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We've combined the historical richness of the Silk Road itinerary with ample time for independent traveling. And, of course, you'll have a full day - a Sunday, of course - to sample the goods at the amazing Kashgar Sunday Market!
Originating as a trade route for the exchange of Central Asian horses for Chinese silk - hence the name "The Silk Road," traders soon began capitalizing on other Chinese technological advances such as porcelain, gunpowder, and paper. Moving into China along the same Silk Road were carpets from Persia, silver, gold, ivory – and jugglers and acrobats from Syria! And so was born this vital link - actually an immense network of overland trade routes that extended from the Mediterranean Sea into central China. Ideas were traded along with goods; it was via the Silk Road that Buddhism arrived China.
Our ALL-INCLUSIVE "The Silk Road" journey begins in Beijing but soons moves westward to Urumqi, Dunhuang and Turpan along the Silk Road. You'll explore centuries-old cities once enriched beyond measure by local suppliers and merchants who traveled the trade route. And, like Marco Polo, you'll have a chance to do some Silk Road trading of your own, thanks to your day at the Sunday Market at Kashgar!
To see dates and rates for this tour -Click Here-
To see day-by-day trip details for this tour -Click Here-
When comparing prices, please keep in mind...
Let’s Travel China Tours are All-Inclusive! |
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Trip Length:
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12 Nights/13 Days |
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| Begins
in:
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Beijing |
| Ends in:
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Shanghai |
| Departures:
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2010
Aug 12 |
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Highlights:
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Beijing, Shanghai, Xian,
Dunhuang, Kashgar,
Turpan, Urumqi, Tianchi
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| Trip prices:
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From $4970 per person |
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| Beijing | 2 Nights | Tiananmen Square
Forbidden City
Temple of Heaven
Hutong neighborhood | Xian | 1 Night | Terracotta Warriors
Xian City Wall
Lacquer Furniture Factory
Dumpling Dinner | Dunhuang | 1 Night | Singing Sand Dunes
Crescent Moon Lake
Mogao Caves | Turpan | 2 Nights | Thousand Buddhas Caves
Karez Irrigation System
Grape Valley | Urumqi | 1 Night | Nanshan Pasture scenery
Uighur-style Dinner | Tianchi | 1 Night | Tianchi (Heavenly Lake) Overnight | Kashgar | 3 Nights | Kashgar Sunday Market
Abakh Khoja Tomb
Kashgar Old Town Tour
Idkah Mosque
Shipton's Arch (optional day tour)
Kara Kul Lake (optional day tour) | Shanghai | 1 Night | Bund & Pudong districts
"Your Choice" optional activities
Farewell Dinner
Acrobatic Show
Shanghai Maglev airport transfer |
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Like
all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember
more than I have seen.
~Benjamin Disraeli
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Travel: |
Arrive Beijing
Motorcoach to hotel |
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Cities:
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Beijing |
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Highlights:
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Arrival in Beijing
Free time |
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Overnight:
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Beijing Marriott City Wall |
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Meals:
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Beijing Duck Dinner |
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- Welcome to China! Following your flight arrival in Beijing you'll transfer to your hotel.
- The remainder of the day is at your leisure. Your flight arrival time may afford time for lunch (not included in your tour price). Your hotel offers excellent restaurants serving a variety of cuisines. If you'd prefer to dine away from your hotel your Tour Manager or Local Guide can offer alternate dining options.
- You may choose to relax at the hotel but if your arrival schedule permits you may also opt for some local sightseeing or shopping before dinner.
- A special evening is planned: a delicious Peking Duck Dinner! This meal will also afford you more time to get to know your fellow travelers as well as provide a brief Orientation of your tour.
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Trip of a Lifetime!
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"We had a wonderful time...things could not have gone more smoothly. The guides were great and the hotels were top rate. This was a trip of a lifetime for us."
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- The Kaeli family. Let's Travel China Tour Participants
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Cities:
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Beijing |
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Highlights:
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Forbidden City
Tiananmen Square
Temple of Heaven
Hutong neighborhood
Peking Opera |
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Overnight:
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Beijing Marriott City Wall |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- Tiananmen Square is your first stop on this first day. The square is the prime venue for both state-sponsored and unstaged events. It is vast – the largest such square in the world. From here you'll proceed to the Forbidden City.
- You'll have ample time to tour the 170-acre Forbidden City complex but still, you'll only be able to see a fraction of the site's nearly 9,000 rooms. The Forbidden City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - one of the many featured on Let's Travel China tours.
- Not a single nail was used in the construction of The Temple of Heaven, one of the most beautiful temples in China. Here, emperors came to pray to ancestors for guidance and to the heavens for favorable weather and bountiful harvests. The temple park is busy with local retirees playing board games and playing traditional musical intstruments; kids flying kites, adults performing Tai Chi, Kung Fu and twirling flags.
- No visit in Beijing is complete without a pedicab tour through one of Beijing's quaint Hutong neighborhoods. Here, canals, alleyways and narrow streets provide a rare glimpse of a Beijing scene missed by most tourists. Your tour may include a visit with a family at a traditional, "courtyard-style" quadrangle home or perhaps drop in on a nursery or pre-school.
- Following dinner you'll be treated to an evening at the opera - the Peking Opera!
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The
Silk Road:
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The
term "Silk Road" is a misnomer. Much like a silk tapestry,
the Silk Road was a complex creation of hundreds, if not thousands
of trade routes. Cutting through mountains, crossing rivers and
spanning deserts, the "Silk Roads" connected countless
Central Chinese cities and towns with Mongolia, India, Persia and ultimately -
the Mediterranean. The traffic of merchandise - and ideas - always
traveled both ways along these vital routes.
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Travel: |
Fly to Xian |
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Cities:
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Beijing, Xian |
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Highlights:
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Terracotta Warriors
Dumpling Dinner
Night Markets |
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Overnight:
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Howard Johnson Ginwa Plaza |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dumpling Dinner |
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- This morning you'll fly westward from Beijing to Xian, provincial capital of Shaanxi. Following your arrival, you'll stop in at a popular Xian restaurant for lunch.
- One of your most magical memories of China may well occur this afternoon with
your tour of the Terracotta Warriors. An entire subterranean Army stands ready to defend the tomb of China's first emperor – Qin Shi Huangdi. Discovered in 1974, the site ranks with King Tut's tomb as one of the 20th century's greatest archeological finds.
- Many historians maintain that the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 – 907) represented a "Golden Age" of Chinese civilization. It was - and remains - one of the tastiest, too. A traditional Dumpling Dinner is offered this evening.
- Following dinner you'll have ample time to explore the night markets and take in the beautiful evening views of Xian's massive city wall.
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Travel: |
Fly to Dunhuang |
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Cities:
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Xian, Dunhuang |
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Highlights:
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Xian City Wall
Lacquer Furniture Factory
Oasis Night Market |
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Overnight:
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Dunhuang Sun Village Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- One of Xian's notable attractions is its City Wall, still intact along its entire 9-mile rectangle around its former imperial palace. Over a span of some 4,000 years Xian has been the capital to 11 dynasties. Should you choose, bicycles are available for rent allowing you to travel along the top of the wall's perimeter for the finest views of this historic city.
- Following a stop at an interesting Lacquer Furniture Factory and showroom, you'll transfer to the airport for your westward flight to Dunhuang.
- Your arrival in town may provide time to take in the sights at the Oasis Night Market.
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Travel: |
Train to Turpan |
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Cities:
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Dunhuang
Turpan |
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Highlights:
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Mogao Caves
Singing Sand Dunes
Camel Ride
Taklamakan Desert
Desert Oasis
Overnight train to Turpan |
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Overnight:
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Overnight Train to Turpan |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- Dunhuang is most noted for its 4th to 11th century Buddhist monk paintings at the Mogao Caves, where one of greatest repositories of Buddhist art in the world is found. Merchants, made wealthy through Silk Road trading, commissioned the elaborate artwork which was presented on the canyon walls stretching over a mile in length. The caves are but one of over 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites within China.
- Following your tour of the caves, you'll board your camel for a ride to the "Singing Sand Dunes" (tracing portions of Marco Polo's route in the process)! Towering hundreds of feet, the dunes offer remarkable views of the Taklamakan Desert. Adjacent is the lush, freshwater oasis at Yueya Quan ("Crescent Moon Lake") - one of Dunhuang's vital sources of water. It's a curious sight: an oasis with no visible source of water whatsoever.
- In the evening you'll board a train for your overnight travel to Turpan, situated at the earth's third lowest point. And despite the fact that Turpan is China's hottest city – it was a welcomed desert oasis long visited by Silk Road traders - and now you!
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Cities:
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Turpan
Grape Valley
Jiaohe |
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Highlights:
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Gaochang Ruins
Bezeklik Cave
Karez Irrigation
Putaogou
Jiaohe Rruins
Iman Minaret |
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Overnight:
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Turpan Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- Your entire day is centered on the attractions in and around Turpan.
- The centuries-old Thousand Buddhas Caves in Bezeklik, outside of Turpan, were "re-discovered" in 1904, preserved by the dry desert sands. Though many treasures from the caves were removed to foreign museums, the site is still very much worth a visit.
- Despite Turpan's desert climate the nearby mountains collect the high-altitude winter snows. An ingenious system of underground wells and canals – known as karez – was developed to tap this precious supply. Once totaling between 1200 - 1800 miles in length, you'll visit portions of the remaining system before traveling on to Turpan's Grape Valley ("Putao Gou") for a tour (and tasty sampling!) of its excellent fruits, melons, grapes, raisins and wines.
- The ancient city of Jiaohe claims a history dating back 2300 years. It's the world's oldest and largest earthen city - and certainly the best-preserved, too, thanks to the dry climate. The city, rather than being built "up" was built "down," its roads, homes, and temples literally dug into the desert soils.
- Reflecting Turpan's Islamic history, the chimney-shaped Imin Minaret stands adjacent to its mosque, designed in a distinctive Iranian style.
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Karez
Irrigation System:
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The
karez irrigation system consists of four parts: a hole - usually
at least 150 feet deep, an underground canal, an aboveground canal
and a reservoir. The ingenious system requires no electricity, loses
little water to evaporation and causes no pollution. Unfortunately,
motor-driven wells are sucking the karez system dry; this
"Underground Great Wall," may be extinct by 2025.
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Travel: |
Motorcoach to Urumqi |
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Cities:
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Turpan
Urumqi |
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Highlights:
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Dabancheng Windmills
Nanshan Pasture tour |
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Overnight:
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Urumqi Mirage Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Uighur-style Dinner |
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- Today's tour includes a drive via motorcoach from Turpan across some of the region's most amazing scenery.
- A tour of the verdant Nanshan Pasture confirms the region's scenic beauty of green valleys, rugged mountains, and rushing waterfalls. Hiking, biking, camel-back riding and Prairie Horseback Riding are available options.
- The drive passes through a field of wind-powered generators at Dabancheng - the largest generating station of its kind in Asia.
- The day's destination is and the evening's meal is a traditional, Uighur-style Dinner. Here, Muslim meets Mongolian! Islamic teachings forbid pork so the regional dishes include kabobs of beef, lamb and mutton alternatives served with hand-made Mongolian noodles and flat breads.
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"Is it the food?"
Residing within the Uighur region are China's longest-living inhabitants.
The region represents only 1.5% of China's population yet records
fully 25% of the nation's residents age 100 years or older. The
reasons? A vigorous climate and a healthy lifestyle - and Uighur
cuisine!
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Travel: |
Motorcoach from Urumqi to Tianchi |
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Cities:
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Urumqi, Tianchi |
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Highlights:
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Xianjiang Provincial Museum
Tianchi Lake
Kazakh Family |
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Overnight:
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Tianchi Hotel (or authentic "Yurt") |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Uighur-style Dinner |
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- The morning includes a visit at the Xinjiang Provincial Museum – preserving the region's finest archeological artifacts and art treasures. It's here where the "desert mummies" - desiccated human corpses - are on exhibition, some dating back 4,000 years!
- From here you'll travel by motorcoach to the mountains of Tianchi – literally, "Heavenly Lake."
- There's ample time to take in the beauty of the region whose higher elevation offers a dramatic change from the desert heat far below. Alpine forests surround this jade-blue lake! A visit at the home of a Kazakh family is included.
- Later you'll visit an interesting natural phenomenon where salt water lake meets fresh, resulting in interesting ecological diversity. Then, it's on to dinner - your second Uighur-style treat of the tour!
- Your overnight stay at Tianchi includes either accommodations in a hotel or - weather permitting - an authentic yurt.
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Travel: |
Motorcoach - Tianchi to Urumqi
Flight - Urumqi to Kashgar |
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Cities:
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Tianchi
Urumqi
Kashgar |
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Highlights:
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Kashgar |
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Overnight:
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Kashgar Qiniwak Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- Following breakfast you'll return down the mountains from Tianchi to Urumpqi.
- In Urumqi you'll board your flight for the trip eastward to Kashgar, almost at China's westernmost point. On your arrival, know that you're as close to the Beirut as to Beijing!
- On transferring to your hotel you'll immediately notice the Muslim influence as the city's skyline is punctuated by minarets.
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Chinese
Firsts:
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Wheelbarrow,
papermaking, “India” ink, moveable-type printing, compass,
ship rudder, gunpowder, cannon & fireworks, gun, decimal system,
crossbow, cast iron, iron plow, porcelain, silk, umbrellas, kites,
stirrup, harness, spaghetti, hand-held fan, seismometer, abacus,
cargo ship, high-fired stoneware, brandy, whiskey, chess, and fish-farming!
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Cities:
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Kashgar |
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Highlights:
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Abakh Khoja Tomb
Idkah Mosque
Handicraft Factory
Shipton's Arch (opt.)
Kara Kul Lake (opt.) |
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Overnight:
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Kashgar Qiniwak Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- After breakfast, you'll begin your tour of Kashgar's most notable sights and attractions. First on the list is the Abakh Khoja Tomb, one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture found anywhere in China. Islam arrived in China via the Silk Road during the 9th and 10th centuries and by the 15th century, had outstripped Buddhism as this region's dominant religion. Colorful ceramic tiles adorn the four corner towers, entrances and central dome of the tomb.
- Heavily damaged during the Cultural Revolution, the 19th-century Idkah Mosque is one of China's largest, capable of handling 7,000 worshippers. Though this mosque is relatively new by Islamic standards, a mosque has stood on this site since the 15th century.
- Time-permitting, a stop at an "Art & Handicraft Factory" will be included before returning to your hotel.
- Feeling adventurous? Today, as an alternate to the above, we offer two, full-day, optional excursions from Kashgar:
- Shipton's Arch: The world's tallest natural arch, Shipton's Arch (in Chinese, "Hole in Heaven") takes its western name from the English mountaineer, Eric Shipton, who visited and noted the rare formation in 1947. Carved over the millennia by sand storms, the arch is as tall as Empire State Building. Shipton's Arch is about a 2-3 hour drive from Kashgar.
- Kara Kul Lake: Five million years ago a meteor crashed to earth, forming today's Kara Kul Lake. Located about 120 miles west of Kashgar at an elevation of about 9,000 feet, the pristine lake reflects a deep-blue sky and snow-capped mountains. Once a stop along the ancient Silk Road, the region offers the visitor a true sense of the remoteness experienced by those early traders. Activities include camel-riding or horseback riding along the lake's shoreline, passing yurts (tents) along the way.
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Cities:
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Kashgar |
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Highlights:
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Kashgar Sunday Market!
Old Town Tour |
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Overnight:
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Kashgar Qiniwak Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- No one knows the exact count, but each Sunday somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000 vendors and shoppers converge on Kashgar's Sunday Market. Today, you'll be among them! It's a loud, crowded, dusty and often confusing affair – all the makings of a perfect market! The Sunday Market runs from dawn into the night.
- The market has proven so popular that it is now divided into two venues: a merchandise market and a livestock market. Both are fun but maybe the livestock market has the edge, at least for Westerners. Here, visitors can watch as customers "test drive" camels or yaks before closing the deal.
- Also included today is a tour through Kashgar's Old Town with its colorful shops and markets.
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Kashgar
Sunday Market:
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A
thousand years ago Kashgar, now a remote outpost, was a major hub
of Silk Road activity. But if you arrive in town on any given Sunday,
you'd swear the Silk Road trade was booming once again! Originally
a market for selling and trading livestock, today's Sunday Market
vendors offer produce, grains, vegetables, carpets, songbirds, haircuts
and shaves!
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Travel: |
Fly to Shanghai |
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Cities:
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Kashgar
Shanghai |
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Highlights:
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Shanghai
Bund
Farewell Dinner
Shanghai Acrobats |
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Overnight:
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Hotel Pullman Shanghai Skyway |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Farewell Dinner |
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- Breakfast in the west, lunch in the east!
- Your morning flight carries you east to Shanghai, the final destination of your tour. Shanghai was a minor county seat until the British arrived in the mid-19th century, lured by the potential wealth of untapped trade markets.
- Your brief city tourincludes a visit to the Bund, a gem of Art Deco buildings dating from this colonial period. Across the river soars Pudong, the skyscraper skyline of postcard fame.
- There may be some time for shopping before checking in to your hotel but you don't want to miss the evening's events: a delicious Farewell Dinner and a performance of the world-famous Shanghai Acrobatics!
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Travel: |
Depart Shanghai |
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Cities:
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Shanghai |
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Highlights:
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Shanghai Maglev Train transfer
Farewells! |
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Overnight:
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N/A |
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Meals:
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Breakfast |
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- Depending on your flight plans, you may have time for some last-minute shopping in nearby shops and markets. Your Tour Manager can offer money-saving suggestions.
- "Fly" to the airport! Subject to your return flight schedule, today you'll travel to the airport aboard the world's fastest commercial train: the Shanghai Maglev! Speeding at up to 430 kph (almost 270 mph) it'll make easy work of your airport transfer!
Shanghai is hosting the World Expo 2010 from May thorugh October (May 1 - Oct. 31, 2010). It is a scheduled World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions. The theme of the exposition will be "Better City – Better Life" and signifies Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as a major economic and cultural center. We will offer packages that include extended stays in Shanghai as well as admission tickets to the Expo. |
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Shanghai Maglev:
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"The doors shut, and the train accelerates like a skyscraper elevator, silently, smoothly, and rapidly, and by the time the last car leaves the station you already seem to be going 50 miles per hour. Four minutes of gravity-simulator-style acceleration later...you reach the peak speed of 270 miles per hour for the tiny 20-mile run."
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- Henry Blodget - Slate.
March 21, 2005
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| Single Supplement:
Add $980 to above prices
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3rd Guest (age 9 to 12) Land + Air:
70% of Land Only price, plus applicable Air cost
3rd Guest (age 9 to 12) Land Only: 70% of Land Only price
3rd Guest (age 12+) Land + Air:
85% of Land Only price, plus applicable Air cost
3rd Guest (age 12+) Land Only: 85% of Land Only price
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*Land + Air: Land + Air prices include all tour features as noted below in “All-Inclusive Pricing” as well as Roundtrip International Air Travel from Los Angeles (or selected departure city, where applicable and available) to/from China. In all cases prices are subject to change without notice due to airline seat availability.
*Land Only: Land Only prices include all tour features as noted below in “All-Inclusive Pricing.” Please note that Land Only prices include all travel within China as noted in the tour’s Trip Itinerary.
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All prices listed above are quoted in
USD, per person, and based on double occupancy. Single Supplement prices are shown above.
Prices are subject to change without notice and are capacity controlled.
"ALL-INCLUSIVE Pricing" includes: Tour Gratuities for guide services (Tour Manager, City Guides, Drivers, and Baggage Handling); Accommodations; Meals as noted in Trip Details; Admission fees to attractions as noted in Trip Details; Air, Train & Motorcoach travel within China as noted in Trip Details; Airport Transfers in Beijing on arrival and Shanghai on departure (provided transfers dates coincide with tour “Departs On” or “Returns On” dates or if transfer dates coincide with pre-tour or post-tour hotel extension purchased through Let’s Travel China); Tour Guide services; Air Taxes and Fees.
Not Included: Above prices do not include Excess Baggage Fees; Travel Passports or Visas; Expenses of a personal nature; Airport Transfers in Beijing and Shanghai which do not coincide with tour “Departs On” or “Returns On” dates or pre-tour or post-tour hotel extensions purchased through Let’s Travel China. Airport Transfers not otherwise included are available for purchase at $40.00 per person per transfer.
Terms & Conditions: Click here to view
standard Terms & Conditions.
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