12 Days Silk Road Buddhist Art Tour
Tour Type: Private tour
Tour Price: From Note!
Destinations: Beijing - Dunhuang - Jiayuguan - Zhangye - Lanzhou - Tianshui - Xian - Luoyang - Beijing
Free Inquiry Get a free quotation.Day 1
- Beijing Arrival
- Meals: No
- Accommodation: In Beijing
Say Hello to China! When your flight lands in Beijing, your local guide is ready to meet you at the customs exit, holding a placard with your name. Then you will be escorted to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to recover from jet lag or to ramble around on your own.
Day 2
- Beijing Dunhuang
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: In Dunhuang
Take morning flight from Beijing to Dunhuang. On arrival be met by our guide and transferred to your hotel for a short break. After lunch visit Mogao Grottoes - the best preserved and reichest treasure house of Buddhist art in the world.
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.
Mogao grottoesy
Mogao grottoes
Mogao grottoes
Mogao grottoes
Day 3
- Dunhuang
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: In Dunhuang
After breakfast visit Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent Lake. After lunch visit Yangguan Pass - Gate way to the South route of the Silk Road and important custom of ancient China. In the evening stroll about local night market.
Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent lake is a combination of two natural wonders. The beautiful sand dunes that can make sounds as thundering and the beautiful lake in shape of crescent moon which is totally enclosed by the sand dunes around, but never been buried by sand.
Yangguan Pass is one of China’s two most important western passes, the other one is the famous Yumen Pass. It once was the gateway to the Western region and an important pass on the Silk Road. Eminent Buddhist monk Xuan Zang set foot there on his return to Chang'an (Xian) from India. During that period, Yangguan Pass, as a military stronghold, was rich in water and was an oasis.
Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent lake
Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent lake
Yangguan Pass
Yangguan Pass
Day 4
- Dunhuang Jiayuguan
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: In Jiayuguan
After breakfast dirve across Gobi desert to visit Yulin Grottoes. After lunch in the small town drive to Jiayuguan city and check in hotel.
Yulin Grottoes a 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.
Yulin Grottoes
Yulin Grottoes
Yulin Grottoes
Yulin Grottoes
Day 5
- Jiayuguan Zhangye
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: In Zhangye
After breakfast visit Jiayuguan Pass and Wei-jin Tomb. After lunch drive to Zhangye Danxia Landform (also known as rainbow mountain) for sunset. Then drive to Zhangye city and check in hotel.
Jiayuguan Pass is the western end the Great wall in China, also known as "the Impregnable Pass under Heaven". It’s the most magnificent and best-preserved pass among the Great Wall of 6000 km.
Weijin Tomb Renowned as the largest subterranean art gallery in the world, housing a great deal of colorful murals, Wei-Jin tomb has attracted tourists from both home and abroad since 1972. Most tombs are of families, housing bodies of three or four generations, and now only Grave 6 is open for tourism.
Danxia Landform is also Know as Rainbow Mountain. It’s a photographer’s dream, by boasting the spectacle of Danxia landforms extending for 410 square kilometers in Linze and Sunan counties. With its majestic table mountain terrain, odd-shaped Danxia cliffs, and dynamic, dramatic colors, Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park is one of the most beautiful corners on earth and displays a unique type of petrographic geomorphology found in China.
Jiayuguan Pass
Weijin Tomb
Danxia Landform
Danxia Landform
Day 6
- Zhangye Lanzhou
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: In Lanzhou
After breakfast, visit Giant Buddha temple and Matisi Grottoes, then take speed train to Lanzhou. The speed train will pass through famous Qilan Mountain with beautiful grassland and snow mountains. On arrival be transferred to your hotel.
Giant Buddha temple is the only survived royal temple of Western Xia Dynasty. It houses the largest clay reclining Buddha of Asia.
Matisi Grottoes is also known as the Horse’s Hoof Temple. It’s one of the three most famous Buddhist Grottoes in Gansu and a very popular site which integrates Yugu folk customs, snow mountain views and cave art.
Giant Buddha temple
Giant Buddha temple
Matisi Grottoesy
Matisi Grottoes
Day 7
- Lanzhou
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: In Lanzhou
After breakfast, visit Zhongshan Bridge and Yellow River Mother Sculpture. Then drive to Liujiaxia Reservoir and take a speed boat from the dam to Binglingsi Grottoes. After the tour drive back Lanzhou and check in hotel.
Zhongshan Bridge or the Yellow River Iron Bridge, is located at the northern part of downtown Lanzhou. Dubbed "the First Bridge across the Yellow River," it has become one of the city's landmarks. In 1907, engineers from Belgium, Germany and the U.S., together with local workers, jointly built the sturdy and durable iron bridge. In honor of Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), a great Chinese revolutionary.
Yellow River Mother Sculpture Yellow River Mother Sculpture, regarded as one of the best sculptures depicting the mother river of Chinese civilization, is located on the southern bank of the Yellow River in Lanzhou. The whole sculpture embodies a mother and a baby. The mother, with long hair and lean body, lies on the water looking happy and kind. The sculpture connotes that the Yellow River has nourished generations of Chinese.
Binglingsi Grottoes is a series of grottoes filled with Buddhist sculpture carved into natural caves and caverns in a canyon along the Yellow River. It lies just north of where the Yellow River empties into the Liujiaxia Reservoir. It is both stylistically and geographically a midpoint between the monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan and the Buddhist Grottoes of central China, Yungang Grottoes near Datong and Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang
Zhongshan Bridge
Yellow River Mother Sculpture
Binglingsi Grottoes
Binglingsi Grottoes
Day 8
- Lanzhou Tianshui Xian
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: In Xian
After breakfast take speed train to Tianshui and visit Maijishan Grottoes. Then take speed train to Xian and check in hotel.
Maijishan Grottoes is one of the four greatest grottoes in China,set among wild, green mountains southeast of Tianshui, which hold some of the most famous Buddhist rock carvings along the Silk Road. The cliff sides of Maijishan are covered with 221 caves holding more than 7800 sculptures carved principally during the Northern Wei and Zhou dynasties (AD 386–581).
Maijishan Grottoesy
Maijishan Grottoes
Maijishan Grottoes
Maijishan Grottoes
Day 9
- Xian
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: In Xian
After breakfast visit Xian City Wall. After lunch visit Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Muslim quarter.
Xian City Wall is the best preserved, oldest and largest ancient city defence system in China. It is also one of the most important landmarks of the Xian city. The original foundation of the Xian City Wall was based on the ruins of the Imperial City Wall of Chang'an City--the capital of the Tang Dynasty. Since then the city wall was used continuously by Song and Yuan Dynasties, and its features kept unchanged.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda is one of the most famous Chinese ancient structures and has been viewed as the landmark of Xi'an. Originally built in 652 AD during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), it functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by the hierarch Xuanzang.
Muslim Quarter is home to one of the liveliest areas—the Muslim Street market. The street has a long history, dating back over 1,000 years and is the hub of the Muslim community in the city. The market is famous for delicious food and trendy products.
Xian City Wally
Xian City Wall
Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Muslim quarter
Day 10
- Xian Luoyang
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: In Luoyang
After breakfast visit Museum of Terracotta Warrior and after lunch take speed train to luoyang. On arrival visit white horse temple and be transferred to hotel.
Museum of Terracotta Warrior is the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum in Lintong, Xian, Shaanxi Province. It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China.
White Horse Temple with a history of over 1,900 years, is regarded as the ‘Cradle of Buddhism in China’. Being located about 11 km east from Luoyang, it was built to thanks to two monks and their white horse that brought Buddhist sutras and figures to China for the first time.
Museum of Terracotta Warrior
Museum of Terracotta Warrior
white horse temple
white horse temple
Day 11
- Luoyang
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: In Luoyang
After breakfast visit Longmen Grottoes. After lunch visit Shaolin Temple.
Longmen Grottoes carved on the Longmen and Xiangshan Mountain on the both sides of Yi River to the south of Luoyang City. It’s one of the important stone sculpture treasure house of China and together with Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang and the Yungang Grottoes in Datong enjoy fame as the three greatest grottoes of China.
Shaolin Temple is reputed to be 'the Number One Temple under Heaven'. Shaolin Temple history can date back to Northern Wei Dynasty (386 - 534), and it played an important role on the development of the Buddhism in China. Included on UNESCO's World Cultural & Natural Heritage List in 2010, it is the cradle of the Chinese Zen Buddhism and the Shaolin Martial Arts such as Shaolin Cudgel.
Longmen Grottoesy
Longmen Grottoes
Shaolin Temple
Shaolin Temple
Day 12
- Luoyang Beijing
- Meals: Breakfast / Lunch
- Accommodation: No
After breakfast take speed train to Beijing and be transferred to your hotel. 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
- Speed train ticket from Tianshui to Xian
- Speed train ticket from Xian to Luoyang
- Speed train ticket from Luoyang to Beijing
- Entrance fee as listed in the itinerary
- 24 H / 7D English speaking telephone service
- 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)
Hotels
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.
Meals
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.
Private Guide & Transfer
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.
Tipping Guidelines
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.
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Why Choose Us?
We are the top Silk Road tour operator based in Dunhuang, China. We focus on providing well designed Silk Road China Tours with resonable price and thoughtful service.
- Easy & carefree booking
- The best value
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- Locally operated
Tailor-made Tours
Your final trip plan will be 100% tailored to your needs, incl. itinerary, activities, hotel, meal plan etc.
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