Cross China from Irkstan to Erenhot (24 Days)

Code Id NAVO-SD-108
Title
Cross China from Irkstan (China-Kyrgyzstan border)  to Erenhot (China-Mongolia border)
P.S. Self-drive from west to north China
Duration 24 Days.
Areas Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, Shanxi, Shan’xi, Beijing, Inner Mongolia
Itinerary Irkstan-Kashgar-Taklamakan- Turpan-Dunhuang-Xining- Xi’an-Beijing-Erenhot
Season
Difficulty
Map
Highlights Kashgar Bazzar, Mosque, Abakh Hodja Tomb, Taklamakan Desert, Turpan Grape Valley, Flaming mountains, Sugong tower, Karze, Dunhuang Mogao Cave, Xi’an, Terra Cottas Warriors, Beijing Forbidden City, Heaven Temple, Erenhot etc.

Itinerary day by day

 

01 Irkstan—Kashgar Hotel
Enter China, and deal with the related procedures. Drive to Kashgar.
02 Kashgar Hotel
Visit Kashgar Sunday Market , the Mosquee Idkar, Abakh Hodja Tomb
Note The bazzar on Sunday at Kashgar is very famou and on the other day is also nice. The best time to visit the mosque is on Friday. We try to match one of them.
03 Kashgar/Yecheng 260kms Hotel
Half day visit at Kashgar in the morning and then drive to Ycheng in the afternoon.
04 Yecheng—Hetian 260km Hotel
We drive to Hetian in the morning and visit Hetian in the afternoon. Hetian is famous for its white jade and the Hetian Jade market is quiet interesting.
05 Hetian—Mingfeng 300kms Hotel
We drive to Mingfeng and can drive a little further in the to desert, see the beautiful sunset of the desert. Mingfeng is the start of the famous desert road through Taklamakan Desert.
06 Mingfeng—-Luntai 560kms Hotel
It is a challenging driving day today, we will drive through the Taklamakan desert, the biggest desert in China on the desert road from Mingfeng to Luntai.
07 Luntai/Kuerle/Turpan 530km Hotel
We will drive to Turpan, the most exotic city along the Silk Road. And beautiful scenery and pass Kuerle where is famous for its delicious pears.
08 Turpan Hotel
Visit Turpan, the Jiaohe ancient city, Sugong Tower, the Grape Valley, Kaner Well etc, the Flaming Mountains etc.
09 Turpan/Shanshan/Hami 390km Hotel
Visit the oldest Uygur villiage—Maza Villiage in Tuyu valley, Visit the desert park near Shanshan and the Hami King Tomb.
10 Hami/ Dunhuang 400km Hotel
Drive to Dunhuang in the morning, and visit the Dunhuang Grottos, the moon spring and the Mingsha Sand dunes in the afternoon.
11 Dunhuang /Jiayuguan/Zhangye 620km Hotel
Drive to Jiayuguan on expressway (about 4 hours) in the morning and then visit the Jiayuguan Pass—end of the thousands miles Great Wall in the afternoon. After that, we drive to Zhangye on expressway, about 2-3 hours. Very good road condition.
12 Zhangye/Mingle/Xining 350km Hotel
Visit the Zhangye Dafo Temple in the morning and then we drive to Xining. It is a beautiful driving day today. We will enter Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, and on the plateau, you will see blue sky, bright sunshine, thousands of goats and yaks dotted on the grassland, smiling Tibetan people. What a lovely day.
13 Xining/Qinghaihu Lake 300km Hotel
We drive to visit the Taer Monastery in the morning (50kms away from Xining) and it is one of the 6 holy monastery of Tibetan Buddhism Yellow Sect. You will feel the mysterious Tibetan culture here. Wonderful experience. Then we will drive from Taer Monastery to Qinghaihu Lake, the largest salty lake in China and very beautiful. We may stay at hotel or hostel or camp by the lake side, according to the weather.
14 Qinghaihu-Xining-Lanzhou 390km Hotel
Visit the Qinghaihu Lake and then drive to Lanzhou on expressway.
15 Lanzhou—Tianshui 330kms Hotel
Drive to Tianshui in the morning and visit the famous Maijishan Grottos in the afternon.
16 Tianshui—Xi’an 395kms Hotel
Drive to Xi’an on expressway in the morning and visit Xi’an city in the afternoon, such as the hundreds years old city wall, drum tower, bell tower etc. In Xi’an, you can feel history every where, and it is the real history city in China and it has been the capital of China for over 10 dynasties in the history.
17 Xi’an Hotel
Visit Xi’an Terra Cotta Worriors in the morning and visit the Shanxi Historical Museum in the afternoon, which is one of the 3 best historical museums in China.
18 Xi’an—Pingyao 570kms Hotel
We drive to Pingyao on expressway, 570kms, about 7-8 hours driving.
19 Pingyao—Taiyuan—Datong 380km Hotel
Visit Pingyao ancient city, one of the classic examples of northern style ancient city in China. Every year, people will hold the photographing festival here and it is regarded an idea place for photographers. Then we drive to Datong on expressway.
20 Datong—Great Wall Hotel
Early get up in the morning and visit the Datong Grottes in the morning and then we drive to Great Wall and visit it in the afternoon. .
21 Great Wall—Beijing Hotel
We drive to Beijing in the morning and visit Beijing, the capital city, such as the Forbidden City, the Heaven Temple, the Olympic Games Stadiums etc.
22 Beijing Hotel
Whole day free time at Beijing. You may visit anywhere you want to go in Beijing.
23 Beijing—Erenhot Hotel
We drive to Erenhot, the border port today. Long driving on good road. About 9 hours driving on expressway and good national road.
24 Erenhot—Mongolia Hotel
Exit China at Erenhot port, (China-Mongolia) border.
Note 1, This itinerary may be a little tight for some guests, if your style is relax one. Considering both enjoyment and economical aspects, we try to make the tour full of visit and shows different things to you within a limited time. 2, If your tour is a customized one, you may tell us your need and we can adjust the itinerary for you according to your personal needs. 3, If you join the group, we need to consider all the guests’ need. If you have any question about the route and road condition and driving time, please contact us further more. 4, We make this tour in August, because August is the best time to visit Xinjiang. During August, the pears, the melons, the grapes etc are in harvest and come and enjoy it.