From the Terracotta Warriors to the Maijishan Grottos and the Mogao Caves

This 10 day/9 night tour is along the first section of the Silk Road, extending from Xian, via Tianshui and Lanzhou to Dunhuang, and returning from Xian. We will spend around three days in Xian, visiting the major sites including the Terracotta Warriors, the Forest of Steles, the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, the City Walls and the Wild Goose Pagoda. At Tianshui we shall visit the amazing Maijishan cliff and grottos, the ancient Fuxi Temple and other sites nearby. At Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, we shall see the Bingling “1,000 Buddha Caves” and the Gansu Provincial Museum. Dunhuang is famed for its UNESCO recognized Mogao Caves, and we shall have special viewing of some of these. The tour will involve quite a bit of walking and steps to see inside the caves and some long coach/train journeys to cover the necessary distances between the remote sites. It is hoped this visit to Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces may be the first of two visits to the Silk Road with the westerly section in Xinjiang (Turfan, Urumqi, Kashgar etc.) to be visited in the future.