Xinjiang - the Less Traveled Silk Road

Dates:	Thursday, September 30 to Wednesday, October 6
Price:	RMB 14,800 p.p.
	Single Supplement: RMB 1,600 Child with extra bed: RMB 11,860
Deposit:	Due by September 17
Balance:	Due by September 17

The Silk Road evokes exotic images of long caravan lines stretching across vast sand dunes and dusty travelers relaxing in the shade of a desert oasis. Tradesmen and monks travelled across mountains, deserts and seas from Europe to Asia along this route. The commercial system of oasis settlements across the desert enabled the spread of goods, religious beliefs (Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity), science and technology. The Silk Road and its many towns and cities were immortalized in Marco Polo's accounts of his travels. Our journey starts in Khotan, home to beautifully handcrafted silks that are famous across Central Asia for their rich colors and intricate designs. We will camp in the Taklamakan Desert for a night, which is an amazing opportunity to experience the awesome isolation of the desert. We will finish our trip with a visit to the famous Kashgar Sunday market.

Day 1
Fly from Shanghai to Khotan via Urumqi. Upon arrival in Khotan we will check into the Khotan Hotel for one night. Khotan was an early center for the spread of Buddhism from India into China. It fell to the Arabs in the 8th century, and grew wealthy on the proceeds of the caravan trade that traveled the route between China and the West until conquered by Genghis Khan in the early 13th century.

Day 2
Today we will travel deep into the desert. We will drive 30km (one hour) to the edge of the Taklamakan Desert where we will take a camel ride. Our journey on camel back will last about six to seven hours, bringing us to the ruins of the Rawak Temple, the earliest pagoda in China. As we travel through the glorious desert on the camels, we will gain an appreciation for the rigors of the ancient caravan journeys. As we camp overnight in the desert and sit beneath the enormous night sky as we feel the warmth of the campfire, we will appreciate the vastness of the wilderness around us.

Day 3
This morning after de-camping, we will take a short camel ride back to the main road.  We will drive back to Khotan to visit the jade dealing market and the Jade River. After lunch we will drive about (300km) 5 hours to Yarkant through Guma, Kargilik and Poskam. The oasis town of Yarkent was the capital of the ancient Uigur Karakhanid Dynasty. There, we will visit the Yarkant Mausoleum, a mausoleum of the Yarkant Kingdom from the 13th-17th century. Afterwards, we will check into the Yarkant Hotel for one night.

Day 4

This morning we will drive about 190km (4 hours) to Kashgar.  Kashgar is an oasis in the hostile Taklamakan Desert (the biggest desert in China and the second biggest in the World). As it was two thousand years ago, the city remains a cultural and commercial crossroad. After arrival in Kashgar, we will attend the Kashgar Sunday Market, the biggest in Asia, where as many as 50,000 people gather to trade donkeys, camels, sheep and a huge range of merchandise. This will definitely be a memorable experience. We will also enjoy a short walking tour through the old town of Kashgar and check into the Kashgar Tianyuan Hotel for 2 nights.

Day 5
Today we will continue to explore Kashgar.  We will visit the Abakh Khojia Tomb, Village Market, the Indian style Moor Pagoda and only Buddhist ruins in the Kashgar area.  Later, we will have a chance to meet a Uyghur family.

Day 6
This morning we will visit the Idkah Mosque before transferring to the airport in late afternoon for a flight to Urumqi. Upon arrival we will check into China Southern Airlines International Hotel (formerly the Kempinski Hotel) for one night.

Day 7
In the morning, we will visit the Provincial Museum before driving to the Erdaoqiao Bazaar. At the bazaar, we will find a bustling market filled with fruit, clothing, crafts, knives, carpets and much more. The architecture in the area is fabulous. In the afternoon, we will transfer to airport for our return flight to Shanghai.