China: Golden Silk Road

14 - 31 Oct. 2016
Sydney → Guangzhou; → Lanzhou, Liujiaxia Reservoir, Binglingsi Temple → Lanzhou; → Jiayuguan; → Dunhuang, Mogao Grottoes, Mingsha Hill and Crescent Moon Lake → Dunhuang; → Liuyuan Train Station → Turpan & Jiaohe; → Urumqi & Heavenly Lake (Tianchi); → Kashgar → Abak Hoja (Fragrant Concubine) Tomb → Kashgar; → Moore Buddha Pagoda, a Uygur village, the Id Kah Mosque → Kashgar; → Beijing; Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City & a Hutongs; Beijing → Great Wall → Beijing and the Summer Palace; Temple of Heaven, Beijing → Xian, Terracotta Warriors, → Xian; → Guangzhou → Sydney.

Basic Itinerary

1. Oct. 14: Day 1: fly China Southern Airlines CZ326 Sydney to Guangzhou: hotel.
2. Oct. 15: fly CSA CZ3205 Guangzhou to Lanzhou; in afternoon visit to Yellow River and the city, including the Waterwheel Park.
3. Oct 16: coach from Lanzhou to Liujiaxia Reservoir in the headwaters of the Yellow River, then by fast boat to the Binglingsi Temple, a series of grottoes filled with Buddhist sculpture carved into natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the Yellow River; return to Lanzhou.
4. Oct. 17: Fly China Eastern Airlines MU2412 from Lanzhou to Jiayuguan, at the western end of the Great Wall and where an impenetrable fortress surrounded by 3 inner and outer walls and several lines of defense; visit the Great Wall Museum.
5. Oct. 18: travel by coach from Jiayuguan to Dunhuang, a strategic staging post on the Silk Road with a history of more than 2,000 years.
6. Oct. 19: visit Dunhuang's most famous monument - The Mogao Grottoes (popularly known as the 'Thousand Buddha Caves'), which have a history of over 1600 years. The walls of the caves are lined with Buddhist frescoes, Scriptures, murals and sculpted figures. We also visit Mingsha Hill and Crescent Moon Lake, set in an amphitheatre of sand dunes
7. Oct. 20: This morning is at leisure. Travel by coach from Dunhuang In the afternoon; to Liuyuan Train Station for train 02701 (1425/17:59) to Turpan, where we visit the ancient city of Jiaohe and a Karez Well. The Karez Well is an underground irrigation system unique to the area.
8. Oct. 21: Turpan: Visit Karez Well. The Karez Well is an underground irrigation system unique to the area.Today you will take excursion to Turpan, the oasis town famous for its melons and. Turpan is located in the Gobi desert and the lowest city in China as well as the driest and hottest. You visit the bazaar and experience the atmosphere of the Uygur way of life. Drive to Urumqi in the late afternoon. You will cruise on Heavenly Lake (Tianchi), a deep blue lake surrounded by the snow-capped Heavenly Mountain (Tianshan).
9. Oct. 22: Morning tour of the Museum of Minorities and History in Urumqi, then transfer to airport for flight MU5633 for Kashgar. You spend three nights in Kashgar.
10. Oct. 23: Kashgar: visit the Abak Hoja (Fragrant Concubine) Tomb and the Sunday Bazaar.
11. Oct. 24: Kashgar: tour Kashgar, an ancient oasis city at a strategic point dominating the ancient trade routes in far western China. This morning you visit the Moore Buddha Pagoda, then onto a Uygur village. Next stop the Id Kah Mosque.
12. Oct. 25: fly Air China's flight CA1478 from Kashgar to Beijing.
13. Oct. 26: visit Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world, and enter the Forbidden City. This massive complex was the centre of the Ming and Qing dynasties. With almost 10,000 rooms, this well-preserved imperial palace is the largest in the world. After lunch, ride a trishaw to
    tour the ancient city alleys of the Hutongs and experience the lifestyle of the local people.
14. Oct. 27: go by coach to the Great Wall, the pride of China and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The amazing man-made structure was built over 2000 years ago to protect China from northern invaders. Then back to Beijing and the Summer Palace, the largest and best preserved of all imperial palace gardens. Marvel with fascination at the Marble Boat and the ornately painted Long Corridor. This evening, enjoy a delicious Peking Duck Banquet.
15. Oct. 28: a morning is at leisure in Beijing, then tour the magnificent Temple of Heaven, a Ming Temple where the Emperors performed annual rites essential for the well-being of their land. Later board flight to Xian, the most historic city in China and the capital of ancient China for 11 dynasties.
16. Oct. 29: Visit the vast treasure of the underground army of the Terracotta Warriors, outside Xian. They are to be found at an archaeological site which so far has yielded some 8000 ancient terracotta soldiers and horses, each a unique, finely detailed sculpture. Later tour the Xian ancient city wall which is one of the best persevered in China. Dinner is a sumptuous dumpling banquet and the spectacular Tang Dynasty stage show.
17. Oct. 30: This afternoon transfer to airport for your flight CZ3212 for Guangzhou; then connecting flight CZ325 departing Guangzhou 2100 bound for Sydney.
18. Oct. 31: Arrive in Sydney in the morning.