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Desert of Cathay -- the Taklamakan Jeep Safari |
19 Days / 18 Nights from $ 2,460USD |
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| Cities to visit: Kangding ~ Dege ~ Changdu~ Nyingchi ~ Lhasa
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| Today, though the situation is beginning to change, the area remains one of the least developed in Central Asia and provides a fascinating insight in to the oasis cultures of the Uygurs as well as a glimpse into an earlier past when the Silk Road was perhaps the world's most important transport artery. |
2005 Departure dates
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Begins and Ends Urumchi (Xinjiang Region)
July 01
Aug 19
Sep 06
Additional departure dates may become available as these sell out or you can choose your own departure date.
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Full itinerary |
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01.Arrival Urumchi
Arriving into Urumchi include a transfer to your first night hotel. We invite you to join us this evening for a welcome reception and dinner.
02.Urumchi / Turpan
Today¡¯s destination is Turpan a small and quite oasis city. Tour in Turpan including an interesting visit to a Karez Well an ancient irrigation system which made Turpan a rich oasis and Emin Minaret was dates from 1777 and is built entirely with clay bricks. The minaret is 44m high and built in simple Afghani style. This evening attend a special Uygur performance where the traditional Uygur cultural heritage is explored in dance and songs.
03.Turpan
Enjoy a guided tour of Ancient City of Gaochang (Edikut city), Ancient Astana Tombs where were buried the imperial dead of Gaochang and noble officials, Bezaklik Thousand Buddha Caves which contain 67 caves dating from the Northern and Southern dynasties (317 - 589) to the Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368) and visit to Ancient City of Jiaohe which is situated on an island between two rivers and was initially built about 2000 years ago and for a long period of time. The city, situated along the Silk Road, was of great military significance and played a pivotal role in the economic development of Western and Eastern countries.
04.Turpan / Kucha
Arrive in Kucha, the site of an archaeological free-for-all in the last decade of the 19th century, with Sir Hamilton Bower, Sir Aurel Stein, Alexander von Le Coq, and Paul Pelliot among the treasure seekers unearthing valuable archaeological finds.
05.Kucha
A full day to visit the Kizil Buddha Caves situated a two-hour drive from Kucha. The caves once contained some of the finest examples of Buddhist art in Central Asia. Beautiful wall paintings and frescoes depicted Buddhist fables as well as musicians, dancers, and important people of the period. The caves were raided by archaeological expeditions (von Le Coq cut away many of the frescoes; they are now on display in Berlin). Traces of the frescoes remain, however, and we'll get a sense of how enormously impressive they once must have been. Return to Kucha for overnight.
06.Kucha / Aksu
In the west of China, on the southern slope for the Tomur Peak---the highest peak of the imposing and splendid Tianshan Mountains, at the northern fringe of the vast and fantastic Taklamakan Desert, is inlaid with a jasper-like oasis---Aksu, reputed as lush southern-type fields north of the Great wall and also a bright pearl in the west. Aksu prefecture has, under its administration, eight counties and one municipality with a total area of 132,000 sq. kilometers and population of 1.98 million. Aksu, featured by distinctive and unique tourist resources, is a sparkling pearl on the ancient Silk Road. Before drive to Aksu we will visit Kizilgaha Beacon Tower, located in the northwest, 12 km away from Kucha County, is the major historical & cultural relic under the state protection. According to legend, it used to be the remains of the Han Dynasty with 15m tall, 6m long and 4.5m wide. Remaining traces of wooden fence can be found now. It is the best-preserved beacon tower on the Silk Road. Enjoy Kucha bazaar where locals make their trade.
07.Aksu / Kashgar
Kashgar is the last station of the Silk Road in China. Kashgar was the great pivot point of the routes coming from China, departing south to India and west to Tashkent and Samarkand, ultimately reaching the Mediterranean and Rome.
08.Kashgar / Tashkhorgan
Enjoy a high land drive to Tashkhorgan - Tajik cultural center of China, 3,000 meters high, it's between Karakol and the Pakistani border. Karakol Lake is on the road to Khunjerab Pass (Pakistan). Muztagh Ata (father of Ice Mountains) looms on the right. The Kongur Massif rims the Lake on the left.
09.Tashkhorgan / Kashgar
Tashkhorgan is Tajik for ¡°stone city¡± and the massive crumbling fort is situated at the edge of the town atop the only hill in the Tashkhorgan River¡¯s flood plain. Tashkhorgan--a real contrast. The one-street town, although inhabited by Tajiks, bears a heavy stamp of Chinese rule. Ten-foot iron railings fence off every building, even the elementary school. Heavily armed soldiers patrol the street. Visit to Stone Fort and Tajik family. In the afternoon drive back to Kashgar.
10.Kashgar
Tucked against the Pamirs rising to 25,000' above the city, Kashgar is a desert city made up of walled compounds of adobe brick that exactly match the tawny tones of the surrounding desert. On Sunday, the city comes to life as thousands of Uygur farmers and tradesmen from the surrounding countryside converge on Kashgar famous Sunday market-a fabulous and colorfully chaotic scene as eager traders hawk their wares and piles of foodstuffs and goods fill the streets. Melons are the summer mainstay of the local agriculture. The dusty bazaar is crowded with a variety of donkey carts and bicycles, and graceful poplar trees provide welcome greenery in the desert atmosphere. The animal market is thrilling: herds of goats and sheep are bargained, Uygur men test-drive horses and camels, and chickens are passed around for inspection of plumpness. We also visit Abakh Hoja's Tomb, the Id Kah mosque, and the surrounding bazaar, a medieval scene of craftsmen making things by hand-blacksmiths, coppersmiths, cobblers, woodworkers and other artisans who supply the local farmers and shepherds with the wares of daily life.
11.Kashgar / Khotan
We embark on our journey along the southern Silk Road. Today's drive is a long one (nine hours), but it's on an excellent road and we'll break the day up by stopping in the interesting oasis town of Yarkant. Yarkant was once an important stop on the caravan route from India and during its heyday was even larger than Kashgar. Here we'll visit the tomb of a Yarkant king, the old bazaar and Mosque, and pay a visit to the town's weavers. Continue to Khotan, famous for its jade, carpets, embroidery, and silk (examples of the area's silk weavings can be seen in many Xinjiang museums). The ancient kingdom had a long, illustrious history; it once flourished as an important center of Mahayana Buddhism, and the explorers Sven Hedin and Sir Aurel Stein began to explore nearby buried Buddhist cities in the late 19th century.
12.Khotan
Enjoy the following places as the Yin¡¯erlik Desert is twenty-two kilometers northwest of Khotan City and located on the southernmost fringe of the Taklamakan Desert, the Taklamakan Desert is the second largest desert in the world, and the largest desert in China, known to the world as ¡°the Death of the Sea¡±; Malikawat City which is located on the west bank of the Yurongkash (means white jade) River, twenty-five kilometers west of Khotan City. This ancient city rose and declined in the period between the year 206 B.C. and the year 907 A.D; and the Yotkhan Ruins which is located about ten kilometers west of the Khotan city. Some people even think it is the site of the capital of the ancient Yutian State. This city, which covered an area of ten square kilometers, now is under the rice field.
13.Khotan / Niya
It's a five-hour drive (200 miles) to the oasis town of Niya past reed marshes and small farms interspersed with stretches of sandy desert. Upon arrival we'll visit the town, once part of the Kingdom of Shanshan in the first century B.C. Niya, believed to have flourished from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD, has remained the best preserved and one of the largest ruins of the city states that were scattered along the ancient Silk Road about 1,500 years ago. It became known as the "Pompeii of the Silk Road."
14.Niya / Cherchen
Today we will drive to Cherchen located in Xinjiang in north-west China is an inhospitable place: extremely dry, with very hot summers and freezing winters. In 1978, Chinese archaeologists discovered the mummy of a tall man dressed in a dark-red wool tunic and brightly colored leggings. His red hair and aquiline nose identified him as European rather than Chinese, and they named him Cherchen Man after the province where he was found. Explore the town by your own after arrival.
15.Cherchen / Charkilik
Drive from Cherchen to Charkilik, still traversing the southern edge of the Taklamakan desert. Charkilik is the biggest county with less population of China, and also a new developing county of Xinjiang region.
16.Charkilik / Korla
After breakfast we will drive to Korla situated in the southwest frontier of China; south foot of the Mt. Tianshan, the hinterland of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; the edge of Taklamakan Desert; the northeast edge of the largest basin in China, Tarim Basin. After arrival visit to Iron Gate north of Korla, lies at the mouth of a 14 kilometer (9 mile) long valley. It was of strategic importance in history in ancient China and is listed as one of the 26 famous Passes. Iron Gate was at the throat of the Silk Road and the traffic junction between northern Xinjiang and southern Xinjiang. Nearby, there are still traces of an ancient barracks and military activities. Four Chinese characters are inscribed on the cliff beside the pass. The characters describe the steepness and precipitous ness of the pass. Nearby there are two graves in which a couple that died for love and freedoms were buried. Zohra, Princess of the ancient Yanji .The viperous premier tried to kill Tahir. While trying to escape, the couple fell down the gorge.
17.Korla / Urumchi
On the way Urumchi visit to Bostan Lake the largest freshwater lake in Xinjiang, this serves as a natural reservoir. The lake, covering over 1,000 square kilometers reflects the beauty of the southern countryside with luxuriant vegetation. It is also a large fishery where a variety of fish grow. And tour to Lopnur village where highly recommended to you for exploring ancient Lopnur people life style.
18.Urumchi
Morning tour to Xinjiang region museum
Xinjiang Regional Museum is split into 2 sections - one devoted to archeological treasures from the Silk Road and the other showcases the province minority cultures. The Silk Road exhibits have an array of tools, coins, jade, fabrics, pots and paintings all from the area. The most dramatic and interesting exhibits are the "Mummies of Urumqi" - ancient corpses preserved and found in the desert sands. The corpses include a baby who died around 3,800 years ago, still wrapped in swaddling as well as a couple who died at different periods but were found buried together. The most famous however, is the "Kroran Beauty", a corpse of a woman believed to have died in her 40s and be of Indo-European ethnicity. Discovered in 1980 in the riverbed of the Tieban in Loulan city, the corpse is believed to be around 4,000 years old. When found, she was still clutching a small purse and wore leather and fur sandals. Afternoon, you will be at your own leisure to explore the city.
19.Urumchi / Exit
End of the China desert safari.
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| 2005 Prices |
| Land Price Per Person |
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Group Size
Minimum Size: 02persons
Double: $ 2,460
Single: $ 2,810
Group Size
Minimum Size: 06persons
Double: $ 2,000
Single: $ 2,380
TOUR COST INCLUDES
All accommodations
Transportation as 4X4 jeeps
All meals in the itinerary
All entrance fee for sightseeing places as mentioned above
English speaking guide and driver service
Travel insurance inside China
TOUR COST EXCLUDES
Airfares and airport taxes as you entering and exiting Urumchi
Tips for guide and drivers
Supplementary trips and services not mentioned
Personal expenses |
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