China - Forgotten Cities of the Silk Road

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China’s far western corner is as remote from Beijing as one can get both geographically and culturally. Situated on the famed Silk Road of old, this area saw traders from numerous civilisations traversing its arid lands, leaving their footprints in the shape of cultural legacies that one would not necessarily expect to find in China. We follow in their footsteps on this exciting journey to lost cities and awe inspiring deserts and mountains. The city of Kashgar is an ethnographer’s dream, with people from all over Central Asia converging on its Sunday market to buy and sell their produce. We visit Lake Karakul at the foot of the Pamir Mountains and the oasis town of Turpan, showcasing the incredible geographical diversity of this region. And we explore ancient ruins rising from the sands, with Buddhist caves, forgotten cities and the remote final outpost of China’s Great Wall. Explore a side of China you never knew existed.

Day 1 – Urumqi
Arrive in Urumqi and transfer to the hotel. Depending on your time of arrival, you may have time to explore the city. Overnight at Lucky Chance Hotel or similar.

Day 2 – Urumqi – Kashgar
Visit nearby Heavenly Lake and take a boat cruise before taking a flight over the Taklamakan Desert to Kashgar, an important trading centre for merchants from all over Central Asia. Overnight at Tianyuan International Hotel or similar. (BL)

Urumqi
Urumqi is the largest city in Xinjiang, and is largely populated by Han Chinese, in defiance of its geographical location and in accordance with China’s policy of encouraging the Han to migrate to ethnic minority areas. It is famous for being the city that is furthest away from any ocean. Urumqi was originally established some time in the 7th century as a customs post, to collect taxes from the caravans traversing the Silk Road. In the first half of the twentieth century, following the end of the Qing dynasty, Xinjiang was ruled by a succession of warlords vying for power, and with its location far from central Chinese control, which was at that point shaky anyway, the region was destabilised for many years with various forces, including White Russians fleeing the terrors of Bolshevik rule, fighting each other. Before the Second World War, Urumqi was occupied by Soviet troops who had come to help put down a local rebellion, staying until 1960.

Day 3 – Kashgar
Kashgar’s Sunday Market is famed as the largest and most important trading centre in the region, with traders coming from surrounding countries such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan to sell their wares. We have a full day to take in the sights and sounds of this amazing spectacle. Overnight at Tianyuan International Hotel or similar. (BD)

Kashgar
Kashgar, known as Kashi to the Han Chinese, is located at the junction of several routes along the Silk Road, and has thus become a renowned and important trading centre for travellers arriving from Central Asia, Russia, India and Tibet. In contrast to Urumqi it remains overwhelmingly Moslem. Kashgar has ancient origins, with mentions of it in Chinese documents dating back to the 2nd century BC. At various times it has been a Buddhist and a Moslem city, often outside the control of China and sometimes claiming independence. It was not until the 18th century that it was paid any serious attention by the Qing dynasty, who reclaimed the city and built a garrison there. In more recent years it was an important city in the ‘Great Game’, that battle for colonial supremacy in Central Asia between the British and the Russians, with both powers maintaining consulates there. Kashgar is mostly populated by the Uighur ethnic minority today, and its most famous spectacle is its Sunday Market, with traders from all over Central Asia bringing their wares and livestock to fill the marketplaces. This is a great place to people watch and observe an event that has been happening for centuries, with little changed today.

Day 4 – Kashgar
Visit some of the sights in and around Kashgar, including the Mor Buddhist pagoda, the old city of Artush, the tomb of Sultan Sutuk Bughra Khan and also a local Uighur family. Return to Kashgar for the evening. Overnight at Tianyuan International Hotel or similar. (BLD)

Day 5 – Lake Karakul
We drive on the famed Karakoram Highway to Lake Karakol, an icy blue lake at the foot of the Pamir Mountains. Later continue to Tashkurgan for the night. Overnight Jiaotong Hotel or similar. (BLD)

Lake Karakul
Lake Karakul lies at the foot of the Pamir Mountains and the spectacular 7546m peak Mount Muztagata. The surrounding mountains are covered with snow for much of the year and the scenery here is out of this world, with the dramatic mountains reflecting in the clear blue waters of the lake.

Kyrgyz people
The Kyrgyzs form one of China’s fifty five recognised ethnic groups, and are largely situated in the far west of the country. There are currently around 145,000 Kyrgyz in China and they follow Islam, with a small minority adhering to Tibetan Buddhist teachings. Traditionally they were nomadic, roaming between Russia, China and Central Asia, and many families still live a semi-nomadic lifestyle today, taking their yurts and animals to find fresh pasture.

Day 6 – Kashgar
Drive back to Kashgar. We visit the 15th century Idkah Mosque as well as the Abakh Hoja Mausoleum. The streets around the mosque offer a great snapshot of Uighur life, and we spend some time walking through them. Overnight at Tianyuan International Hotel or similar. (BL)

Day 7 – Turpan
After a free morning transfer to the station to take the overnight sleeper train to Turpan, through the spectacular scenery of the Tian Shan Mountains. (BL)

Turpan
The Turpan Depression is second only to the Dead Sea in Jordan as the lowest point on the Earth. Here the temperature can soar to an average of 40°C in the summer – hence its name ‘Fiery Land’. Turpan is a lovely small city, an oasis with wide streets shaded by grape arbours. The surrounding area also has countless places of interest. The ancient cities of Gaocheng and Jiaohe were once great cities on the Silk Road and the temples, pagodas and courtyards are still distinguishable, even though they were abandoned over 700 years ago. The Emin Minaret is situated on the outskirts of town and from the top you can get a fabulous view of Turpan and the surrounding fields. The crop of choice in the area is grapes and the seedless white variety grown here are famous throughout the world. To provide irrigation the local people have devised a unique system of underground water channels which are fed from snowmelt.

Day 8 – Turpan
Excursion to some of the many intriguing sites surrounding Turpan. We visit the oasis of Grape Valley, the Flaming Mountains, the ruins of the ancient city of Gaocheng, and the Kerez irrigation system. Overnight at Turpan Hotel or similar. (LD)

Day 9 – Turpan – Jiayuguan
Visit the ruined city of Jiaohe and the 18th century Emin minaret before taking the sleeper train to Jiayuguan. (BL)

Day 10 – Jiayuguan
Arrive in Jiayuguan, known as the end of the Great Wall. Visit the Hanging Wall, an overhanging section of the Great Wall and the Wei-Jin tombs, with excellent frescoes depicting everyday life from the 3rd century. Overnight Guotai Hotel or similar. (LD)

Jiayuguan
Although it originally extended well beyond here, Jiayuguan has become famous as the terminus of the Great Wall, thanks to the construction of a fort – the “Last Pass Under Heaven” – during the Ming Dynasty in 1372. Lying strategically between the Qilian and Mazong Mountains, it was vital as the last outpost of the empire, beyond which lived only the barbarians. The setting is dramatic, with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains and desert all around. It is easy to imagine the despair experienced by people who were sent into exile and whose poetic last thoughts are graffitied onto the Western gate.

Day 11 – Dunhuang
Drive to Dunhuang. Visit the Mogao Caves, site of the first Buddhist temples in China which contain fantastic examples of ancient artwork. Overnight Yangguan Hotel or similar. (BLD)

The Mogao Grottoes
These breath-taking grottoes house some of the best Buddhist murals and carvings in the world. The first cave was carved out and painted in AD 366 and for the next thousand years, Dunhuang was one of the main centres of Chinese Buddhism. During this time more than 492 caves were carved from the cliff face, featuring 2,415 coloured statues and murals covering an area of more than 45,000m². By the 14th century, trade along the Silk Road had dramatically decreased, having been replaced by the opening of sea routes from China to the Indian subcontinent and Europe. The cave complex at Dunhuang was sealed and abandoned, and remained virtually untouched for the next 600 years. By the turn of the 20th century it had been pretty much forgotten until a Taoist monk stumbled upon the hoard in 1907. He also found a hidden chamber packed full of ancient manuscripts, some of which were brought from India by Xuan Zang, the monk who bought Buddhism to China. Today only a handful of caves are open to the public but these are sufficient to get an idea of the scale and artistic excellence of the carvings and the murals which adorn the caves.

Day 12 – Dunhuang – Urumqi
Visit the museum at Dunhuang. We then take a short camel ride into the sand dunes to visit the Singing Sand Dune, reputed to make a humming noise at times, and Crescent Moon Lake. Later take the sleeper train back to Urumqi. (BLD)

Day 13 – Urumqi
Arrive back in Urumqi. The rest of the day is free to explore the museums and bazaars. Overnight at Lucky Chance Hotel.

Day 14 – Urumqi
Tour ends. (B)