12 Days Silk Road Buddhist Art Tour
- Tour Type: Private tour
- Tour Price: From *** Note!
- Destinations: Beijing - Dunhuang - Jiayuguan - Zhangye - Lanzhou - Tianshui - Xian - Luoyang - Beijing
Attractions To See
Day 1
- Arrival Beijing
- Meals: No
- Accommodation: In Beijing
Say Hello to China! When your flight lands in Beijing, your local guide is ready to meet you at the customs exit, holding a placard with your name. Then you will be escorted to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to recover from jet lag or to ramble around on your own.
Day 2
- Beijing Dunhuang
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: In Dunhuang
Take Morning flight from Beijng to Dunhuang.On Arrival, be met by our guide and driver and be transferred to Yardang National Geologic Park. Yardang is a kind of wind and flood eroded landform typical in dry and arid area. The park is also called “Ghost City” by locals, which features the unique and wonderful scenes and landscapes of Gobi desert.
On the way you will visit Yumen pass, the gateway of ancient Silk Road and one of the oldest customs of ancient China. Near the old pass you will visit the Han Dynasty Great Wall, which was built in 1st BC to protect the Han Empire from nomadics to the north.
Day 3
- Dunhuang
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: In Dunhuang
After breakfast, visit Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent Lake. The Singing Sand Dunes is one of the Four Great Singing Sands of China. 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, hence the name. The Crescent Lake is in a natural shape of half-moon, it's totally enclosed by the sand dunes around, but never been buried by sand for thousand of years.
Visit Mogao grottoes in the afternoon. Mogao Grottoes (also known as Thousand Buddha Cave) is one of three most noted grottoes in China and also the largest, best preserved and richest treasure house of Buddhist art in the world.
Day 4
- Dunhuang Jiayuguan
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: In Jiayuguan
After breakfast, drive to Jiayuguan city and on the way visit the Yulin Grottoes. Yulin grottoes is a branch of the Dunhuang art complex and has another name as Ten-Thousand-Buddha Valley. Yulin Grottoes are highlighted by their delicate and colorful murals painted from various dynasties, whose content ranges from the figures of Buddha to the sutra stories to flowers and beasts.
Day 5
- Jiayuguan Zhangye
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: In Zhangye
After breakfast, visit Jiayuguan Pass which is the western end of the Ming dynasty Great wall and is known as the “strongest fortress under heaven”.
After lunch, drive to Zhangye city and visit Danxia Landform. Danxia Landform is also known as Danxia National Geologic Park or Rainbow Mountains. Many artists admire this masterpiece as it appears like a perfect painting on canvas.
Day 6
- Zhangye Lanzhou
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: In Lanzhou
After breakfast, visit Giant Buddha temple and Matisi grottoes, in the afternoon take speed train to Lanzhou and check in hotel.
The Giant Buddha Temple is located in the southwest part of Zhangye downtown, which is well known as the biggest indoor clay Nirvana Buddha of Asia. The Temple was initially built in 1098 AD. It’s the only preserved temple of Western Xia Dynasty in China.
Matisi Grottoes is also known as the Horse’s Hoof Temple. It is a very popular scenic spot in China, which integrates Yugur ethnic minority group’s folk customs with snow mountain views and cave art.
Day 7
- Lanzhou
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: In Lanzhou
After breakfast, visit Gansu Provincial Museum and then drive to the giant dam of Liujiaxia Reservoir, then take a speedboat across the reservoir to visit the Binglinsi Grottoes.
Binglinsi grottoes is a series of grottoes filled with Buddhist sculpture carved into natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the Yellow River. It is both stylistically and geographically a midpoint between the monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan and the Buddhist Grottoes of central China, Yungang Grottoes near Datong and Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang.
Day 8
- Lanzhou Tianshui Xian
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: In Xian
After breakfast drive to Tianshui city and visit Maijishan Grottoes. Then take train to Xian and check in the hotel.
Maijishan Grottoes was named for its shape -- like that of a pile of wheat. The Maijishan Grottoes have a long history. Excavation and rock carving continued for more than a thousand years.
Day 9
- Xian
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: In Xian
Take a rest in the morning and after lunch visit Xian City Wall and Muslim Quarter.
The main magnet of Xian is the city wall, which is the most complete city wall that has survived in China as well being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.
Xian Muslim Quarter is just located behind ( north of ) the Drum Tower. The Xian Muslim quarter is a delightful place you mustn't miss! The bazaar in the Muslim area is most attractive with a wide area of stalls selling everything. The streets and walkways are full of life. The shopping is great, very cheap and some unusual items we will seldom see anywhere else in China.
Day 10
- Xian Luoyang
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: In Luoyang
After breakfast visit Terra-Cotta Warriors and Big Ggoose Pagode then take speed train to Luoyang.
The Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Life size terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations are the star features at the museum. They are replicas of what the imperial guard should look like in those days of pomp and vigor. It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda is located in Xian city and stands among the complex of “Da Cien Temple". The Pagoda was constructed in Yong Hui three years of Tang dynasty (652AD) to store the Buddhist scriptures brought to China by hierarch Xuanzang.
Day 11
- Luoyang
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: In Luoyang
After breakfast, visit Longmen Grottoes and White Horse Temple.
Longmen Grottoes carved on the Longmen and Xiangshan Mountain on the both sides of Yi River to the south of Luoyang City. It’s one of the important stone sculpture treasure house of China and together with Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang and the Yungang Grottoes in Datong enjoy fame as the three greatest grottoes of China.
White horse temple was founded in 68 A.D. in the Eastern Han dynasty with history more than 1900 years and known as “the first Chinese temple” and “the birth place of Chinese Buddhism”.
Day 12
- Luoyang Beijing
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
- Accommodation: No
After breakfast take speed train to Beijing and the tour end.
Price Includes
- Private car with air-conditioning and driver
- Land transfers between airport / train station / hotels and scenic sites
- Hotel accommodation with breakfast (4 stars with nice breakfast)
- Professional English speaking tour guide
- Lunch and dinner as listed in the itinerary
- Speed train ticket from Tianshui to Xian
- Speed train ticket from Xian to Luoyang
- Speed train ticket from Luoyang to Beijing
- Entrance fee as listed in the itinerary
- 24 H / 7D English speaking telephone service
- China Life Tourist Accident / Casualty Insurance
- Government taxes
Price Excludes
- Personal expenses such as laundry, drinks, phone bills and optional activities …
- Gratitude for guides and drivers as international practice
- China Entry Visa
- Travel insurance (full coverage travel insurance from you country of origin)
Hotels
For all standard tours, The Silk Road China Tours will choose the best 4 stars hotel in different destinations. The hotel was evaluated comprehensively by its room size, cleanness, location, service and breakfast. It can well satisfy most western travelers and brings you relaxation, comfort and convenience.
If you want to upgrade the hotel to Deluxe standard or you have some special requirements, please inform us in the booking form or email us.
At some remote regions or ethnic area, there are no 4 stars or 5 stars hotels available. So we will arrange the best local hotel and notify the situation in advance.
Meals
Normally The Silk Road China Tours provides two meals each day: Breakfast and Lunch. You will have the freedom to make your own dinner choice.
Breakfast
It is normally served at the hotel where you stay. Depending on the hotel, the breakfast would be in western style, Chinese style, or a combination.
Lunch
When plan your lunches, we consider the balance of food quality, dining environment and tour convenience. We will provide lunch in a local restaurant whenever possible. The meal will give you an opportunity to eat at local restaurant, follow local customs, and taste local dishes. However in some remote regions where it’s simply hard to find a non-tourist restaurant, the meal could be arranged at a local tourist restaurant or a local family
Your own dinner choice
Dinners will not be included in your meal plan unless you have that requirement. Enjoying the local food could be one of your best experiences in China. This is why we provide you this flexibility of food choice. Your private guide will always give you good suggestions based on your preferences.
If you have certain food allergies or special requirements such as vegetarian food, let us know. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.
Private Guide & Transfer
You will have a private tour guide, private driver, and an air-conditioned vehicle escorting you at every destination you travel. This will provide you with maximized personal care, security, and flexibility.
All of our tour guides are qualified professionals and registered English Speaking Tourist Guides in China who are reassessed annually. All of our tour vehicles are clean and in excellent condition, manned with licensed safe drivers.
Private Tour Guide
You will always be greeted punctually on arrival at each destination airport. At every departure, your guide will stay at your side until you have checked in and passed through the security checkpoint.
All of our travel guides in every destination are locals, who know the area well, they are very good at guiding you around and telling background stories of the tour sites, as well as showing you the secret spots for taking your best photos.
When changing your itinerary is needed due to unexpected reasons, your private tour guides will be more than accommodating in suggesting alternatives to ensure that you have a wonderful experience.
Private Transportation
When plan your lunches, we consider the balance of food quality, dining environment and tour convenience. We will provide lunch in a local restaurant whenever possible. The meal will give you an opportunity to eat at local restaurant, follow local customs, and taste local dishes. However in some remote regions where it’s simply hard to find a non-tourist restaurant, the meal could be arranged at a local tourist restaurant or a local family
Your own dinner choice
With our comfortable and safe private transportation, your tour will be more relaxing and less tiresome, keeping you in the best spirits to make the most of your experience in China.
In every destination visited, your vehicle is air conditioned, clean, and expertly maintained. Your private driver is licensed, insured, and very experienced.
To maximize your comfort, we use vehicles with extra space for you and your luggage. Depending on how many are traveling together, we generally use sedans or mini vans (7 seats) for 4 people or less, large vans or small coaches (12-22 seats) for 5-12 people, medium coaches (33 – 37 seats) for 13 – 25 people, and large coaches (45 seats over) for more than 25 people.
Tipping Guidelines
We realize that tipping is a sensitive subject for all travelers. While tips are widely accepted, we would like to stress that this is at your own personal discretion.While everyone is recommended to tip based on services rendered, our clients often ask we provide some basic guidelines.
1 person: $20-30/day • Group of 2: $15-25/per person/day • Group of 3-5: $15/per person/day • Group of 6-10: $10/per person/day
Some outstanding guides receive twice or three times as much depending on service quality and also the size of the group. Guests are welcome to tip more if they feel the services were exceptional. The driver may sometimes receive a tip 50% of what the guide receives. In places where roads are rough and dangerous, the driver may sometimes receive an equal amount of tipping as the guide.
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Why Choose Us?
We are the top Silk Road tour operator based in Dunhuang, China. We focus on providing well designed Silk Road China Tours with resonable price and thoughtful service.
- Easy & carefree booking
- The best value
- Great travel experience
- Locally operated
Tailor-made Tours
Your final trip plan will be 100% tailored to your needs, incl. itinerary, activities, hotel, meal plan etc.
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Phone: 0086 - 18919428669 (24h)
Tel: 0086 - 937 - 8809499 (24h)
Email: Service@silkroadtourcn.com
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