Lanzhou Holiday Planner. Tailor-made Holidays to Lanzhou in China

Day 1: Urumqi

Welcome to Urumqi, in Xianjiang, a massive province which shares borders with eight countries! A number airlines service Urumqi and our tour starts at this point. Arrival transfer from airport to hotel.

Day 2: Urumqi - Kashgar

Capital of Xinjiang, a largely desert and grassland province fringed by some of the highest mountains in the world, Urumqi sits amidst beautiful scenery, with the snow-clad Tian Shan range to the city’s east. We enjoy an excursion to Tian Chi (Heaven Lake), located at an altitude of 2,000m among the Tian Shan Mountains. Later, fly west to Kashgar.

Day 3: Kashgar

Kashgar’s importance grew from its location as an oasis at the point where the northern and southern routes of the ancient Silk Road converged. See the Id Kah Mosque, Aba Khoja Mausoleum, where the local cemetery filled with distinctive mud and brick tombs is still used by the local Uighur peoples and the colourful Old Town.

Day 4: Kashgar - Urumqi

A visit is made to Kashgar’s local market with free time to explore. Later, a flight to Urumqi.

Day 5: Urumqi - Turpan

Enjoy an excursion to the southern mountain pastures before continuing by road to Turpan. Located on the northern Silk Road, Turpan is a rural Uighur settlement, descended from nomadic Siberian and Central Asian tribes who settled the region in the 9th century. Renowned for its grape production, you’ll visit Putao Gou (Grape Valley).

Day 6: Turpan

We drive to Bezeklik past the Flaming Mountains which due to sun and shadow at certain times of the day seeming to flicker as though glowing poker-hot and visit the Bezeklik Caves which once formed part of a Buddhist monastery. Beyond here are the Astana tombs and the impressive ruins of Gaochang city. Tonight, enjoy a traditional show of song and dance.

Day 7: Turpan - Liuyuan

Visit to Imin Ta (Imin Minaret) constructed in 1778, before heading beyond Turpan to the Jiaohe Ruins. Occupying a spectacular position on a steep plateau, the ancient street plan is still evident. A stop is also made at some 2,000-year-old Karez water channels, an irrigation system that many Silk Road cities and towns relied upon.

Day 8: Liuyuan - Dunhuang

Arrive Liuyuan, and continue to remote Dunhuang, a small and strategically important desert oasis town on the Silk Road, a stone’s throw from the end of the Great Wall. Visit Yueya Quan (Crescent Moon Lake), a small spring-fed lake surrounded by gigantic sand dunes, that has been a vital source of water here for millennia.

Day 9: Dunhuang

Visit perhaps Dunhuang’s most famous attraction, the UNESCO-listed Mogao Caves. The colourful cave paintings which were the legacy of travelling pilgrim monks, merchants and nobles form the most fascinating repository of Buddhist art in China.

Day 10: Dunhuang - Lanzhou

Enjoy a visit to Jiayuguan Fort at Jiayuguan Pass - the farthest outpost of the Great Wall which was built here by the Ming in 1372, over 5,000km from the wall’s easternmost point at Shanhaiguan. Situated between striking mountain ranges, everything that travelled between central Asia and China had to file through the Jiayuguan Pass. We will transfer you to the airport for the flight from Jiayuguan to Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province and a former staging post on the Silk Road.

Day 11: Lanzhou

Enjoy a boat ride on the 5,487 km long Yellow River (2nd longest in China after the Yangtze) and a visit to Bingling Temple.

Day 12: Lanzhou - Xi'an

Flight from Lanzhou to Xi’an. Today enjoy a city tour, taking in the highlights of Xi'an, including the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Muslim Quarter, the Great Mosque and the medieval City Wall, which you can take a bike ride along.

Day 13: Xi'an

Xi’an in Shaanxi Province is perhaps most famous for the discovery of Emperor Qin’s Terracotta Warriors. Discovered in 1974 by local farmers digging a well, the 2,200 year old terracotta warriors comprise more than 7,000 life-sized soldiers which stand battle-ready in excavated pits under the cover of a modern protective hanger. Made of local clay, no two faces are alike – each is said to be an individual portrait. Today, visit Huanqing Hot Springs, a scenic spot in the shadow of Li Mountain, before continuing to a workshop where crafts people make replicas of the terracotta warriors. Then visit the archaeological site of the Terracotta Warriors.

Day 14: Xi'an - Beijing

This morning fly from Xi’an to Beijing, China's bustling capital city. Enjoy an excursion beyond Beijing to the legendary UNESCO-listed Great Wall at Badaling. Spanning rugged mountain ranges, lush green valleys and barren plains, it stretches as far as the eye can see - at least 6,700 kms. Continuing on, visit the tombs of the Ming emperors, where some 13 emperors were interred and a cloisonne workshop of decorative metal and enamel sculpture.