Tracks of the China Silk Road

Your tour starts with our pick-up service. Upon your arrival at Beijing airport, you will be met outside the customs and then be transferred to the hotel. The remainder of the day is free for you to have a good rest.

Accommodation: The Great Wall Hotel Beijing  (5 stars) - the former Sheraton

After the buffet breakfast in the hotel, you will start your trip from Tiananmen Square, the world's largest city square. Then follow your guide to the Forbidden City, which used to be the imperial palace of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Lunch will be TCG's special offer - a welcome a la carte meal (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) at a decent restaurant. You will have a chance to taste the famous Peking Roast Duck. Your trip continues on to the Temple of Heaven in the afternoon. As a royal altar where emperors worshiped the god of heaven during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Temple of Heaven is even larger than the Forbidden City. This evening, we invite you to enjoy a fantastic Chinese Kung Fu show at the Red Theatre.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte welcome lunch

Visiting the Great Wall is a must for your China trip. The morning sightseeing will take you to Mutianyu section of the world wonder, where you can see the long wall, dotted by beacon towers, stretching along mountain ridges for miles. The round way cable car will be arranged. To avoid shopping site restaurants near the wall, we leave the lunch for you today. We suggest you have a big breakfast and have some fast food for lunch by yourself. Our guide will offer you suggestions. In the afternoon, on the way back to the downtown, you will have a photo stop at the Olympic National Stadium (Bird's Nest). Then spend your leisure time at a famous local market, where you could hunt for small gifts or souvenirs.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

After breakfast in the hotel, visit the Summer Palace, the largest and best preserved royal garden in China, where the Kunming Lake, Wanshou Hill, pavilions and bridges make a harmonious combination. Then, your guide will take you to the Hutongs to see the old courtyards and capture the lifestyles of local residents. It will also be a special experience to travel through the old alleys on rickshaws and try to learn the traditional Chinese paper cutting. Lunch will be an a la carte meal (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) at an elegant restaurant. You will then be transferred to the airport for your flight to Xi'an. Upon arrival, you will be picked up and transferred to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte lunch
Accommodation: Sheraton Hotel  (5 stars)

Your first stop in Xi'an will be the 'eighth world wonder', the Terracotta Army. Located at the eastern suburb of the city, it definitely deserves the one-hour transfer as the clay soldiers and horses are so vivid with distinct expressions and the bronze chariots and horses were so smartly designed and perfectly made, even compared with modern technology.  Then get back to the city to enjoy an authentic home-made a la carte lunch (valued at CNY120.00 per person and included in our price) at a local family. Learn to cook Chinese food at the family if you have interest. In the afternoon, visit the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Xi'an Museum. The pagoda was built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to keep the Buddhist scriptures and statues brought from India. Tonight, a wonderful Tang Dynasty Music and Dance show is waiting for you at a fancy theatre, at the same time, you will be served the local featured dumpling dinner.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Home-cooked a la carte lunch, Dumpling dinner Friendly Tips: Since the theater is usually not open in Jan, Feb, Mar and Dec, we will not arrange the show and dumpling dinner for tours starting during the periods. Clients will enjoy free time to relax.

After breakfast, you will spend some leisure time at the City Wall Park, where many local people are doing their morning exercises. Join them for fun or just observe different cultures. Meanwhile, we arrange a one-hour Tai Chi practice for you to get a deeper insight into the Chinese traditional culture. Then come to the City Wall, a landmark site of the city. A bike riding is suggested on the wall and the bike rental fee is at your expense. It is quite a wonderful experience. Around noon, you will have an a la carte lunch (valued at CNY120.00 per person and included in our price) at a famous local restaurant. Then visit Shaanxi Provincial History Museum, which is one of the best museums in China housing numerous relics excavated in the province. Continue to visit the Great Mosque, which is located at the bustling Muslim Street. After visiting the mosque, you will have some free time to explore the bazaar and have a taste of the delicious local snacks.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte lunch

You have the morning free to explore the city on your own. Around noon, take a flight to Dunhuang, a bright pearl along the ancient Silk Road. Our local guide will pick you up and escort you to the 4-star Dunhuang Hotel. After a short rest, you will ride a camel on the desert to visit the Echoing-Sand Dune and the beautiful Crescent Lake. The Echoing-Sand Dune is so named because the sand echoes in wind, and the Crescent Lake got its name from its crescent shape. It will also be an everlasting memory to enjoy the gorgeous sunset on the desert. Meals: Western buffet breakfast Accommodation: Dunhuang Hotel  Building No. 8 (4 stars)

In the morning, you will visit the Mogao Grottoes. Located 25 km southeast of Dunhuang City, Mogao Grottoes are carved on the cliffs that stretch for 1,600 meters. The hive-like grottoes house numerous delicate murals and Buddhist statues made during the one thousand years from the Five Hus and Sixteen States (304-439 AD) to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).  After that, your guide will transfer you to Liuyuan Railway Station for a 3.5-hour high speed train to Turpan. Upon arrival, our guide in Turpan will pick you up and transfer you to the hotel. Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch Accommodation: Huozhou Hotel (4 stars)

Your trip in Turpan starts from the famous Ancient City of Jiaohe, the world's largest, oldest and best preserved city that built of raw soil. Then continue to visit Karez Well, one of the three greatest projects of ancient China. Today's final destination will be conical Sugong Pagoda, which has a peculiar inside structure that does not use wooden columns for support. Instead, you can see 72 brick stairs spiraling up to the top to support the body of the pagoda. 

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

This morning you will pay a visit to another ancient ruin, Ancient City of Gaochang. Originally constructed in the 1st century BC, Gaochang was once the capital of Gaochang Kingdom, but most buildings there were destroyed in wars at the end of 13th century. According to some archaeologists, Gaochang city is like another Chang'an in its heyday (Chang'an, old name for Xi'an, the ancient capital city in northwest region). We will then drive to visit the Bizaklik Thousand Buddha Caves and the Flaming Hill. Tonight, your guide will transfer you to Urumqi to check in at the hotel. Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch Accommodation: Excemon Xinjiang Yilite Hotel (4 stars)

After breakfast, take a morning flight to Shanghai. Upon arrival, you will be met at the airport by our local guide and transferred to the hotel. The remainder of the day is left for you to have a good rest and a chance to relax. Meals: Western buffet breakfast Accommodation: Parkline Century Park Hotel Shanghai (5 stars) - the former Crowne Plaza

The morning excursion will take you to visit Shanghai Museum and Yu Garden. Yu Garden is an elaborately designed, delicately constructed inimitable garden of the Ming Dynasty. After that, you will spend some leisure time at the nearby bazaar, where you can find some interesting souvenirs at fair prices.  Lunch will be our special offer - an a la carte meal (valued at CNY120.00 per person and included in our price) at a popular restaurant. In the afternoon, we will guide you to discover the Former French Concession. Then, drive to the Bund area, where you will take a one-hour cruise tour on the Huangpu River. Enjoy some free time to explore the Bund. Upon returning to the hotel our guide will see you into the lobby to say bon voyage.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte farewell lunch

Please check out of the hotel and get to the airport for your homeward flight on your own. We wish you a nice journey home and memories to last a lifetime!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast