Ancient China
by Private Train

Arrival in Urumqi

Arrive in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang and, famously, the city furthest from any sea on earth. Transfer to the five-star Conrad Urumqi for an overnight stay, then gather this evening for a welcome reception and dinner, where you meet your Tour Manager and fellow travellers before the journey begins.

Welcome reception and dinner. One hotel night at the Conrad Urumqi.

All Aboard the Silk Road Express

This morning you board the Golden Eagle Silk Road Express and settle into your cabin as the train sets out across the vast landscapes of western China. A welcoming lunch is served in the dining car, and the afternoon is yours to explore the train, watch the desert unfold from the observation car and ease into the rhythm of life on board.

First night on board. Welcoming lunch in the dining car.

The Buried Cities of Turpan

Turpan sits in one of the hottest and lowest places in China, a fertile oasis ringed by desert. Here you explore the ruins of Gaochang, once a thriving Silk Road garrison town, and the extraordinary Karez system, a network of hand-dug underground channels that has carried meltwater to the fields for centuries.

You also visit the Jiaohe Ruins, one of the best-preserved ancient cities in the world, carved directly from a great earthen plateau above two converging rivers and abandoned some six hundred years ago.

Gaochang ancient city; Karez irrigation system; Jiaohe Ruins.

The Old Town of Kashgar

Kashgar has been a meeting point of caravans for two thousand years, the last great oasis before the mountain passes to Central Asia, and it remains the most Central Asian of Chinese cities. You visit the Apak Khoja Tomb, the holiest Muslim site in Xinjiang and the resting place of a celebrated Sufi dynasty, its dome and minarets clad in green and gold tiles.

Then you wander the narrow alleys of the old town, past the traditional Gaotai folk houses on their bluff of packed earth, with time for lunch at a local Uyghur restaurant amid the colour and clamour of the bazaar.

Apak Khoja Tomb; Kashgar old town and Gaotai folk houses; Uyghur restaurant lunch.

The Silk and Carpets of Hotan

Hotan lies on the southern arm of the Silk Road, at the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, and was long famous for its jade, silk and carpets. You visit Yotkan, the site of the ancient capital of a once-powerful Buddhist kingdom, before an exclusive visit to an Atlas silk and carpet workshop, where master weavers still work the vivid, tie-dyed patterns by hand using time-honoured techniques.

Yotkan ancient city; exclusive Atlas silk and carpet workshop visit.

The Salt Lakes of Golmud

As the train crosses onto the high Qinghai plateau, an enlightening lecture sets the history of the Silk Road in context. At Golmud there is a Freedom of Choice: journey out to the vast Chaerhan Salt Lake, a surreal expanse of salt flats and mineral formations, one of the largest of its kind in the world, or take a guided exploration of the city itself. You then re-board the train and continue east.

Silk Road history lecture; choice of Chaerhan Salt Lake or Golmud city tour.

The Mogao Caves and Crescent Lake

Dunhuang was the gateway where the Silk Road met the deserts of the west, and its Mogao Caves are among the wonders of the ancient world. A UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas, they hold a thousand years of Buddhist painting and sculpture cut into the cliff face, and you tour them to the accompaniment of traditional folk music.

In the afternoon comes one of the journey's most memorable moments: a camel trek across the great dunes of the Singing Sands to Crescent Lake, a slender ribbon of water that has survived among the desert for millennia.

Mogao Caves (UNESCO World Heritage Site); camel trek to Crescent Lake.

A Day on Board and Tang Dynasty Xi'an

Today is a leisurely day aboard the train, the landscape sliding past the floor-to-ceiling windows of the observation car as you make your way towards the ancient capital. Arriving in Xi'an in the evening, you are treated to an authentic Tang Dynasty banquet, with traditional music and dance recalling the golden age when this was the greatest city on earth and the eastern terminus of the Silk Road.

Day at leisure on board; Tang Dynasty dinner with music and dance in Xi'an.

The Terracotta Army

The morning is given to the old city itself: the great Ming-era walls that still encircle the centre, among the most complete in China, and the Great Mosque, one of the oldest and largest in the country, a serene blend of Chinese and Islamic design.

Then comes the moment many travellers come to China for: the Terracotta Army, the vast host of life-size warriors, horses and chariots modelled to guard the tomb of the first emperor and buried for more than two thousand years until their discovery in 1974. A farewell dinner is served on board this evening.

Xi'an city walls; Great Mosque of Xi'an; the Terracotta Army; farewell dinner on board.

The Forbidden City

The train reaches Beijing, journey's end for the Silk Road Express. A comprehensive tour takes in the Forbidden City, the immense palace complex from which emperors ruled for almost five centuries, the vast open sweep of Tiananmen Square, and the lakes, temples and gardens of the Summer Palace. Those who prefer can instead discover the modern face of the capital. You then transfer to the five-star Four Seasons Hotel Beijing for a two-night stay.

Forbidden City; Tiananmen Square; Summer Palace, or a modern Beijing tour. Two hotel nights at the Four Seasons Beijing.

The Great Wall at Badaling

This morning you travel out to the Great Wall at Badaling, the best-known and most spectacularly restored stretch of the wall, where the ramparts and watchtowers climb the ridgelines in both directions as far as the eye can see. The afternoon is at leisure, before a celebratory farewell to China with a Peking duck dinner at one of the city's most celebrated restaurants.

Great Wall at Badaling; afternoon at leisure; Peking duck farewell dinner.

Onward Journey

After breakfast, a private transfer takes you to Beijing's international airport for your onward journey home. Should you wish to see more of China, an extended stay can be arranged to round off this once-in-a-lifetime journey along the Silk Road.

Breakfast and private airport transfer. Optional extension.