Upon arrival, you will be welcomingly greeted by your local tour guide and the driver then be escorted to the hotel for check-in. The rest of the day is free for you to explore.

Recommend activity: visit Gansu Provincial Museum and have comprehensive knowledge about Silk Road and amazing grottoes.

Overnight in Lanzhou

In the morning, drive 3.5 hours to Bingling Temple Grottoes. After arrival, enjoy a delicious lunch first then take a mosquito raft on Yellow River to appreciate the famous stone sculptures of Buddhist pagodas in relief and murals of Esoteric Buddhism. Then you are driven to Xiahe county (3h) and reside there. 

Kindly Note: The cave for No. 169 and No. 172 needed an additional charge if you want to visit.

Overnight at Xiahe County

Your day kicks off with the Labrang Monastery, take your time visiting this famous Buddhist building with Tibetan culture and enjoying unique Tibetan food. Afterwards, pay a short visit to Sangke Grassland, a vast area of green grass. In summer, it dotted with wildflowers and a herd of cattle and sheep, very enchanting! Then driven back to Lanzhou train station(around 3.5-4 hours) and take an overnight soft sleeper train heading to Jiayuguan.

Overnight on the Train

In the morning, you'll be greeted with the tour guide at the Jiayuguan railway station. Today your tour starts from Jiayuguan Pass. It is the first pass at the west end of the Great Wall of China and is trapezoidal in shape. This section is the most intact surviving ancient military castle with a reputation of being the "First and Greatest Pass under Heaven" for its strategic position and grand presence. Stand on the gate tower and be amazed by its grand presence yet primitive simplicity, trace the ancient "Silk Road" and the scars left by beacon fire. Continue to visit the Overhanging Great Wall which has an obliquity of 45 degrees, built onto a 150m high ridge. From a distance, it looks like a dragon about to extend its body towards the ground. After enjoying delicious local food, head to the Wei Jin Mural Tombs with over 1,400 tombs built between the Wei and Jin dynasties, you might marvel at the largest subterranean art gallery in the world containing a large number of colorful murals. At last, you will be escorted to the hotel in Jiayuguan.

Overnight in Jiayuguan

In the early morning, head to Dunhuang by train(6h). After arrival, you will start the tour from Dunhuang Museum which houses many cultural excavated relics. Later you will be dropped off at the hotel.

Overnight at Dunhuang

The tour guide will take you to Mogao Grottoes; 492 temples with an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroad on the Silk Road. The caves house the finest examples of Buddhist art with a timeframe of over 1,000 years. After lunch, get acquainted with the magical Crescent Lake, which sits like a pearl cozily nestled in huge sand dunes. Slide from Sing Sand Dune which offers fantastic desert scenery surrounded by rolling ridges and precipitous cliffs, and you can enjoy a camel ride at your expense.  

Overnight in Dunhuang

Your private tour guide and driver will send you to Dunhuang airport or railway for departure.