5 Days Xian to Zhangye Impacting Tour by Flight $765
Incredible Culture and Landscape
The Rainbow Mountains of Zhangye is remote but now can be reached easily from Xi’an by direct flight or high speed trains. Currently, there is a flight departing from Xian in the afternoon, and arriving at Zhangye after less 2 hours’ flying. The high speed trains are not as fast as flight. They need about 8 hours to get to Zhangye, but provide more departing schedules. So why not to spare out 2~3 days to travel to Zhangye after your Xian trip, to witness the incredible Danxia landform landscape and charming arts hiding in the Buddhist grottoes. China Discovery has already designed a good trip for you.
Highlights of this tour
- Visit the word famous UNESCO World Heritage Site Terracotta Warriors and even make a miniature Terracotta Warrior on your own under the instruction of a local potter in Xian;
- Stroll leisurely around bustling and lively Muslim Quarter and try different local snacks and explore Muslim culture in Xian;
- Enjoy the different Danxia landscapes of both Binggou Danxia Area and Zhangye Danxia Landform Geo Park in a full day exploration;
- Get a deep insight into China’s authentic Buddhist culture after visiting the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian and Giant Buddha Temple, Matisi Grottoes in Zhangye.
Basic Trip Information
- Price:
- from
$765
- 1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one double-bed room in a 4-star hotel and traveling in low seasons;
- 2. This price is subject to change according to your traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities and possible fluctuation of currency exchange rate.
- Travel Route:
- Xian / Zhangye
- Travel Length:
- 5 Days and 4 Nights
- Tour Code:
- CD-CTXD-05B
- Group Size:
- You, your family, friends or group
- Experience:
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- Departure:
- Any day you want
Full Itinerary Day by day
- Day 1 Xian Arrival
Welcome to Xian! Your tour guide will meet you at Xian Xianyang International Airport (or railway station), then escort you to your hotel in a private vehicle. The rest of today is on your own to explore this ancient capital of China.
Arrival Ideas: Xian is only about 2~3 hours flying from majority of big cities in China, such as Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, etc. You can also get to Xian by high speed trains from Beijing (5.5hrs), Shanghai (6-7hrs), Guangzhou (8.5-9hrs), Hangzhou (6.5-7hrs), Pingyao (3hrs), Zhengzhou (2hrs), and so on.
- Day 2 Xian (B, L)
After breakfast, drive about 40 km to discover one of the greatest man-made wonders in the world - the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, built by the first emperor of China Qin Shihuang to protect him in his afterlife. Over 8,000 life-size warriors, horses and chariots, buried in 3 pits for more than 2,000 years until uncovered by a local farmer in 1974, form an ancient military army with complete battle units of infantry, cavalry, etc. Standing in front of these figures, one can’t help being amazed not only by the ambition of Emperor Qin Shihuang but also by the fabulous artistic skills of ancient Chinese artisans. (Before the Terracotta Warriors Museum visit, you will have a rare opportunity to make a miniature Terracotta Warrior on your own under the instruction of a local potter.)
After lunch, return to Xian to visit Da Cien Temple, a famous Buddhist sutra translation site during the Tang Dynasty. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is the most famous building in the temple. The pagoda, rising to a height of 64.5 meters, was built by the famous Buddhist master Xuanzang to preserve classic scriptures he bought back from India during the early Tang Dynasty. Xuanzang was the prototype character for Tang Seng in the famous Chinese novel “Journey to the West”. (Note: It costs an extra 30 RMB if you want to climb up the Big Wild Goose Pagoda). After (or before) visiting the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, you will be provided an interesting experience of trying on the Hanfu which is the solemn costume of the emperors and their families, the ministers and the noble in the ancient dynasties of China. Seize this rare opportunity to take some photos to record this unique memory!
This evening you will be offered an interesting visit to Grand Tang Dynasty Ever Bright City which is a great place to walk, enjoy amazing nightscape and recall the prosperity and glory of the mighty Tang Dynasty most importantly. Seeing this area at night is totally different than during the day as the lighting is marvelous yet tastefully done.
Optional activity: Enjoy a wonderful Tang Palace Dance Show (usually from 8pm to 9pm) after (or without) a hearty dumpling dinner.
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- Day 3 Xian & Flight to Zhangye from Xian (B, L)
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After breakfast, start today's tour with an educational visit to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Xi’an Museum to learn a lot about the history and culture about the ancient city of Xi’an. They are together located in a clean and beautiful park. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda is rather smaller and 55 years younger than its “sister” - the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Built during 707 to 709 AD, the pagoda is 43.4 meters tall with 13 tiers (originally 15 tiers), looking like a very tall rectangular pyramid. An interesting fact about the Small Wild Goose Pagoda is that the pagoda has survived nearly 70 earthquakes, and now still standing firm and sturdy. You can walk around to appreciate the beautiful design and take photos of the pagoda. Then you will go to visit Xi’an Museum which is only several minutes’ walking from the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. This museum has more than 130,000 pieces of jade relics, seals, paintings, porcelains, Buddhist statues, stone carvings and many other precious relics.
Later, go to spend a leisure time on the Ancient City Wall, the largest and best-preserved ancient city wall in China. Just like the merchants and envoys on the Silk Road thousands of years ago, you will enter the interior of the city walls through the Hanguang Gate. There you will visit a mini museum to see the real Tang Dynasty city wall ruins from over 1400 years ago, including gateways, cross-sections of the wall, and the remains of water channels. After the museum visit, get up to the city wall to enjoy a leisure stroll and pleasant panoramic views of modern Xian. Rent a bike (extra cost: 45RMB) to enjoy a relaxing cycling on the Wall is strongly recommended. The cycling routes and duration are flexible. Feel free to discuss with your tour guide. Leave the City Wall, then go to wander leisurely around the bustling and lively Muslim Quarter, a place where you can try different local snacks and explore Muslim culture.
After the visit, your guide escorts you to the airport to take a 2 and a half hours' flight to Zhangye. After arrival, met by local tour guide and transferred to check in your hotel in Zhangye.
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- Day 4 Zhangye Danxia Sightseeing ( B, L )
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Zhangye is famous for its unparalleled Danxia Landforms which is a spectacular petrographic geomorphology landscape formed from red-colored sand stones and conglomerates. Among all the Danxia places in Zhangye, Binggou Danxia Landform Scenery Area and Zhangye Danxia Landform Geographical Park (Linze Danxia) have most significant Danxia landscapes. Today you will go to explore both of them.
After breakfast, you will go to visit Binggou Danxia Landform first which is about 1 hour's driving from Zhangye downtown. Even though just being visited by fewer travelers, Binggou Danxia Landform Scenery Area has its own featured charms. If the Linze Danxia Scenery is a visual feast of colors, then the Binggou Danxia is a great joy to find how the Mother Nature became a sculptor who sculptured the mountains to amazing different shapes, like grand palaces, long corridors, giant pillars, etc. You will hike leisurely about 2 hours to look the spectacular landform closely.
In the afternoon, drive about an hour to visit the Zhangye Danxia Landform Geographical Park which was formed in the pre-Jurassic Age. Thousands of mountains and stiffs stretch like the colorful sunset glow. The barren mountains are covered by a red grit rock stratum. At the same time, some surfaces of mountains appear other colors, such as white, yellow, etc, and form many irregular lines and blocks looking like some abstract oil paintings. There are viewing decks for you to watch and shoot. You will visit one by one, and will be transferred by park buses from one deck to another.
You won't miss the precious opportunity to enjoy the amazing sunset. Viewing Deck No. 4 (七彩红霞台) is the best location to take sunset of the Danxia Landform. It's better to get there earlier to occupy a good location. After sunset, drive back to Zhangye downtown for accommodation.
Useful Tips: 1) Pack with sun creams, sun glasses, protective clothing and hat to protect from strong sunlight in summer; 2) sunset is the best time for taking photos which happen around 19:00~20:00 in summer and 18:00~19:00 in winter.
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- Day 5 Zhangye Tour & Departure ( B, L )
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After breakfast, you will go to visit the famous Giant Buddha Temple which is famous for having the largest indoor sleeping Buddha in Asia. This temple is a large complex with regal arrangements built in Xixia Dynasty(1098), and keeps many precious Buddhist scriptures and wall paintings. Its famous treasure is the Sleeping Buddha which is the centrally seated, symmetric buildings situate along the sides. The Buddha statue was carved by woods with a length of 34.5 meters, telling the story of Buddha’s Nirvana. His ears are as big as the space in which 4 adults can sit side by side.
After the Giant Buddha Temple visit, drive about 65 km to visit the Matisi Temple (Horse Hoof Temple). Built in Northern Liang period (A.D. 397 - A.D.460), Matisi Temple blends Buddhist culture, grotto art, Qilian Mountain landscape and Tibetan culture together in a single site. Legend has it that once a celestial horse drunk water and left its footstep on a rock here, which is the reason why Matisi Temple got its name. Matisi has four wonders - green mountains, clear water, precipitous peaks and fantastic grottoes. Among the four, the fantastic grotto groups are most attractive, stretching as long as 30 kilometers. The highlighting part is the 21 grottoes around the 5-storey Puguang Temple which is set in the side of a sheer mountain rock wall. The temple also has collected many magnificent relics, including Standing Buddha of Jin Dynasty (CE 266-420), imperial robe of Emperor Kang Xi, saddle of Emperor Qiang Long, etc. Visitors can also experience strong sense of Tibetan culture here. Colorful prayer flags and white pagodas can be found at many places of the temple. In fact, there is a Tibetan village near the area. Before your visit, just be prepared to climb stairs inside the mountain and get through small openings from one temple to the next. Comfortable shoes are necessary. Because of its long history, Matisi Temple is praised as one of the Three Artistic Treasured Grottoes of Hexi Buddha Holy Land (the other two are Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Yulin Grottoes in Anxi).
After sightseeing at Matisi Temple, drive back to Zhangye City to catch your flight/train to next destination.
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