China Base (Travel) | China Base

Green Travel Train >>Desert & ancient Great Wall

Desert & ancient Great Wall Urumqi, Kashgar, Turpan, Dunhuang, Jiayuguan and Lanzhou

Day 1 Urumqi-Kashgar-arrival
Arrival at Urumqi. Afternoon visiting heavenly lake, then change flight to Kashgar. (CZ6801 URCKHG 2020 2200 or similar). Pick up on arrival, check in.　Overnight in Seman Hotel for 3 nights.
*Seman Hotel Kashgar 3 色满宾馆** Address: NO.377 Seman Road, Kashgar, China 地址: 喀什色满路377号
Seman Hotel is built on the basic of Russia consulate. Ideally situated in the city centre, the Seman Hotel Kashgar is placed on Seman Road and is within short walking distance from the famous Aididuoer Mosque.　Encompassing a charmingly ramshackle set of buildings that includes the former Russian consulate, the Seman's decor and atmosphere leave some guests cold but enchants others.
Heavenly Lake 天池, a relic of the Quaternary Period Glacier and its surrounding geological relics, offers science lovers exploring opportunities. As if the natural beauty of Heavenly Lake were not enough, legend adds a mysterious touch. It is said that the West Queen (Xi Wang Mu) entertained King Mu of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100B.C.-771B.C.) at the Lake.Passing thousands of mountains, crossing ten thousands of rivers, you come to us from a faraway place.
Day 2 Kashgar
Taking the Karakoram Highway to go to the Karakul Lake.You will pass the Ghez River on the way. Karakul Lake is one of the most scenic spots on the Chinese side of the highway.Picnic near the Karakul Lake. Then return to Kashgar in the late afternoon.
Karakul Lake 卡拉库勒湖 is located approximately 200km from Kashgar, Xinjiang province.Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture on the Karakoram Highway,the Khunjerab Pass on the China - Pakistan border and Sost in Pakistan.Surrounded by mountains which remain snow-covered throughout the year,the three highest peaks visible from the lake are the Muztagh Ata (7546m),Kongur Tagh (7649m) and Kongur Tiube (7530m).
Day 3 Kashgar
Whole day visiting the Id Kah Mosque, the old town and the Abakh Khoja Tomb and visit Uygur family, lunch at Uygur family.Drive through the beautiful countryside with its terraced hillsides and quaint towns on our way to Shidong, Taijiang county. In the afternoon, return Kaili.
The Id Kah mosque艾提尕尔清真寺 is a mosque located in Kashgar, Xinjiang, in the western People's Republic of China. It is the largest mosque in China. Every Friday, it houses nearly 10,000 worshippers and may accommodate up to 20,000.It was at the center of a sharp rise in tension between the Muslim Uyghurs and Han Chinese in Xinjiang in 2003, when developers razed a rose garden on the mosque site and built an enclosed market nearby.
Abakh Khoja Tomb 香妃墓 is admired as a well-preserved Islamic architectural complex not only in Xinjiang, but throughout Central Asia. Xiang Fei's love story intrigues tourists from home and abroad.In China the tomb is better known as the Tomb of Xiang Fei, the only Uigur concubine among the 41 wives of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Day 4 Sunday Kashgar - Turpan
Visit the famous Sunday Market 巴扎, thousands of merchants haggle for camels, carpets and other goods, imams on donkeys and veiled woman in their dark robes. Lunch will be at a local family in old town. After lunch, transfer to Kashgar railway station and depart for Turpan. (K 9788/ K 9785 1520 1317+1）
Day 5 Turpan
Arrive in Turpan at 1317, railway station pick up. Have the lunch near the site. Short day visit the Gaochuang Ruins,Karez wells. Overnight in the Turpan Hotel.
*Turpan Hotel 3 吐鲁番宾馆** Address: No.422 Gaochangzhong Road, Turpan, China 地址: 高昌中路422号
The Tulufan Hotel (Tulufan Dafandian) is located in the central commercial area of Turpan. Like many Turpan hotels, it features a grape-vine covered courtyard (in this case, more of a corridor) and frequent performances of Uyghur song and dance.
Gaochang 高昌 was built in the 1st century BC. It was an important site along the Silk Road. It was burnt down in wars in the 14th century. Old palace ruins and inside and outside cities can still be seen today.Gao Chang is located in present-day Xinjiang Province, 30km from Turpan. It played a key role as a transportation hub in western China.
Karez wells 坎儿井 are a successful application of the sinking technology of the Central Plains in the Turfan area. It is a historic inheritance and promotion of the sinking technology of the Central Plains, and plays a very important role in the study of the sinking technology both in the Central Plain and in the Middle and West Asia. Karez well can realize irrigation by water flowing automatically, which means low cost in running the system.
Day 6 Turpan-Dunhuang
Hotel breakfast, visit the Jiaohe Ruins, The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves.Flaming Mountain, Grape Valleys,Sultan Minaret. After dinner, transfer to Turpan railway station and depart for Dunhuang's liuyuan railway station. (T70 2146 0517+1）
Jiaohe 交河 city was built on a large islet (1650 m in length, 300 m wide at its widest point) in the middle of a river which formed natural defenses, which would explain why the city lacked any sort of walls. Instead, steep cliffs on all sides of the river acted as natural walls. The layout of the city had eastern and western residential districts, while the northern district was reserved for Buddhist sites of temples and stupas. Along with this there are notable graveyards and the ruins of a large government office in the southern part of the eastern district.
The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves 千佛洞 are complex of Buddhist cave grottos dating from the 5th to the 9th centuries between the cities of Turpan and Shanshan (Loulan) at the north-east of the Taklamakan Desert near the ancient ruins of Gaochang in the Mutou Valley, a gorge in the Flaming Mountains, China.They are high on the cliffs of the west Mutou Valley under the Flaming Mountains.
Flaming Mountain 火焰山 has always been a famous tourist attraction, with its harsh yet unique natural conditions, as well as abundant cultural heritage. its natural allure is not characterized by mere heat. Behind the sterile rock mountains, there are many hidden valleys shaped by diastrophism millions of years ago. The natural conditions of these valleys, which abound with various plants and trees, are quite different. The most famous ones include Grape Valley, Peach Valley, Wood Valley and Shengjinkou Valley.
Suleiman's (Sugong Ta) Minaret 苏公塔: The local ruler Suleiman to honor his father built the unusual Afghan-style mosque with its single minaret in 1779. The mosque and minaret are located in the eastern outskirts of town.
The Grape Valley 葡萄沟 is filled with trellised walkways, that in the peak season of July to August, are covered with bunches of grapes.The valley produces the famous seedless white grape, horse nipple's grape, and red and black grapes in the fall.In the valley you will find a park as well as patios and outdoor tables where you can enjoy the grapes and other fruit. Looking at the Flaming Mountains in the distance from the city of Turpan, one can see nothing but glowing,barren red sand. But the Grape Valley of the Flaming Mountains, 15 kilometers from the city center.
Day 7 Dunhuang arrival
Arrive in Dunhuang at 0517, railway station pick up. Have breakfast near the site, short rest, transfer to visit Mogao Caves,Mingsha mountain and MingshaDunes.Stay one night at Dunhuang Silk Road Hotel 4*
*The Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel 4 敦煌山庄** Address: Dunyuet road, Dunhuang city, Gansu, China 地址: 甘肅省敦煌市敦月路敦煌山庄
The Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel is situated against the backdrop of the picturesque Mingsha Sand Dunes. The hotel captures the spirit of the Tang Dynasty with its unique architectural design - the large rooftops and long corridors of the Han and Tang dynasties; the typical enclosed courtyard style design and mud walls of the northwestern part of China; and the replica of the late Tang, Ming and Qing dynasties furniture.
The Mogao Caves 莫高窟 form a system of 492 temples 25 km (15.5 miles) southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years.Construction of the Buddhist cave shrines began in 366 AD as places to store scriptures and art.The Mogao Caves are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three famous ancient sculptural sites of China.
Mingsha Mountain 鸣沙山 is located at the same area of Crescent Moon Spring 月牙泉. It is named after the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes. Tourists can ride camels, guided by a local camel guide, to reach the sand dunes. Once at the top of the dunes, visitors can ride sleds down the sand slopes, much like snow-sledding during winter season in skiing area.
Day 8 Dunhuang-Jiayuguan-Lanzhou
In the morning, transfer to Dunhuang railway station and depart for Jiayuguan railway station. (K 592 0934 1404) Half day visiting the Overhanging Great Wall and Jiayuguan. After dinner, transfer to Jiayuguan railway station and depart for Lanzhou railway station.( T9202 2250 0710)
Jiayuguan 嘉峪关 is the most intact surviving ancient military building.The pass is also known by the name the "First and Greatest Pass Under Heaven",which is not to be confused with the "First Pass under Heaven".The pass was a key waypoint of the ancient Silk Road.Jiayuguan has a somewhat fearsome reputation because Chinese people who were banished were ordered to leave through Jiayuguan for the west, never to return. Around Jiayuguan there are few historic sites such as elsewhere in Gansu province and on the Silk Road.
Located seven miles from Jiayuguan City in Gansu Province and four miles northwest of the pass city of Jiayuguan Pass, the Overhanging Great Wall 悬壁长城 is an important part of the defensive work of Jiayuguan Pass. It was built in the year 1539 during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) in order to strengthen the defensive capability of the Jiayuguan area. Viewed from a distance, the Great Wall appears very like a dragon overhanging the slope, hence the name.
Day 9 Lanzhou Departure
Arrive in Lanzhou at 0710, railway station pick up and transfer to hotel for breakfast. Check in, after short rest, depart for Linxia. In Linxia, we will take the speed boad (30 min) passing Liujiaxia Dam to visit another cultural heritage Binling Thousand Buddha Caves. Return to Lanzhou. (END)
Liujiaxia Dam 刘家峡水坝 is a major dam along the middle upper part of the Yellow River, forming the Liujiaxia Reservoir. The dam is located just down river from where the Tao River meets the Yellow River. The dam and hydro-electric facility are outside of the town of Yongjing about 70km west-south-west from Lanzhou in China's Gansu Province.The Liujiaxia Hydropower Station, on the upstream of the Yellow River, was completed in 1974 with a reserve of 5.7 billion cubic meters of water. It was the first one million kw hydropower station the country had designed and built on its own.
Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves 炳灵寺 is located on the Small Jishi Hill, about 35 kilometers west of Yongjing County in Lanzhou City. Being one of the very noted four caves in China, it is the second to Mogao Caves in respect of artistic value. Bingling means 'ten thousand Buddhas' in the Tibetan language. The starting construction time of Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves dates back to the Western Jin Dynasty. In the following dynasties, the caves had been excavated many times.

« Go To Previous Page View