Adrian and his friends 20 Days China Tour including Silk Road: "historic excellence and unforgettable memories!"

Autumn as one of the most comfortable seasons is a good time to travel in China that you are able to enjoy an extremely comfortable weather and fascinating colors in numerous destinations. With abundant time-honored historic sites and cultural treasures, the Silk Road is a charming and mysterious travel route that attracts travelers all over the world. With a deep yearning for ancient civilizations, our guests of team for 8 from Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand embarked on a journey along the Silk Road in the autumn of October. "We took a 20 day Chinese Silk Road trip starting in Luoyang and ending in Kashgar - the western most city in China close to the border with Kyrgyzstan. There were 8 of us in a small privately organised tour which Leo Li managed for us from China Discovery Chengdu." When talked about this customized travel experience, our guest Mr. Adrian praised that "the trip went fantastically well." How did their 20-day Silk Road tour unfold? Come to read the following travel story and get some inspiration on their fascinating journey along the marvelous Silk Road.

Day 1 Shanghai - Arrival

Shanghai, reputed as the “Oriental Pearl”, is often served as a popular gateway to China with good location and convenient transportation, where is also the starting point of Adrian's Group in China. Adrian's Group consisted of 4 groups of families from different countries, and they came from different places to Shanghai for a rendezvous. Although there are so much to see in Shanghai, this charming metropolis was not the main purpose of their visit, so after a short layover, they were ready to prepare for the more exhilarating Silk Road journey.

Day 2 ~ 6 Luoyang & Xi’an - First Touch of China's History

Before embarking on the journey to the ancient Silk Road, 3 of the families in the group added another city with a deep history and culture - Luoyang. Located in the western part of Henan province, Luoyang with a history of more than 4000 years, is known as the "capital for 13 dynasties" and "city of peonies", which is also the cradle of Chinese civilization and one of the four imperial capitals of China, together with Beijing, Xian and Nanjing. The long history endows Luoyang with numerous cultural relics and landscapes. Accompanied by a local guide - Joe, our guests visited the famous attractions of Luoyang, including Longmen Grottoes - Masterpiece of Chinese Stone Carving, White Horse Temple - First Buddhist Temple in China and Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng - the Birthplace of Chinese Kung Fu, where they watched the wonderful Kung Fu show.

Another group of family guests chose to travel directly to Xi'an, the starting point of the Silk Road. Xian is another ancient capital for 13 dynasties same as Luoyang, and together with Athens, Rome and Cairo, are called as the top four ancient capitals in history. Xian is also the home of world-famed Terracotta Warriors and Horses - the Eighth Wonder of the World, where they admired the masterpieces of over 2,200 years' history and catched a glimpse of ancient Chinese culture and history during that period. They even tried to make their own miniature Terracotta Warrior, which was a very fun experience for them. Then they visited Ancient City Wall to appreciate different views of the old and new parts of Xian, The Great Mosque to learn about Muslim culture and history in China and Muslim Quarter to seek for the most authentic Xian delicacies. The night in Xian is still charming. As an iconic pedestrian street of Xian, Grand Tang Dynasty Ever Bright City is featured with tang-style changeable landscape and jaw-dropping free shows, and the experience of dreaming back to the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty left a lasting impression on our guests.

Adrian's Group enjoyed the Nightlife of Xian in Grand Tang Dynasty Ever Bright City

After a one day of free and city explore in Luoyang, the guests in Luoyang also embarked on the trip to Xian to meet up with the guests in Xian. They separately watched wonderful Tang Dynasty Shows at night to recollect the culture of the past, such as Dreamchase of the Great Tang Dynasty (大唐追梦) in Tang Paradise and The Empress of the Great Tang (大唐女皇) in Tang Dynasty Palace, which also include the Royal Banquet. After a short stay and visit in Luoyang and Xian, they will travel together to Xining, Qinghai to start their journey to western China.

Adrian's Group taken Photo at Tang Paradise

Day 7 ~ 20 Silk Road In-depth Tour - Amazing Cultural and Natural Journey to Qinghai - Gansu - Xinjiang

From Xian, they first arrived at Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, which is an important historical city in northwestern China for more than 2,100 years, and also an important stopover along the ancient Silk Road. Under the arrangement of our travel consultant - Leo and companied by local guide - Sally and private driver, Adrian's Group visited the most popular attractions in Xining: Qinghai Lake - Flowers’ Ocean, Birds’ Paradise and Cyclists’ Heaven to enjoy the endless natural beauty and Chaka Salt Lake that reputed as Mirror of The Sky in China with pure lake and gorgeous reflection of blue sky and distant snowy mounatins, where they taken on the hot sightseeing train crossing the lake to trace back the film scene occured in the famous Spirited Away.

After a brief experience of the stunning natural scenery in Qinghai, Adrian's Group stepped on the train to Lanzhou, Gansu. As an another important city of northwestern China, Lanzhou is usually chosen as transfer city and also a historical city of many cultural relics. Gansu Provincial Museum is the first site and also the best place to learn Lanzhou and Gansu's history and culture. With the Yellow River flows though Lanzhou city, many attractions were built on the river shore themed by Yellow River Culture. Led by the local guide - Frank, our guests admired the Iron Bridge of Yellow River, Yellow River Mother Statue and Ancient Waterwheels Park. Besides, they also hiked up to the top of the White Pagoda Mountain to get the panoramic views of Yellow River and Lanzhou city, which is a popular experience in Lanzhou.

Then continue to take the high-speed train to Zhangye. Located in the northwest of Gansu and the middle of Hexi Corridor, Zhangye is a key town of the Silk Road and national historical and cultural city, which has been entitled as “Golden Zhangye” from ancient times. Zhangye Danxia Geopark also known as “Rainbow Mountains” is the must-see site in Zhangye, which is the unique composition of Danxia Landform and colorful upland. Our guests enjoyed a beautiful sunset view in here. The magic beauty was so surreal to make believe that God overturned his palette. Not only just the picturesque natural landscapes, Zhangye also has a long history worth exploring. After a short visit to the Dafo Temple, originally built in 1098, where is a good place to see the local history, culture, art and religion, then Adrian's Group came to Jiayuguan. As the traffic hub of the ancient Silk Road and the starting point of the Great Wall in the west, Jiayuguan has been renowned as one of the most important Pass and battlefield in the western frontier since the ancient time. Here, they visited the Greatest Pass of the Ancient Great Wall - Jiayuguan Pass, hiked on the steep Xuanbi Great Wall to enjoy the vast land and breathtaking scenery, and also visited the Great Wall Museum to learn more history and culture about the Ancient Great Wall.

Mr. and Mrs. Adrian enjoyed Happy Time in Jiayuguan Pass

Next, keep going on to Dunhuang! Although a little county-level city in northwest of Gansu, Dunhuang is a hot tourist destination with a glorious history of more than 2,000 years. The first station of Adrian's Group in Dunhuang is the famous Mingsha Mountain & Crescent Lake, which is a nature park consists of the Mingsha Mountain and the Crescent Lake surrounded by sand dunes of Mingsha Mountains. More than just exploring the stunning desert scenery, our guests were also taken part in exciting sand dunes activities. Another day they toured other highlights: Yadan National Geologic Park, Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass. Then is the best highlight in Dunhuang tour - the magnificent UNESCO World Cultural Heritage - Mogao Caves! As a man-made wonder in the Gobi desert with brilliant treasure of Buddhist arts, it is the brightest star on the ancient Silk Road. Adrian's Group are deeply marveled by all of this fabulous artifacts, murals and sculptures in the ancient caves.

Mr. and Mrs. Adrian had a Memorable Tour in Dunhuang

So far, Adrian's Group have finished two-thirds of their Silk Road journey, but the excitement is far from over, and they will continue to go deep into northwest China to the colorful Xinjiang. At present, there is no direct railway line from Dunhuang to Xinjiang. Under the arrangement of our travel consultant - Leo, Adrian's Group departed from Liuyuan South Railway Station to Turpan in Xinjiang first, which only takes 3.5 hours by high-speed train. Turpan is a place integrating the ancient civilization and modern civilization, connecting western and eastern cultures and religions, as well as a city with abundant Silk Road legacies. In Jiaohe Ancient City, our guests got to know the mysterious Cheshi people in ancient times. Flaming Mountain showed amazing mountain landscape and Karez System offered an interesting experience to find out how the water system works. Then keep driving to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang. As the biggest city as well as the economic, cultural and transportation center of Xinjiang, there are so much to explore in Urumqi. Adrian's Group first came to the Xinjiang Regional Museum, which is the best place to learn about the history and diverse ethnic cultures of Xinjiang. Among of them, the ancient mummies is the most eye-catching collection to have a glimpse of Loulan Ancient Kingdom’s special funeral about 2,100 years ago. Around Urumqi, the Tianchi Lake of Tianshan Mountains showed extraordinary landscape. As a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, it is a top-rated attraction in Xinjiang. Our guests enjoyed themselves in the beautiful secenery of surrounding magnificent mountains and lush primitive forests.

Mrs. Adrian taken Amazing Photo with Beautiful Secenery in Tianchi Lake

Next is the last stop of Adrian's Group Silk Road trip - Kashgar. Located in Southern Xinjiang, Kashgar has both cultural charms and natural wonders. Adrian's Group not only went to the busy Kashgar Bazaar and Sunday Market to experience authentic local culture, to Abakh Hoja Tomb and Id Kah Mosque to admire Islamic religious culture and distinctive architecture, but also headed for Pamirs Plateau to appreciate the impressive natural beauty of Baisha Lake and Karakul Lake and also the secenery along the way. And then, Adrian's Group 20-day Silk Road journey is coming to an end. At the end of this trip, our local guide made the most of the last time to take our guests on a tour to Kashgar Old City - the Soul of Kashgar to experience local customs, local Handicraft Bazaar to find more hiden gems and Kashgar Century-old Teahouse to drink a cup of tea and enjoy some leisure time here.

Adrian's Group visited Kashgar Old City along the Silk Road

Day 21 Departing with Unforgettable Memories

Time to say goodbye now. After their trip in Kashgar, Adrian's Group headed for Lanzhou or Shanghai to take the return flight, and the tour ended here. Their 20-day Silk Road tour in autumn of October is a feast for the eyes and souls. It not only has magnificent natural scenery, but also has a profound historical and cultural heritage. Walking along this ancient trade route, they deeply felt the blending and collision of different civilizations. Every scenery and history on this legendary road were both unforgettable memory for them. "Thank you very much for organizing such an enjoyable trip for us. I have been to China many times, this is the best trip for me." The successful completion of this trip is inseparable from the planning, communication and coordination of their travel consultant - Leo from all the time. This was not an easy task, but he did his best and received the highest praise from his guests. "Leo seemed to work all hours! Thank you Leo and your team for making our trip so memorable!"

Real Feedback and Service Reviews by Mr. Adrian

I have been to China for work and twice before for holidays - this is definitely the best trip hands down. The itinerary was excellent and tailored to our needs.

The trip included historic cities beginning with Luoyang, Lanzhou, Xian, Xining, Qinghai Lake, Chaka Lake, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, Turpan, Urumuqi and Kashgar. The trip utilised a combination of China's excellent bullet trains, private bus and flights (between Urumuqi and Kashgar and Kashgar to Shanghai)

We requested English speaking guides and had 6 in all at various stages of our trip. They were all excellent, very knowledgeable about the history and significance of the locations in relation to the Silk Road and great company and humour too.

The places the guides took us to were very interesting and beautiful...full of history.

I would like to say a special thank you to the guides who made our trip so enjoyable...

Joe (Luoyang) - very knowledgeable, patient and looked after us very well.

Ben (Xian) - helped us get porridge when a few of us were sick with food poisoning.

Sally (Xining) - she is so helpful and made sure we were warm. Also very helpful in rearranging pour trains to Jiayuguan.

Frank (Lanzhou) - loved his humour and knowledge of Lanzhou. Also very helpful with helping us use the washing machine on the last day.

Cathy (Zhangye + Dunhuang) is also very good and knowledgeable, very passionate about being a guide. She gave us good tips on how to go to the nearby market in Dunhuang and Turpan.

Aisha (Turpan + Urumqi) - very good knowledge about the places went and arranged good food for us.

Siddiq (Kashgar) - very helpful, good sense of humor and we enjoyed his company very much.

The guides went out of their way to ensure we were comfortable - even to the extent of organising special meals when a few of us got sick and another left his bag in the mountains!

Once again, thank you very much Leo and thank you to China Discovery for such a memorable trip.

I highly recommend China Discovery tours and will definitely without hesitation use them again.

(Above travel story was written by our editor, inspired by our customer Adrian's Group real experience and the feedback he sent to Leo.)