6-Day Gansu Silk Road Private Tour of Zhangye, Jiayuguan and Dunhuang

Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Overnight in Zhangye

Welcome to Zhangye! Your tour guide will welcome you in the airport/train station, and then escort you to your hotel. The rest of today is for you to explore this exotic city by yourself. 

Attractions: Mati Temple, Pingshan Lake Valley
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Overnight in Zhangye

Morning we will pay a visit 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. 

Then proceed the tour to Pingshan Lake Valley, which is located in Pingshanhu Geopark Ganzhou Zhangye China, it is characterized by gutters and gullies and was an important channel to enter the Hexi corridor. Tonight we will stay overnight near the Danxia Geopark.

Overnight in Zhangye.

Attractions: Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Overnight in Zhangye

Meet the guide and driver at the hotel, then we will head to the splendid 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”.

After visiting, we will drive to Jiayuguan for overnight stay.

Attractions: Jiayuguan Fortress, Overhanging Great Wall
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Overnight in Guazhou

Full day sightseeing in Jiayuguan, we will climb the Jiayuguan pass in the morning. 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. (There are many steps from one tower to the other, please consider if are able to walk and climb about 2hrs)

Visit the The Great Wall Museum, which was opened to visitor in October 1989 and it is the first one to exhibit the Great Wall culture in a comprehensive and systematic way.

We will pay a visit to the Overhanging Great Wall, 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”.

Say farewell to Jiayuguan and then we will drive all the way to the last stop Dunhuang. 

Attractions: Mogao Grottoes, Echoing Sand Mountain & Crescent Lake, Shazhou Night Market
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Overnight in Dunhuang

After breakfast, drive to Mogao Grottoes. Mogao Grottoes is famed as the “Louvre of the East”, which is outstanding for its exquisite mural paintings and statues. There are now 492 grottoes in which about 45000 square meters mural paintings and 2100 colorfully painted statues from which you can trace the development of Chinese art over 1600 years from one dynasty to the next because each dynasty built own caves to record its own features. There are about 40 common caves opened to the public.

Continue the tour to Echoing Sand Mountain & Crescent Lake. When there is wild wind, the sands will be blown up and make a loud sound, while the sound sounds like being produced by some ancient musical instrument when blown by the 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 (approximately 40mins) as the Silk Road Caravan in the vast desert is highly recommended. Experience the feeling of the camel team marching in the desert. The sound of camel bells is a must-play item for every tourist.

In the evening, strolling this interesting Shazhou Night Market with different types of things to see and food to eat, it’s easy to lose our sense of time wonder the market while enjoying your leisure time and taste some local cuisine.

Attractions: No
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Not Included

Today is free for you until your tour guide and driver escort you to the airport in time for the scheduled flight/railway station to other destination. Tour ends.