China's Silk Road: Xi'an to Dunhuang through Gansu

Arrive in Xi'an

Xi'an Xianyang International Airport to your hotel in Xi'an, then the Muslim Quarter

• Repas du soir
• Nuit : Xi'an
• Environ 1 h de route

Soir

The welcome dinner is planned as a food walk through its stalls, roujiamo flatbread with braised meat, cold liangpi noodles and persimmon cakes from the griddle, finished with yangrou paomo, mutton soup with torn bread, at a sit-down table.

Compris

• Pick-up at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY)
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Welcome food walk and dinner in the Muslim Quarter

The Terracotta Warriors and the wall by bike

Xi'an to the Terracotta Warriors at Lintong and back, then the city wall

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Xi'an
• Environ 2 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down bowl of hand-pulled noodles near the site, and we are back in Xi'an by early afternoon to rest through the heat. Around 5 pm we climb onto the city wall at the South Gate, begun in the Ming dynasty on the line of the Tang city, and cycle its whole loop, about 13.7 km on a flat brick top, past gate towers and corner bastions as the light turns warm, subject to the wall's bike hire being open that day.

Soir

The evening is free.

Compris

• The Terracotta Warriors with a licensed site guide where required: Pits 1, 2 and 3 and the bronze chariots
• Noodle lunch near the site
• The Xi'an City Wall by bike, about 13.7 km

High-speed train to Lanzhou and the Yellow River

Xi'an North to Lanzhou West by high-speed train, then the Gansu Provincial Museum and the Yellow River

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Lanzhou
• Environ 45 min de route

Matin

After breakfast we would take a high-speed train from Xi'an North to Lanzhou West, about two and a half to four hours depending on the train, west through the loess hills of Shaanxi and eastern Gansu. Your guide handles the tickets, the passport checks at the gates and the luggage, and a vehicle meets us at Lanzhou West.

Après-midi

Lunch is the city's own dish, Lanzhou beef noodles, pulled to order and served in a clear broth with sliced beef, radish, chilli oil and coriander. In the afternoon we plan to visit the Gansu Provincial Museum, whose Silk Road galleries hold the bronze Galloping Horse of Gansu, the Flying Horse, found in a Han dynasty tomb at Wuwei, if it is on display that day. Entry is reported to be free but by timed, real-name reservation with a passport, and the museum is reported closed on Mondays, so the visit depends on a slot. Late in the day we walk across the Zhongshan Bridge, an iron truss bridge opened in 1909 as the first permanent bridge over the Yellow River, and climb the hillside above the river for the view over the brown river and the city.

Soir

Dinner is on your own; your guide points out the night market.

Compris

• Seats on the high-speed train from Xi'an North to Lanzhou West
• Lanzhou beef noodle lunch
• The Gansu Provincial Museum, subject to a reservation slot
• The Zhongshan Bridge and the hillside above the Yellow River

Bingling Si by boat, then the train to Zhangye

Lanzhou to Liujiaxia and Bingling Si by boat, then the train to Zhangye

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Zhangye
• Environ 4.5 h de route

Après-midi

After about an hour and a half on its walkways we take the boat back and sit down to lunch at Liujiaxia. Boats are reported to run in summer and autumn and only when the water allows; when they cannot, we spend the morning by the river in Lanzhou instead and take an earlier train.

Soir

After the roughly two-hour drive back to Lanzhou West we would take an afternoon high-speed train to Zhangye West, about three hours, so we arrive in the evening for a late dinner together. There is little slack in this day, which is why the easy option exists.

Compris

• Speedboat from Liujiaxia to Bingling Si and back, where the water allows
• Bingling Si caves and the great seated Maitreya with your guide
• Sit-down lunch at Liujiaxia
• Seats on the high-speed train from Lanzhou West to Zhangye West
• Dinner in Zhangye

The Zhangye Danxia, the Great Buddha Temple and Jiayuguan Pass

Zhangye Danxia Geopark and the Great Buddha Temple, then the train to Jiayuguan and Jiayuguan Pass

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Jiayuguan
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

The park publishes early opening hours in the warm months, so we plan to be inside for the soft light of the morning, when the red, orange and cream stripes of the hills stand out, using the park shuttle between viewpoints; hours, last entry and bus times are as published and confirmed at quoting. Back in town we visit the Great Buddha Temple, founded in 1098 under the Western Xia, whose wooden hall shelters a painted clay reclining Buddha reported to be about 35 m long.

Après-midi

After lunch a high-speed train takes about an hour and a quarter west along the Hexi Corridor to Jiayuguan South, with the Qilian Mountains to the south and the Gobi to the north. In the late afternoon we go to Jiayuguan Pass, the fortress begun around 1372 in the Ming dynasty at the narrowest point of the corridor, where travellers heading west left the empire; walk the inner and outer walls and the gate towers before closing time. The Great Wall Museum next door is visited if it is open.

Soir

The evening is free.

Compris

• Zhangye Danxia Geopark in the morning, with the park shuttle
• The Great Buddha Temple in Zhangye
• Lunch in Zhangye
• Seats on the high-speed train from Zhangye West to Jiayuguan South
• Jiayuguan Pass

The Overhanging Great Wall and the train to Dunhuang

Jiayuguan: the Overhanging Great Wall and the First Beacon Tower, then the train to Dunhuang

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Dunhuang
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

A slower morning. We drive a few kilometres north of Jiayuguan to the Overhanging Great Wall, a restored stretch that climbs a steep ridge, and finish at the First Beacon Tower on the cliff above the Taolai River gorge; both sit within the Jiayuguan scenic area; opening hours are confirmed at quoting.

Après-midi

After a sit-down lunch in Jiayuguan we take the train west to Dunhuang.

Soir

Published listings show two direct high-speed trains a day from Jiayuguan South, leaving in the late afternoon or early evening and taking about two and a half to three hours, so the plan is built around one of them, arriving in the evening; the timetable is confirmed at quoting. Watch for the oasis towns of Yumen and Guazhou, where lines of poplars and green fields follow the irrigation channels through an otherwise stony plain. A vehicle meets the train and takes us to the hotel in Dunhuang, where we stay three nights. If the timetable does not suit on your date, we would drive instead, a road transfer of roughly four to five hours, to be confirmed at quoting. Dinner is on your own; the Shazhou night market is a short walk from the centre.

Compris

• The Overhanging Great Wall
• The First Beacon Tower above the Taolai River gorge
• Lunch in Jiayuguan
• Seats on the train from Jiayuguan to Dunhuang

The Mogao Caves and the singing sands

Dunhuang to the Mogao Caves, then Mingsha Shan and the Crescent Spring

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Dunhuang
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Après-midi

After lunch we visit Dunhuang Museum through the hottest hours, which is reported to be free with a passport and closed on Mondays.

Soir

About two hours before sunset we go to Mingsha Shan, the Echoing Sand Mountains, to ride camels in a line across the dunes, subject to the operator's calendar, and walk to Yueyaquan, the Crescent Spring, a small lake held in a curve of sand.

Compris

• The Mogao Caves on an early timed ticket, with the Digital Exhibition Centre films and a Mogao cave guide
• Lunch in Dunhuang
• Dunhuang Museum with your guide
• Mingsha Shan and the Crescent Spring, with a camel ride across the dunes at sunset

Activités en option

• Sand sledding or a microlight flight over the dunes at Mingsha Shan, if offered and paid locally

Yumen Pass, the Han Great Wall and the Yadan Geopark

Dunhuang to Yumen Pass, the Han Great Wall and the Yadan National Geopark, and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Dunhuang
• Environ 5 h de route

Après-midi

We would break it with a stop every hour or so and a sit-down lunch. We leave at about 8 am and drive about 90 km northwest to Yumen Pass, the Jade Gate of Han dynasty poems, where a square rammed-earth fort, Xiaofangpan, stands alone on the gravel plain. Nearby a section of the Han Great Wall, built about 2,000 years ago, still runs across the desert, reached by the scenic area's shuttle. The Yumen Pass sites are reported to be part of the Silk Roads World Heritage listing. Then about 70 to 80 km further west to the Yadan National Geopark, where wind has carved an old lake bed into long clay ridges and towers; park shuttle buses stop at viewpoints along a set route, with a short stop at each.

Soir

We are back in Dunhuang by late afternoon, and the farewell dinner is tonight.

Compris

• Yumen Pass and the Xiaofangpan fort
• The Han dynasty Great Wall ruins
• The Yadan National Geopark with the park shuttle
• Sit-down lunch on the way
• Farewell dinner in Dunhuang

A free morning and depart from Dunhuang

Dunhuang to Dunhuang Airport (DNH)

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

The last morning is yours, so the trip ends without an early alarm unless you want one. Early risers can go back to Mingsha Shan for sunrise, when the dunes are usually cooler and quieter; your guide would arrange the ride out, and any entry fee for a second visit is confirmed in advance. Others sleep in, walk the riverside park along the Dang River, or browse the market for apricots, dried fruit and painted copies of the cave murals. Check-out is at the usual hotel time, and a driver takes you the short drive to Dunhuang airport (DNH), with your guide there to see you off. Flight connections from Dunhuang depend on the timetable for your month, so we check them when we quote and suggest a flight leaving after about 12 pm so the morning is not rushed. If you want to stay on, we can quote extra nights in Dunhuang or help with your onward connection.

Compris

• Drop-off at Dunhuang airport (DNH)

Activités en option

• Sunrise on the Mingsha Shan dunes