, lively and cheerful as they arrive, eat breakfast, set up their animals and check out the action. Cattle, sheep (they definitely look different), goats, donkeys, horses have their own sections; sellers show their animals are "good eaters"(most go as livestock not meat) and the entire experience is fascinating and fun.

Apak Hoja Tomb This Mazar is the holiest place in Xinjiang and an architectural treasure ． Built in 1640 ， it is reminiscent of the Central Asian artistic style of Samarkand or Isfahan ． A handsome blue-and-white tiled gate leads into the compound, which includes a small religious school and the Abakh Khoja family tomb. The latter is domed and faced with multi - colored tiles. I t most complete Islamic tomb of the Qing Dynasty up-to-now in China.

Old town Kashgar is an ancient city, and in walking the streets of its Old Town, will provide a sense of what this legendary Central Asian hub was like in the days when the Silk Road was at its zenith. 500-year old remnants of the city wall, narrow lanes and colorful multi-ethnic crowds combine to make Kashgar's historic district a highlight of any visit to the city.

Train arrive in Dunhuang in the early morning, hotel transfer. Visit Mogao Grottoes,Echoing-Sand Mountain and the Crescent Lake,Camel Riding, Yumenguan Pass and Shazhou Night Market.
Mogao Grottoes Constructed over a millennium, from the 4th to the 14th centuries, the caves hold the world's richest treasure house of Buddhist sutras, murals and sculptures.Cameras are not permitted. 
Echoing-Sand Mountain Crescent Moon Spring is 6km south of Dunhuang in the Singing Sands Mountains and is quite literally an oasis in the desert. The spring's name derives from the crescent moon shape taken by the small pool of spring water between two large sand dunes. Although the area is very dry, the pool doesn't dry up as one might expect.
Yumenguan Pass,It is one of the two important passes on the western frontier of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220) lands. In ancient times, it was the crucial gateway from central China to the western regions.
Shazhou Night Market,It is not only famous for its tasty snacks and local specialties but also for its well-regulated management. The whole night market is 1000 meters long in total. There are shops selling handworks and souvenirs, food stalls and fruit stands. When the fruit season comes, visitors can buy juicy fruits at reasonable prices.

You will be transferred to the airport based on your flight time. Thanks very much for taking this wonderful tour with us!