Pick up at Dunhuang airport / train station and visit Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent Lake. In the evening walk around Dunhuang Local Market.
The Singing sand dunes is known as one of the Eight Great Landscapes of Dunhuang and one of the Four Great Singing Sands of China. Completely piled by sands, the mountain stretches for 40 km in length and 20 km in width respectively, with the highest point reaching 250 meters. When there is wild wind, the sands will be blown up and make loud sound, while the sound sounds like being produced by some ancient musical instrument when blew by breeze, hence the name.
The Crescent Lake is in a natural shape of half-moon and had been commonly considered as one of the Eight Great Landscapes of Dunhuang together with the Echoing-Sand Mountain. Crescent Lake extends for nearly 100 meters from south to north and about 25 meters from east to west and has a deepest point of approximately 5 meters. The lake is a natural wonder; it's totally enclosed by the sand dunes around, but never been buried by sand.
Visit Yulin Grottoes (includes 5 public caves and 2 special caves) in the morning and after lunch, visit Suoyang city ruins. In the evening, watch the famous National Dance Drama – “Silk Road Flower Rain”.
Yulin Grottoesa branch of the Dunhuang art complex and another name Ten-Thousand-Buddha Valley, are located in Qilian Mountain, southeast of the Mogao Grottoes. There are 41 major caves scattered around. Murals in these grottoes which consist of huge scripture drawings, portraits of Buddha etc. reveal the highly developed art of painting in the Tang Dynasty more than 1300 years ago. The Yulin Grottoes are highlighted by their delicate and colorful murals painted from various dynasties, whose content ranges from the figures of Buddha to the sutra stories to flowers and beasts.
Suoyang Cityalso called Kuyu City, stands in the Gobi desert 70 kilometers southeast of Guazhou city. It was a key ancient city on the Silk Road and once played a very important part in politics, economy, culture and military of the area. It was built during the Western Han Dynasty to resist the invasion of the Hun, ensure the smooth operation of Silk Road and consolidate the centralization reign. In 2014, it was listed as the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.
The "Silk Road, Flower Rain" was rated as the sample of China natioanl dance drama.Which was created by Gansu Song and Dance Theater with the world-renowned Dunhuang frescoes and the Silk Road as its materials, and peace and friendship as its theme.
After breakfast, visit Mogao Grottoes (includes 7 public caves and 2 special caves). In the afternoon, visit local painter’s studio and learn traditional Chinese Mural Painting skill.
Mogao Grottoes (also known as Thousand Buddha Cave) is one of three noted grottoes in China and also the largest, best preserved and richest treasure house of Buddhist art in the world.In AD 366, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a monk named Yue Seng chiseled the first cave here. The endeavor continued through later dynasties, resulting in the fantastic group of caves that can be seen today.
After breakfast, be transferred to the airport/ train station and the tour end.
Price Includes
- Private car with air-conditioning and driver
- Land transfers between airport / train station / hotels and scenic sites
- Hotel accommodation with breakfast (4 stars with nice breakfast)
- Professional English speaking tour guide
- Lunch and dinner as listed in the itinerary
- Entrance fee as listed in the itinerary
- 24 H / 7D English speaking telephone service
- China Life Tourist Accident / Casualty Insurance
- Government taxes
Price Excludes
- Personal expenses such as laundry, drinks, phone bills and optional activities …
- Gratitude for guides and drivers as international practice
- China Entry Visa
- Travel insurance (full coverage travel insurance from you country of origin)
For all standard tours, The Silk Road China Tours will choose the best 4 stars hotel in different destinations. The hotel was evaluated comprehensively by its room size, cleanness, location, service and breakfast. It can well satisfy most western travelers and brings you relaxation, comfort and convenience.
If you want to upgrade the hotel to Deluxe standard or you have some special requirements, please inform us in the booking form or email us.
At some remote regions or ethnic area, there are no 4 stars or 5 stars hotels available. So we will arrange the best local hotel and notify the situation in advance.
Normally The Silk Road China Tours provides two meals each day: Breakfast and Lunch. You will have the freedom to make your own dinner choice.
Breakfast
It is normally served at the hotel where you stay. Depending on the hotel, the breakfast would be in western style, Chinese style, or a combination.
Lunch
When plan your lunches, we consider the balance of food quality, dining environment and tour convenience. We will provide lunch in a local restaurant whenever possible. The meal will give you an opportunity to eat at local restaurant, follow local customs, and taste local dishes. However in some remote regions where it’s simply hard to find a non-tourist restaurant, the meal could be arranged at a local tourist restaurant or a local family
Your own dinner choice
Dinners will not be included in your meal plan unless you have that requirement. Enjoying the local food could be one of your best experiences in China. This is why we provide you this flexibility of food choice. Your private guide will always give you good suggestions based on your preferences.
If you have certain food allergies or special requirements such as vegetarian food, let us know. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.
You will have a private tour guide, private driver, and an air-conditioned vehicle escorting you at every destination you travel. This will provide you with maximized personal care, security, and flexibility.
All of our tour guides are qualified professionals and registered English Speaking Tourist Guides in China who are reassessed annually. All of our tour vehicles are clean and in excellent condition, manned with licensed safe drivers.
Private Tour Guide
You will always be greeted punctually on arrival at each destination airport. At every departure, your guide will stay at your side until you have checked in and passed through the security checkpoint.
All of our travel guides in every destination are locals, who know the area well, they are very good at guiding you around and telling background stories of the tour sites, as well as showing you the secret spots for taking your best photos.
When changing your itinerary is needed due to unexpected reasons, your private tour guides will be more than accommodating in suggesting alternatives to ensure that you have a wonderful experience.
Private Transportation
When plan your lunches, we consider the balance of food quality, dining environment and tour convenience. We will provide lunch in a local restaurant whenever possible. The meal will give you an opportunity to eat at local restaurant, follow local customs, and taste local dishes. However in some remote regions where it’s simply hard to find a non-tourist restaurant, the meal could be arranged at a local tourist restaurant or a local family
Your own dinner choice
With our comfortable and safe private transportation, your tour will be more relaxing and less tiresome, keeping you in the best spirits to make the most of your experience in China.
In every destination visited, your vehicle is air conditioned, clean, and expertly maintained. Your private driver is licensed, insured, and very experienced.
To maximize your comfort, we use vehicles with extra space for you and your luggage. Depending on how many are traveling together, we generally use sedans or mini vans (7 seats) for 4 people or less, large vans or small coaches (12-22 seats) for 5-12 people, medium coaches (33 – 37 seats) for 13 – 25 people, and large coaches (45 seats over) for more than 25 people.
We realize that tipping is a sensitive subject for all travelers. While tips are widely accepted, we would like to stress that this is at your own personal discretion.While everyone is recommended to tip based on services rendered, our clients often ask we provide some basic guidelines.
1 person: $20-30/day • Group of 2: $15-25/per person/day • Group of 3-5: $15/per person/day • Group of 6-10: $10/per person/day
Some outstanding guides receive twice or three times as much depending on service quality and also the size of the group. Guests are welcome to tip more if they feel the services were exceptional. The driver may sometimes receive a tip 50% of what the guide receives. In places where roads are rough and dangerous, the driver may sometimes receive an equal amount of tipping as the guide.
Dunhuang Grottoes are both a rare national treasure of China as well as a unique cultural heritage of all mankind. They stand out among the art treasures of the world by virtue of their colossal scale, the centuries-long span of history of their creation and preservation, the kaleidoscopic richness and variety of their contents, the consummate skill of the artists, and not the least, the remarkably good condition in which they have been preserved.
During the 4 days trip, we will visit the most important sites of Dunhuang art – Mogao grottoes and Yulin grottoes, not only to see the public caves but 4 more special caves that represent the highest artistic standard of Dunhuang art. We will also visit the local art studio to learn the painting skill of traditional Chinese cave art ,to have an in-depth understanding to the Dunhuang art .