PRIVATE TOUR: SILK ROAD EXPERIENCE 12/13 DAYS

DAY 1 : BEIJING
Arrival Beijing airport. You will be met by your private guide and driver and transfer to the hotel of your choice for a 3 nights stay. After settling in at your hotel, your guide will take you for a city walking tour visiting Tiananmen Square, Great Hall of People, Chairman Mao Mausoleum, and the Forbidden City. Enjoy a Peking Duck lunch. (L)

DAY 2 : BEIJING
Morning to visit the Temple of Heaven followed by a leisurely walk along the cobblestone lanes nearby lined with street artists, teahouses and private shops. Then visit the Summer Palace, a grand and sensual palace complex set around the beautiful Kunming Lake, dotted with dozens of halls, pavilions and temples. Your guide will escort you through the wonderful 'Long Corridor' and describe its artistic history. (B, L)

DAY 3 : BEIJING
A day trip outside Beijing to visit the Great Wall of China. Tonight a cultural performance is included - your choice of peking opera, acrobatics show or puppet show in a local teahouse. (B, L)
* Cultural performance is excluded in Standard Class.

DAY 4 : BEIJING - XIAN
After breakfast, transfer to airport for a short flight to Xian. Embark on a grand tour of Xian covering the Terracotta Warriors, here, thousands of life-size warrior sculptures, each with unique figure, armed with bronze swords, stand guardian to the resting place of the mighty Emperor Qin, who first unified China in the 3rd century B.C. Also visit the Imperial Hot Springs. Lunch with special local delicacies. This afternoon, visit the Big Goose Pagoda, built to house precious Buddhist scriptures imported from India along the Silk Road; and the Forest of Steles with thousands of life-size stone books carved with beautiful writings by infamous poets and literates. (B, L)

Luxury Class : Shangri-La Golden Flower Hotel
Deluxe Class : Sheraton Xian Hotel
Superior Class : Grand New World Xian
Standard Class : Bell Tower Hotel

DAY 5 : XIAN
This morning your guide will take you for a leisurely walk on the Ancient City Walls, preserved through the ages, the massive Wall encloses today's Xian city center. Continue to visit the Great Mosque. The remainder of the day is left open to meander through the lively local markets nearby.(B)
* Free day at leisure for Standard Class.

DAY 6 : XIAN - DUNHUANG
After breakfast, fly to Dunhuang. Arrival Dunhuang and transfer to the tourist-class Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel for overnight. For over 1,000 years, Dunhuang mark the national border line between Zhouguo (China) in the east and the barren no-man land in the west. Here in this oasis town, medieval Silk Road travellers from the far west of Persia and Roman Empire exchange their goods, share their culture and philosophy with the Chinese travellers. Among others, Buddhism flourished in the town and it was from here the Buddhist religion was later introduced to the mainland China.

Embark on a torchlight tour of the Buddhist art treasure house at Mogao Caves. A fantastic collections of murals, statues and paintings, hewn from a desert cliffside, have survived for 1,000 years in the dry climate of the caves. The Dunhuang County Musuem boasts an extensive series of Silk Road relics, from residential handicrafts to sacrifical objects unearthed in ancient tombs. Afternoon is left open to stroll along or experience a camel ride on the towering sand dunes of MingSha. Visit the Crescent Moon Lake, which is hidden in the center of a desert, and perhaps sip tea at the delightful pavilion besides the lake. (B, L)

DAY 7 : DUNHUANG - TURPAN
Awake this morning to the stunning views of sunrise over rolling sand dunes. Enjoy some free leisure time. You may want to stroll along the local markets or wander through the town on a bike ride. In the afternoon, fly to Urumqi where you will be transfered to Turpan on a scenic 2 hours drive. Stay 3 nights at the tourist class Turpan Oasis Hotel. (B)

DAY 8 : TURPAN
Turpan is unique. Unlike most of the medieval oases and great empires along the Silk Road which have ruined by the cruel weather and storming deserts over the ages, Turpan has survived through 2,000 years despite low rain falls (only 16 mm or 1/2 inch of rain ever reaches the ground in an average year). This charming oasis is also a premier wine-growing region of China, dotted with lovely vineyards all over the town. Turpan's secret is underground water, utilised today as it has been for thousands of years by a system of interconnecting wells (karez) that relay snowmelt water from the Heavenly Mountains underground to the oasis.
Your first visit today is at the Karez Wells followed by an excursion to the Jiaohe Ancient City Ruins, Flaming Mountains, and the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. (B, L)

DAY 9 : TURPAN
This morning, your guide will introduce you to the Sugongta (Emin Minaret) built in 1778 followed by a walk along a colorful local market. Lunch in a vineyard and sample a Uighur meal where where the chefs pan fry dishes in front of you. The remainder of the afternoon is free at leisure. (B, L)
* Today is free at leisure for Standard Class.

DAY 10 : HEAVENLY LAKE, URUMQI
Morning drive past the Gobi desert to the Heavenly Lake. Enjoy the activities at your leisure: horse-back riding, visit a Karak yurt family, boat-ride on the lake or walk along the shore of the lake. Overnight in Urumqi. (B)
(Those who wish to further appreciate the beautiful lake may consider to stay overnight in a Karak yurt.)

DAY 11 : URUMQI - BEIJING
Transfer to airport for the flight to Beijing. Arrival Beijing and transfer to hotel for overnight. (B)

DAY 12 : BEIJING
Transfer to airport for your flight home. End of itinerary or extend your tour to other cities in China. (B)
* Private transfer is excluded in Standard Class.

Optional Extension to Kashgar —

DAY 10 : URUMQI - KASHGAR
After visiting the Heavenly Lake, depart on an evening flight to Kashgar. Arrival Kashgar and transfer to hotel for overnight. Stay at the tourist class 3* Kashgar Hotel, the best hotel in town - comfortable rooms equiped with air-conditioning and private facilities. VIP Room is included in Luxury and Deluxe Class. Standard Room is included in Superior and Standard Class.

DAY 11 : KASHGAR
Half day guided visit to the Sunday Bazzar (this bazzar opens everyday but Sunday is by far the most active and is the best day for visit) and the Great Mosque. Afternoon is free at leisure. Evening flight to Urumqi, arrival Urumqi and transfer to hotel for overnight.
* Free day in Kashgar for Standard Class.

DAY 12 : URUMQI - BEIJING
Depart this morning for your flight to Beijing. Arrival Beijing and transfer to hotel for overnight. The rest of the day is free at leisure. (B)

DAY 13 : BEIJING
Transfer to airport for your flight home. End of itinerary or extend your tour to other cities in China. (B)