9-Day In Depth Gansu Tour

Arrive in Lanzhou and be met by your personal tour guide and driver who will accompany you throughout your travel from Lanzhou to Dunhuang. The airport is about 78 km away from downtown and takes about 1.5 hours' drive.

As the capital of Gansu Province, Lanzhou is the most important passage of China's ancient Silk Road and now it's also an important gateway to the northwest of China. Your exploration of Gansu today will begin with a city tour in Lanzhou, including Gansu Provincial Museum, White Pagoda Hill Park, Yellow River Waterwheel Park, Iron Bridge of Yellow River and Sculpture of the Yellow River Mother. Climb up the White Pagoda Hill and you will enjoy a panoramic view of the city.

Drive about 2 hours to the first large reservoir in Yellow River - Liujiaxia Reservoir. Continue with an hour's speedy boat and then you will arrive at Bingling Temple. Here, you will find elegant stone carvings, clay sculptures, and murals of over 1,500 years old in the Thousand Buddha Caves.

Drive north forward to Wuwei (about 3.5 hours). After lunch, visit Leitai Han Tomb, which is known for unearthing the bronze statue of Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow, and Confucius Temple. After that, drive another 3 hours to Zhangye, which was once an important town along the Silk Road and is now famous again for its rainbow-like Danxia landscapes.

Today, you will visit Zhangye Danxia Geopark, the Wooden Tower and Giant Buddhist Temple which houses the largest reclining Buddha in China. The first one is out of the city, around 50 minutes' drive away.

To get better pictures of the colorful mountains, you may like to visit the geopark in the early morning to catch the sunrise or in the late afternoon to see the sunset or maybe both. Please ask your personal travel consultant for more details.

Head north to Jiayuguan by a 2.5 hours' drive. After arrival, appreciate the magnificent frescos inside Wei Jin Tomb Art Gallery. Continue with Great Wall at Jiayuguan (including the museum), Jiayuguan Pass and the First Pier of the Great Wall.

Drive about 5 hours to Dunhuang. Check into the hotel and take a break. In the afternoon, enjoy some leisure hours at the Crescent Moon Spring and Singing Sand Dune where you might hear the sand dunes "sing" if you listen very carefully. Later, visit a local village a glimpse of the unique local life.

Dunhuang became world-famous because of the Mogao Grottos which house an amazingly large collection of Buddhist art, including beautiful frescoes and sculptures. Today, you will visit these caves and imagine how the Chinese Buddhists would worship and carve Buddha images out of the rock. Afterward, visit the White Horse Pagoda, Song Dynasty Film City, and Western Thousand Buddha Caves.

Today you'll say goodbye to your Silk Road adventure. Spend some time at leisure on your own until you're escorted by your private guide to the airport for your return flight.