Oasis Towns Of The Old Silk Road – 11 Days

Drive east to the Terracotta Army, part of the vast burial complex of Qin Shi Huang, who unified China in 221 BC. Discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well and listed by UNESCO in 1987, the pits hold thousands of life-size soldiers and horses, each face modelled individually. Your guide walks you through the pits and explains what the figures reveal about the first empire.

Nearby, join a hands-on terracotta workshop, where local craftspeople show you how the figures are shaped from clay in moulds and finished by hand. You then make a small warrior of your own to take home.

After dark, walk along the Grand Tang Ever Bright City, a pedestrian boulevard built in the style of the Tang dynasty, when Xi’an, then called Chang’an, was one of the world’s great cities. Lanterns, music and costumed street performances fill the evening, shared with the many local families and visitors who come to stroll here.

After breakfast your driver takes you to the airport for the flight to Dunhuang, roughly two and a half hours. From the window, green farmland gives way to the bare mountains and desert of the Hexi Corridor, the narrow route the Silk Road followed between the mountains and the Gobi.

Your Dunhuang guide meets you and takes you to your hotel in Dunhuang. For centuries this oasis was the last major stop inside China before caravans struck out across the Taklamakan Desert.

Spend the rest of the day at leisure, perhaps wandering into town as the evening cools.

Visit the Mogao Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of cave temples carved into a cliff between the 4th and 14th centuries. Monks, merchants and local rulers paid for the caves as acts of devotion, and their murals and painted statues show Buddhas, flying apsaras and scenes of Silk Road life. A film at the visitor centre sets the scene before a specialist guide opens a selection of caves for you.

As the heat softens, head to the Singing Sand Dunes, named for the hum the sand makes when it slides in the wind. Climb a ridge for a sweeping view of the desert, then walk down to Crescent Moon Spring, a small curved pool that has survived among the dunes for centuries, with a pavilion on its bank.

Drive west across the desert to Yumen Pass, the Jade Gate, a Han dynasty frontier post through which caravans, soldiers and jade traders once passed. Today a square earthen fort stands alone on the plain, and it forms part of the UNESCO-listed Silk Roads network.

Continue to the Yadan Geological Park, where centuries of wind have carved the ground into long ridges and towers of clay, some shaped like ships, animals or castles. Your vehicle stops at viewpoints across the park, and in the afternoon light the colours are at their best.

Back in Dunhuang, browse the Shazhou Night Market, where stalls sell local snacks, apricot juice, dried fruit and handicrafts. It is a cheerful place to try a few local dishes and watch the town come out to eat.

Your driver takes you by private car to Liuyuan railway station, about two hours across the desert.

Board the high-speed train to Turpan, a journey of about three and a half hours. The line runs past stony plains and wind farms, with the Tianshan Mountains rising on the horizon as you cross into Xinjiang.

Your Turpan guide meets you and takes you to your hotel in Turpan. The town lies in one of the lowest depressions on earth, and it is famous across China for its grapes and raisins.

Visit the Emin Minaret, a tapering tower of patterned sun-dried brick built in the 18th century beside a mosque among the vineyards. Then see the Karez irrigation system, a network of hand-dug underground channels that carries snowmelt from the mountains to the fields, keeping the oasis green.

Walk through the Jiaohe Ruins, an ancient city on a narrow plateau between two riverbeds. Much of it was carved down into the earth, and its streets, temples and houses still stand in outline. It is part of the UNESCO-listed Silk Roads network.

Drive past the Flaming Mountains, red sandstone ridges that seem to shimmer in the heat and that appear in the classic novel Journey to the West. Then visit a Uyghur family at home, sharing tea, fruit and conversation under the grape trellis.

Your driver takes you to the airport for the flight to Kashgar, about two hours, over the Tianshan Mountains and the edge of the Taklamakan Desert.

Your Kashgar guide meets you and you head straight to the Id Kah Mosque, the largest mosque in China, its yellow gatehouse facing the main square. Then wander into the old town, a maze of earth-coloured lanes and carved wooden doors.

Finish on Artisan Street, where coppersmiths beat out pots and kettles, and woodworkers, hat makers and instrument makers work in open-fronted shops. It is a fine place to watch traditional crafts being made by hand before your guide takes you to your hotel in Kashgar.

Set out early on the Karakoram Highway, the mountain road that links western China with Pakistan. It follows a river gorge up into the Pamir Mountains, and the landscape grows ever more dramatic as you climb.

Stop at Baisha Lake, the White Sand Lake, where pale dunes slope down to turquoise water beneath the mountains. Continue to Karakul Lake, a high-altitude lake beneath the snow-covered peak of Muztagh Ata, one of the great sights of western China.

Near the lake, visit a Kyrgyz herding family, who welcome you for tea and bread and talk about life in the high pastures. Then drive back down the highway to your hotel in Kashgar, arriving in the evening.

Visit the Abakh Khoja Tomb, a 17th-century family mausoleum faced with green and blue glazed tiles, and linked in legend to Iparhan, the Fragrant Concubine of Chinese tradition. Your guide explains its history and the stories around it.

Spend time in a local bazaar, where traders sell spices, dried fruit and nuts, carpets, knives and embroidered hats. Try a fresh naan or a cup of pomegranate juice as you browse.

Your driver takes you to the airport for the flight to Urumqi. Your guide meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel in Urumqi.

Enjoy a final breakfast at your hotel. At the agreed time, your driver takes you to the airport for your onward flight.