TTC-A-01: From Tibetan Plateau to the Silk Road

The Silk Road extending from Southern Europe through Arabia, Egypt, Persia, India till it reaches China. It is a series of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting East and West by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from China to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods of time.

This trip will take us departure from the first stop of Chengdu onto Tibetan plateau then descending from the high mountains to the "Hexi corridor" of the Silk Road to discover the places that our ancestor had their foot print on.

Highlights:

• --The traditional Chinese teahouse at People's park;
• --Drotsang Gonpa
• --Kumbum monastery
• --Korkonor Lake
• --Chaka Salt Lake
• --Chaerhan Salt Lake
• --Mogo grotto
• --Moon spring
• --Sand dunes.
• --Jiayuguan
• --Galloping Bronze Horse
• --Western Xia stele
• --White Tower Temple
• --Wen Shrine.
• --Lanzhou Museum
• --Iron Bridge on the Yellow river
• --Giant Panda Sanctuary

Chengdu: 500m
Xining: 2200m
Kumbum: 2200m
Chaka: 3100m; Dulan: 3200m
Gelmud: 2800m
Dunhuang: 1140m
Jiayuguan: 1600m
Wuwei: 1500m
Lanzhou: 1500m

Please contact us for pricing information.

Detail program:

Day1: Arrive in Chengdu
After arrives in Chengdu airport, pickup and transfer to your hotel, assist to check in. Relax in the rest hours of this day by having one visit to the traditional Chinese teahouse at People's park.

Altitude: Chengdu: 500m

Day2: Chengdu to Xining then onwarding to Ledu
By morning flight to Xining, after arriving in Xining, meet your guide, and then drive to Ledu, which is about 50km from Xining. Ledu controls several side valleys of Tsong-chu river, the particular monastery of Drotsang Gonpa is worthy of a visit, It is originally founded in 1387 by the Da Ming emperor as a Karma Kagyu monastery, and was substantially reconstructed in 1564 in accordance with prediction made by Dalai Lama III. It has a remarkable 360 square meters mural depicting the life of Sakyamuni Buddha

Driving distance & hours: 100km on paved road; roughly 2 - 3 hours
Altitude: Xining: 2200m; Ledu: 2100m

Day3: Xining to Kumbum then to Xining
Drive to Kumbum monastery, which was built in the 15th century, It is situated in the west of Gyantse Town With mountains enclosing from the east, west and north 3 sides, its uniqueness is that its three Sects of Buddhism-Sakya, Nyingma and Guolu are living harmoniously under one roof. Each sect has 6-7 courtyards in the monastery. There are various kinds of Thangka, a huge bronze statue of Jiangba, the jainrese of a Thousand Hands and a Thousand Eyes in the monastery. There is a hall of art mad during the Ming Dynasty. The airhost is so vivid that they look very much alive. Besides the monastery is the world famous 9-storey 10,000-Buddha Pagoda. It stands 32m, has 108 Doors, 77 Buddhist chambers and countless shrines. Enshrine in the Pagoda are 10,000 statues of Buddha. The Pagoda opens 8 doors, which are decorated with relief sculptures of lively flying dragons, running lions and walking elephants. It is a masterpiece of the joint efforts of the Nepalese, Tibetan and Chinese. In the afternoon, drive back to town to visit Tibetan Medical institute of Xining.

Driving distance & hours: 100km on paved road; roughly 2 - 3 hours
Altitude: Kumbum: 2200m

Day4: Xining to Chaka then to Dulan
Departure from Xining, along the range of Himalaya heading to Korkonor Lake and then turn west along this largest inland salt lake in China to Chaka, where to take the special little train that is much smaller than usual train, to visit the salt lake, then along the highway building in the Gebi to Dulan, which is located on the bank of Qagan-Us River in the southeast corner of Tsaidam basin, where irrigated fields and tree plantations have brightened the marshy desert. This is a growing town, inhabited by Chinese & Hui Muslims; there are Mongol herdsmen, while Tibetans inhabit the high mountains further south in the hinterland.

Driving distance & hours: 420km on paved road; roughly 6 - 7 hours
Altitude: Chaka: 3100m; Dulan: 3200m

Day5: Dulan to Gelmud
Gelmud is a Mongolian word, it means, "a place concentrated with rivers." Gelmud is high up in the Gobi desert covering the area of 124,500 sq km, is located on the bank of Gelmud-Chu between Kunlun Mountain and Tsaidam basin. It is dubbed a "treasure basin" since it contains a wealth of natural resources. Around the city there are more than 20 salt lakes, big and small, giving Golmud its nickname as "Salt Lake City." Gelmud is also an important intersection, in that roads lead north to Gansu province, northwest to Xinjiang province, South to Lhasa and east to Xining. Wildlife is more here than in the Himalayas and other ranges. There are gazelle, wild ass, wild goat, wild yak, blue sheep, argali, and brown bear and wolves are also found in the mountains. Waterfowl are often seen on the saline lakes during the migratory seasons.

Driving distance & hours: 300km on paved road; roughly 4 - 5 hours
Altitude: Gelmud: 2800m;

Day6: Gelmud to Dunhuang
Departure from Gelmud, heading north around 30km, Chaerhan Salt lake, the largest saltwater lake that is one we will go to visit today, "Charhan Salt Lake" it is to the northeast of Golmud proper boasts an area of 5,856 sq km, making it the biggest inland salt lake on this planet even. The lake is also China's largest production base for potassium, magnesium and salt. After this lake the road turns out to be straight ahead without any bend, the road goes directly to the edge of Tibetan plateau, about more than 60km descending from Tibetan plateau, the road leads towards to the Kumtag Desert, the first town after leaving Tibetan plateau is Aksai, where we continuely head northeast to Dunhuanng, enroute stop by to visit Yumenguan pass, which originally known as Small Square City. Yangguan Pass is one of the two important passes on the western frontier of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220). It is located 80km northwest to Dunhuang, at the western end of Hexi Corridor. In ancient times, it was the crucial gateway from central China to the western regions.

Driving distance & hours: 540km on paved road; roughly 8 - 9 hours
Altitude: Dunhuang: 1140m;

Day7: Dunhuang
Dunhuang was made a prefecture in 117 BCE by Emperor Han Wudi, and was a major point of interchange between China and the outside world during the Han and Tang dynasties. Located near the historic junction of the Northern and Southern Silk Roads, it was a town of military importance. Early Buddhist monks accessed Dunhuang via the ancient Northern Silk Road, For centuries Buddhist monks at Dunhuang collected scriptures from the west, and many pilgrims passed through the area, painting murals inside the Mogao Caves. A small number of Christian artifacts have also been found in the cave, testimony to the wide variety of people who made their way along the silk road. Because of Mogo grotto, Dunhuang has been a great site, which attracts many adventurers, scientist, businessman…etc, since centuries ago, we will visit some of the significant grottos of Mogo, and then we will sightsee of Moon spring and Sand dunes.

Altitude: Dunhuang: 1140m

Day8: Dunhuang to Jiayuguan
About 300km drive, the road is good we can cover this distance before lunch when departure early from Dunhuang. Jiayuguan represents the western starting point of a section of the Great Wall constructed during the Ming Dynasty. The pass covers an area of 33,500 square meters, the total length of the city wall is 733 meters and the height is 11 meters. There are two gates: one on the east side of the pass, and the other on the west side. On each gate there is a building. An inscription of "Jiayuguan" in Chinese is written on a tablet at the building at the west gate. The south and north sides of the pass are connected to the Great Wall. There is a turret on each corner of the pass. On the north side, inside the two gates, there are wide roads leading to the top of the pass. Jiayuguan consists of three defense lines: an inner city, an outer city and a moat.
According to legend, when Jiayuguan was being planned, the official in charge asked the designer to estimate the exact number of bricks required and the designer gave him a number. The official questioned his judgment, asking him if that would be enough, so the designer added one brick. When Jiayuguan was finished, there was one brick left over, which was placed loose on one of the gates where it remains today.

Driving distance & hours: 300km on paved road; roughly 4 - 5 hours
Altitude: Jiayuguan: 1600m

Day9: Jiayuguan to Wuwei via Zhangye
Along the new built highway to Wuwei that was called "Liangzhou" in ancient time. Wuwei is the eastern terminus of the Hexi Corridor. People began to live in here 5000 years ago. A number of important archaeological finds derive from Wuwei including ancient copper carts with stone animals. Numerous Buddhist grottoes and temples in the area attest to its role as a path for bringing Buddhism from India and Afghanistan to China, among of those we are going to visit the Galloping Bronze Horse, western Xia stele, white Tower Temple, and the Wen Shrine.

Driving distance & hours: 480km on paved road; roughly 6 - 7 hours
Altitude: Wuwei: 1500m;

Day10: Wuwei to Lanzhou
Lanzhou was originally in the territory of the Western Qiang peoples, and became part of the territory of Qin in the 6th century BC. The city acquired its current name in 1656, during the Qing Dynasty. When Gansu became a separate province in 1666, Lanzhou became its capital. After we arrive in Lanzhou we will visit to the Lanzhou Museum and the Iron Bridge on the Yellow river.

Driving distance & hours: 320km on paved road; roughly 4 - 5 hours
Altitude: Lanzhou: 1500m

Day11: Lanzhou to Chengdu
By flight from Lanzhou to Chengdu, after arriving in Chengdu, transfer to Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base, one of the most important centers in the world for the conservation of the Giant Panda.

Driving distance & hours: 100km on paved road; roughly 3 - 4 hours
Altitude: Chengdu: 500m

Day12: Chengdu to the airport for departure
After having breakfast, check out of your hotel and transfer to airport for your departure (transfer timings will depend on the flight schedule)