8 Day Small Group Tour to West China Qinghai & Gansu, Haidong, Qinghai, China
Following the footsteps of ancient Silk Road to visit the Buddhist Temples with profound history and culture, explore the UNESCO Mogao Grottoes, splendid Danxia Landform, as well as the mysterious Crescent Lake surrounded by desert. You will discover a fascinating landscape of Northwest China with our 8-days itinerary.
* Private Transporation with good AC
* Professional and friendly English Speaking Guide Service
* Bottled water and paper napkins
* 7/24 English Service online.
Description & Instructions When Visiting Haidong, Qinghai, China
Following the footsteps of ancient Silk Road to visit the Buddhist Temples with profound history and culture, explore the UNESCO Mogao Grottoes, splendid Danxia Landform, as well as the mysterious Crescent Lake surrounded by desert. You will discover a fascinating landscape of Northwest China with our 8-days itinerary.
* Private Transporation with good AC
* Professional and friendly English Speaking Guide Service
* Bottled water and paper napkins
* 7/24 English Service online.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Xining, Visit Ta’er Monastery
Stop At: Ta’er Monastery, Juban Old Alley, Huangzhong County China
Today your flight will touch down in Xining around 11:00am, We will meet you at the airport exit with a welcome board. Then take you to visit the Ta’er monastery (Kumbum Monastery), the most populous monks outside of Tibet. You will stay at Thangka Sunning Terrace that is one of a good place to view the monastery and surrounding scenery. Inside the monastery, apart from magnificent Buddha stupas and wall paintings, prayer wheels are also the must-see spot. The whole monastery is surrounded by wheels, walk along the corridor, rotate the wheels and pray for chasing away the troubles.
Duration: 3 hours
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Overnight in Xining Mansion
Day 2: Enjoy a walking tour at Qinghai Lake, then drive to Chaka (300kms, 4-5hrs)
Stop At: Qinghai Lake, China
Enjoy the magnificent scenery of Qinghai Lake in the morning, which is the largest inland salt water lake in China. It is no exaggeration to say that Qinghai Lake is a miracle that is endowed by a deity. Outside, He encircled the lake with four continuous mountains and extends broad grassland at the foot of them.
Duration: 3 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Chaka Xingji Hotel
Day 3: Chaka Salt Lake Sightseeing, then train to Zhangye
Stop At: Chaka Salt Lake, Haixi, Chaka Town, Ulan County 817101 China
Enjoy a delighting breakfast at the hotel and set off by the private vehicle to enjoy the most charming landscape of Chaka Salt Lake, which was nominated by the national tourist geography magazine as one of the 55 places to go. We will arrive at the ticket office after 4hrs driving, the guide will assist you with the tickets. Entering the scenic area, you will follow a long salt lake avenue to the Prayer Square and Mirror of the Sky Square, see a variety of salt sculptures, as well as the exquisite Muyaoluosang Goddess Statue. Take a small train to explore the depths of Chaka Salt Lake and leave some fabulous photos in the Mirror of Sky Square Experience Area. Believe you will have a beautiful day at Chaka Salt Lake.
We will back to Xining in the afternoon and then catch an express train to our next stop Zhangye.
Duration: 4 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Zhangye Yujing International Hotel
Day 4: Full day sightseeing in Zhangye, Visit Giant Buddha Temple & Mati Temple
Stop At: Dafo Temple of Zhangye, Dafosi Alley, Minzhu West Road, Ganzhou District, Zhangye 734000 China
After breakfast at the hotel, we will take you to visit the Giant Buddha Temple, which is the important place of the Silk Road. the Giant Buddha Temple is the largest architectural relic in Gansu Province of the Western Xia (1038-1227) period. China’s largest reclining Buddha is well preserved in this temple.
Duration: 40 minutes
Stop At: Mati Temple Scenic Resort, Mati Country, Sunan County 734400 China
then proceed the tour to Mati Temple where were built in Jin Dynasty. A series of horse shoe prints are visible in Grotto 9, which are said to be left by a heaven horse. As a result, the temple was named for the horseshoe prints left by the legendary heaven horse, which become the treasure of the temple.
Duration: 4 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Kaoshan Tent (The yurt is closed from October to next April every year, we will change to downtown hotel.)
Day 5: Explore the Danxia Landform, then drive to Jiayuguan (230kms, 2-3hrs)
Stop At: Binggou Danxia Scenic Area, Sunan County China
Today we will proceed to visit the Binggou Danxia, which is the most significant geological and geomorphic relic of the window lattice palace in China, mainly composed of sandstone geomorphic relic landscape.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Zhangye Danxia Geopark, 30km South of the County, Linze County 734200 China
After that, continue the tour to Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, which is the most typical arid area of northern China. Ribbons of reds, oranges and yellows slice through the rock, to create a rainbow vista contained only by the contours of the jagged mountain peaks. so many people also call it “Rainbow Mountain”. Afternoon, drive you to Jiayuguan. Met and be transferred the hotel for rest.
Duration: 3 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Jiayuguan Xuri International Hotel
Day 6: Visit Jiayuguan Pass & Xuanbi Great Wall, Drive to Dunhuang (350kms, 5-6hrs)
Stop At: Jiayuguan Fortress, Within Yuquan Town, Yuquan Town, Jiayuguan 735100 China
In the morning, we will meet you at the hotel lobby and take you to visit the Jiayuguan pass. This Ming Dynasty fort guards the strategic Jiayuguan pass, at the western end of the Great Wall – this was the last section built by the Ming Dynasty.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Great Wall Museum of Jiayuguan, Xinhua South Road, Xinhua Street, Jiayuguan 735100 China
You will explore the Great Wall Museum, which was opened to the public in October 1989 and it is the first one to exhibit the Great Wall culture in a comprehensive and systematic way.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Xuanbi Great Wall, Jiayuguan City, China
ext, we will pay a visit to the Great Wall on the Cliff, The wall here was built on the ridge with a gradient of 45 degrees. It is high in the air and it looks as if it fell down from the top of the hill. So people refer to this section of the Great Wall as the “Suspended Wall”. After the visiting, transfer to Dunhuang for an overnight stay.
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Dunhuang Fuguo Hotel
Day 7: Dunhuang Mogao Caves & Echoing Sand Mountain
Stop At: Mogao Caves, West of Hexi Zoulang, Dunhuang 736200 China
This morning, we will visit Mogao Grottoes, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes, this UNESCO World Heritage site. It is one of the great artistic and religious wonders of the world and it is famous for its exquisite murals and various sculptures inside the caves, which was built in different dynasties, spanning 1,000 years of Buddhist art, enjoy the Silk Road Movies in the visitor Center about 40 mins before our exploration into the Grottoes.The professional guide from the Mogao will bring you to 8grottoes with their special torch so that you have clear view of the murals and paintings. （Note: No photos and Video in the caves). The visiting time is around 4hrs including movie.
Duration: 4 hours
Stop At: Mingsha Shan – Echoing-Sand Mountain, Three miles from Dunhuang, Dunhuang 831900 China
Following a lunch in local restaurant, we will head up to Echoing Sand Mountain&Crescent Lake. When there is wild wind, the sands will be blown up and make loud sound, while the sound sounds like being produced by some ancient musical instrument when blew by breeze, There is also a Crescent Lake that has been in existence for hundreds of years without ever being buried by the sand. Riding the camel as the Silk Road Caravan in the vast desert is highly recommended (approximately 40mins). Please bring your sunglasses and and mask to keep out the dust.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Shazhou Nightly Market, Yangguan East Road, Dunhuang China
In the evening, you will enjoy the walking tour to the Shazhou Night Market, the most bustling place of Dunhuang at night. It’s easy to lose our sense of time wonder the market while enjoy your leisure time and taste some local cuisine.
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight in Dunhuang Fuguo Hotel
Day 8: Dunhuang Departure
Stop At: Dunhuang, Dunhuang, Gansu
Breakfast, transfer to the airport to catch your flight back to your sweet home. It has been a great silk road holiday and we look forward to seeing you another China trip.
Duration: 30 minutes
No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.
Duration: 8 days
Starts: Haidong, China
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
