13-Day China Ancient Culture with Silk Road

After your flight lands in Beijing, your personal tour guide is waiting to meet you and transfer you to your hotel in downtown. After checking in, enjoy having a rest at the hotel or exploring around at your own pace.

Take a leisure stroll on Tiananmen Square before passing through Tiananmen Gate to reach the Forbidden City in central Beijing, the largest and best-preserved wooden building complex in the world. It was also the place where grand ceremonies were held and emperors and their wives lived in ancient China.

In the afternoon, head for the Summer Palace and experience a 15-minute boat ride on Kunming Lake there. Make a stop at Longing Pearl Store if you want to know about pearls.

Optional: At night, a Chinese Kung Fu Show is recommended for you to enjoy Chinese martial art.

In the morning, pay a visit to the Temple of Heaven where emperors in Ming and Qing Dynasties worshipped Heaven and prayed for harvest and rain. Nowadays, it becomes a good place for people doing morning exercise, and you can also join them. After that, drive to the majestic Great Wall at Mutianyu section. Take a cable car up and hike along the wall to marvel at the tall, strong and continuous fortification built as early as the 7th century B.C.

Be escorted back to your hotel in the late afternoon.

After breakfast, leave for the airport to catch the flight to Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China. Continue to fly to Kashgar, an oasis city in Xinjiang. After getting to Kashgar Airport, your private guide will meet you and send you to the hotel for check-in.

Today, take a drive along Karakorum Highway (said to be the highest paved international road in the world) to Karakul Lake, which is about 200 km from Kashgar and at an altitude of 3,600 m. The lake is absolutely stunning on a sunny day and you can relax in the beautiful and serene nature. In the late afternoon, you will pass by the Tomb of Mahmud Kashgary who was a famous linguist around 11th century en route back to Kashgar.

Visit the largest mosque in China - Id Kah Mosque and then Abakh Khoja Tomb and Sunday Bazaar which was a pivotal trading point along the Silk Road over 2,000 years. Later, head for the airport to take the flight to Urumqi, once a major hub on the Silk Road. Your local guide and driver will wait for you and escort you to the hotel.

A visit to the Southern Pasture, Nanshan Yurts, and a local Nanshan Kazak family will give you a wonderful experience. Immerse yourself in the natural scenery of prairie, learn about the living conditions of nomadic people and have an insight into local life. Get away from all the annoyance and just enjoy the relaxing time.

After breakfast, set out for Turpan. Upon arrival, visit the Gaochang Ancient City, the Bezaklik Thousand Buddha Grottoes, the Astana Tombs, the Flaming Mountain, and the Tuyoq Valley. All these sites will provide you with magical landscapes and desire to explore.

Today, start with a tour of the elegant, circular and tapered Islamic Emin Minaret (Sugong Tower) made of wood and brick. Later, explore the natural fortress at Jiaohe Ruins and move to Karez Irrigation Site to marvel at one of the greatest Chinese engineered systems made 2,000 years ago.

Drive to Urumqi afterward for the flight to Xi'an. Upon arrival, be picked up and escorted to the hotel.

Explore the mysterious Terracotta Warriors discovered under the ground as the first stop of your Xi'an tour. You will be amazed at a large number of yellow clay ancient soldiers, horses and chariots made in 200 B.C.

In the afternoon, drive back to downtown and have a stroll on the Ancient City Wall. Wandering through Muslim Street and tasting some local snacks will be a perfect ending of the day.

Optional: We recommend Tang Dynasty Show to you as a night activity if you do not want to get back to the hotel too early.

This morning, take part in a calligraphy class in Tangbo Art Museum to learn about the "Four Treasures of Study" of China. On the way to the airport, pay a visit to the pretty amazing Hanyang Tomb, the tomb of Emperor Jing, the fourth emperor of the Han Dynasty.

After that, fly to Shanghai and be transferred to the hotel with your personal local guide and driver.

Start Shanghai city sightseeing from the tour to Shanghai Museum. Move to Yu Garden, an extensive Chinese ancient style garden built in 1559. By contrast with the imperial garden in Beijing, it is a private garden with the delicate and elegant architectural style of South China. Later, come to Yuyuan Market, a silk workshop and the former French Concession, and then end today's tour with a leisure stroll on the Bund.

Optional: After a full day's walking, you may enjoy watching an acrobatic show as a night activity to relax.

It is time to say goodbye. You will be taken to the airport to fly home from your China adventure.