| Day 1 Arrive in Dunhuang, meet the local guide and transfer to the hotel. |
(D) Overnight in Dunhuang DDDwww.Chinakindnesstour.com
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| Day 2 After breakfast visit Singing Dunes. "Singing dunes are one of the most puzzling and impressive natural phenomenon I have ever encountered" says Andreotti,"The sounds produced can be heard up to 10 kilometers away and resemble a drum or a low-flying jet." The sounds can be as loud as 105 decibels and have frequencies between about 95 and 105 Hertz. The French physicist took his equipment from Paris to the Atlantic Sahara in Morocco, which contains more than 10,000 crescent shaped dunes known as barchans. The wind in the desert can erode the back of these dunes, causing sand to build up at the top of the dune. When too much sand has accumulated, an avalanche occurs and the dunes start to "sing". Andreotti simultaneously measured vibrations in the sand bed and acoustic emissions in the air, and then extracted information about the frequency, amplitude and the phase of these signals. He found that the vibrations in the sand behaved like slow-moving elastic sound waves that were localized at the surface of the dune and had an amplitude that was about a quarter of the diameter of an individual grain of sand. "The sounds result from avalanches in which the grains drum on one another, exciting elastic waves on the dune surface, with the vibration of the sand bed tending to synchronise the collisions," he told PhysicsWeb. "In many ways the surface of the sand bed acts like the membrane in a loudspeaker." Visit the Crescent Spring. Just as oil and water dont mix, so do springs and deserts. But Crescent Spring is an exception. About 6 kilometers (3.73 miles) south of Dunhuang city, and surrounded by the Echoing-Sand Mountain, Crescent Spring can be called a natural wonder in the Gobi Desert. Some say it reminds them of the eye of a beautiful woman, lucid, beautiful and amorous. Some say it looks like the mysterious, gentle and seductive lips of a pretty woman, or a slice of lush, sweet and crystal cantaloupe. Actually, it resembles a crescent fallen down into this desert. Having been lying among these sand dunes for thousands of years, although given many surprise attacks by sandstorms, Crescent Spring still gurgles clear, and still remains worthy as the first spring in the desert.In the afternoon visit Mogao Grottoes. The traveler finds the Mogao Caves, a shrine of Buddhist art treasures, 25km (15.5miles) from downtown Dunhuang on the eastern slope of Mingsha Shan (Mount Echoing Sand). A network of plank reinforced roads plying north to south 1600 meters (5, 249 feet) long lead to the cave openings, which are stacked five stories high some reaching up to 50 meters (164 feet). By the way, Mogao means high up in the desert. According to Tang Dynasty records, a monk had witnessed onsite a vision of thousand Buddhas under showers of golden rays. Thus inspired, he started the caves construction work that spanned ten dynasties. Mogao Caves are commonly known as the Caves of a Thousand Buddhas. Buddhist art has its origins in India. Mogao sculptors improvised where the rock surface did not work well under their chisels. They placed clay statues in front of the cave walls, carved relief murals as backdrops, and painted the sidewalls and ceilings with art decors. The largest statue is 34.5 meters (113 feet) high and the smallest a mere 2 centimeters (0.79inches) high. |
( B/L/D ) Overnight in Dunhuang DDDwww.Chinakindnesstour.com
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| Day 3 After breakfast visit the Yangguan. To the west of Dunhuang, the valley gradually broadens and one quickly enters the largely barren waste of the gravel desert. There were two main defensive points on this side of the city, one (the Yaen Guan) controlling the major road west that led to Lou-Lan, and the other defending the road south to the mountains. Along this southern route, traces of the old Han wall can be seen, leading to a small oasis that was the focal point of a complex network of watch towers. Visit Yumenguan Pass, located on a hillock 90kms northwest of Dunhuang city, is an important pass of the north route on the Silk Road. After Zhang Qian served as an envoy to the West Region, a mass of silk and tea from Central China were exported abroad through this pass, and in return, fruit, specialties and religion culture were brought in. Yumenguan Pass was also called "Small Square City". The present city was constructed with rammed earth with two gates respectively in its west and north directions. The wall is 10 meters high and its top is 3 meters wide and bottom 5 meters. After dinner take the soft bed train to Turfan. |
(B/L/D) Overnight on the trainDDDwww.Chinakindnesstour.com
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| Day 4 Arrive in Turfan, meet the local guide and visit Kariz under ground irrigation system (one of the three manmade ancient projects of China). Emin minaret, built in 1777 by local hereditary leader of Turpan. It is a nice Islamic archetechetoral building of mosque complex. Visit Bezeklic caves (4th century), Astan tombs (3rd century burial ground for the nobles of Gaochang kingdom , now it is known by the world archaeologist as under ground museum ), Gaochang ancient city (ancient Chinese garrison town on the silk road built in 1st century AD ) , you will be taken by donkey cart to visit the temple area. |
(B/L/D) Overnight in TurfanDDDwww.Chinakindnesstour.com
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| Day 5 In the morning visit Grape Valley ( Turpan is also known in China as grape town, especially seedless grape called sultana is dried into raisin which is famous in South Asia countries, here you will taste delicious grapes and enjoy the rich local atmosphere ), after lunch take train to Kuqa. |
(B/L/D) Overnight on the train DDDwww.Chinakindnesstour.com
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| Day 6 Morning arrive at Kuqa, centre of the ancient Quici Kingdom, once among the most powerful of Buddhist kingdoms in central Asia. At Kucha station guide transfer to Hotel (breakfast), visit Kyzilkargha Buddha cave(4th-6th century, take a walk at the old town area, visit Grand Kucha Mosque with central Asian architectural style. |
(B/L/D) Overnight in Kucha DDDwww.Chinakindnesstour.com
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| Day 7 Drive to Aksu , on the way visit the site of the Kezil Caves and spend the afternoon. The Kezil caves are among the earliest Buddhist cave sites in China and show strong influence from Persian, Indian and even central Asian, Greco-Roman design. Late afternoon continue on to Aksu. |
| (B/D) Overnight in Aksu |
| Day 8 Morning drive to Kashgar cross the famous old town Artosh, visit Sultan Boghrakhan ( the first Uighur king in central Asia who converted to Islam ) mosque-tomb (10th century). |
| (B/L/D) Overnight in Kashgar |
| Day 9 Visit the Mausoleum of Abjak Hoja (a 17th century Muslim leader), walk through the old town quarter ending up at the Id Kah Mosque (the largest in China) and the surrounding market area (the street of craftsmen including musical instrument craftsmen, jewelers, goldsmiths, etc.). |
| (B/L/D) Overnight in Kashgar |
| Day 10 The morning will be spent at the Sunday Market, taking in all areas of the market place selling boots, hats, textiles and spices as well as livestocks. |
| (B/L/D) Overnight in Kashgar |
| Day 11 After breakfast take flight to Urumqi. Meet the local guide and transfer to the hotel. |
| (B/L/D) Overnight in Urumqi |
| Day 12 Visit Xinjiang Museum (recently reopened after years of being closed). Visit several fine exhibitions, among them a collection of mummies excavated throughout Xinjiang and spanning more than 3,000 years of history (the oldest is more than 5,000 years in age); a Silk Road exhibition and a series of exhibitions on minority cultures of Xinjiang. This afternoon is free. |
| (B/L/D) Overnight in Urumqi |
| Day 13 After breakfast take flight for leaving. |
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