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Special Discount for
Silk Road
Tours in Winter and Early Springs
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There are two world-renowned accomplishments in the 5,000-year history of
Chinese civilization--the Great Wall and the Silk Road spanning greater part of the
immense Eurasian continent.
The Silk Road Starts at Xi'an,capital of Shaanxi Province.Its principal rote runs through
Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang,with Secondary routes running through Qinghai and
Ningxia.Histroical sites abound along this 4,000-km road. In addition,there are other
historical sites and the colorful customs and habits of the minority ethnic groups of
Northwest China.
1.Shaanxi
Shaanxi Province in Northwest China has been part of the cradle of Chinese civilization
and has a host of historical sites. The Lantian ape man dating some 800,000 years back and
the site of a maternal clan commune at Banpo dating back to 6,000 years were found in this
proovince. Xi'an, the provincial capital, known as Chang'an in ancient times, was the
starting point of the Silk Road and served as the imperial capital for many dynasties.
Xi'an (ancient Chang'an)
Xi'an was called Chang'an in ancient times. Historians acclaim Chang'an together with
Athens of Greece, Rome of Italy and Istanbul of Turkey as the four capitals of ancient
civilization of the world.
Chang'an served as the capital of 11 dynasties in history. From here 73 emperors ruled
over China for an aggregate time of 1,100 years. It was from Chang'an in 139 B.C. that
Zhang Qian set out on his westward long journey that opened the Silk Road. Chang'an
subsequently became a juncture where East and West met and grew into the most flourishing
capital in the Orient during the Han and Tang dynasties. The importance and prosperity of
this ancient capital there left behind a wealth of valuable historical sites. However it
is more than those tombs, monasteries and temples of the emperors and the Qin emperor's
terra-cotta soldiers and generals. The vicinity of Xi'an has sites of maternal clan
societies of some 6,000 years ago - an indication of the profundity of the long Chinese
civilization.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda stands in the compound of the Temple of Great Maternal Grace
some four kilometers south of the city proper. It was built in 629 A. D. to keep the 657
volumes of Buddhist scripture brought back by the famous monk Xuan Zang from India. The
monk stayed in the temple for 11 years studying and translating the Buddhist scripture.
The pagoda is also a safe for keeping invaluable ancient works of paintings, calligraphy
and sculpture.
Opening hours:8:00-18:00
2. Gansu
Gansu is a province located between the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Shaanxi
Province in Northwest China. The Gansu Corridor or Hexi Corridor which stretches 1,600 km
from eastern Gansu westward through the province was part of the main passageway of the
ancient Silk Road. According to historical records, it had been traversed by Zhang Qian,
Monk Xuan Zang and Marco Polo in ancient times. Along this Silk Road are such famous
historical sites as the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang renowned as the art treasure house of
the East, the Jiayuguan Pass-the western end of the Great Wall, the Labrang Monastery and
the Majishan Grottoes in Tianshui, etc.
Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui Known as the east gate of Gansu, Tianshui was a
significant post on the eastern section of the Silk Road. It can be reached within seven
hours from Xi'an by train. The Maijishan Grottoes, located about 50 km southeast of the
city amidst clusters of peaks and hills, are world-famous for the 7,800 stone sculptures
and clay figures as well as over 1,000 sq.m of murals from the fourth to 19th centuries
preserved in 194 caves.
Opening hours:9:30-17:00
Labrang Monastery This monastery, about 280 km south to Lanzhou, was built in 1709.
It is one of the six leading lamaseries of the Gelugpa School (the Yellow Sect) in China.
As its scale is only next to the Potala Palace in Tibet, it is also known as the 'Lesser
Potala Palace'. The monastery which occupies 82 hectares has more than 10,000 rooms
capable of accommodating over 3,000 lamas and six academic schools of the different sects
of lamaism. Tens of thousands of cultural relics and art treasures are stored in the
monastery and over 60,000 volumes of Tibetan scriptures, classics and books have been
collected. Opening hours:9:30-17:00
3. Ningxia
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region lies on the borders of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The
Northern route of the Silk Road starts in Shaanxi, runs through Pingliang in Gansu and
enters Guyuan in South Ningxia before it joins the main Road in Wuwei of Gansu. The
historical sites in Guyuan or nearby include the Great Wall built during the Warring
States period (475-221 BC) and Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), Xumishan Grottoes and Saozhuling
Grottoes.
The Great Wall of the Warring States period and Qin Dynasty within Ningxia is the
most age-old wall in the history of China, which was built in 306 BC. This earth-rammed
section of the Great Wall winds on the high ranges of the mountains over 200 kilometres.
The current height of the Wall is between 1-3 metres. Today, the wall, the Watch Tower and
the moat are still in sight. Xumishan Grottoes are located in the North of Liupan
Mountain. The first grottoes were built in 386 and later restored by North Wei, Sui, Tang,
song, Ming dynasties. Today, in 132 caves are stored 315 statues in different postures as
well as other records and steles.
Guyuan Museum lies in the west of Guyuan Town. Its collection includes nearly ten
thousand historical relics, such as the relics in the Neolithic Age, bronze wares made
during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) and the Warring States period, material
in the Northern Dynasties (386-581 AD) and especially murals in the tombs of Sui and Tang
dynasties. The gilded silver pot, unearthed in the tomb of General Li Xian in the Northern
Zhou Dynasty (557-581 AD), and the glass bowl were the utensils of the ancient Persian
Dynasty, which recorded the history of friendly exchanges between China and other foreign
countries.
Yinchuan is the capital and the hub of communications of Ningxia Hui Autonomous
Region. It has regular flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an and Chengdu. The
main tourist attractions in Yinchuan or nearby are Haibao Pagoda. Mausoleums of the
Western Xia Emperors, the Nanguan Mosque and Rolling Bell Pass in the Helan Mountains.
(see also Potted Landscape by the Yellow River)
4.Qinghai
Qinghai Province lies on the Northeast of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and borders upon
Gansu and Xinjiang. A branch of the Silk Road goes off westward from Lanzhou. Capital of
Gansu Province, to Xining and Golmud in Qinghai Province, and then turns Northward to
Dunhuang to join the main Silk Road. The scenic spots and historical sites along this part
of the Silk Road in Qinghai include Qinghai Lake, the Bird Island, the Salt Lake and Ta'er
Lamasery, etc.
Qinghai Lake, 3,196 metres above sea level, covers 4,635 square metres. It is the
largest inland saline lake in China and home of fish and birds of different species. The
main attraction, the Bird Island, is located in the Northeast of the Lake. During
April-July each year, over a hundred thousand birds such as wild geese, cormorants, swans
and ducks, migrate over from South China and southeastern Asia onto this small island with
less than one square kilometre.
The Salt Lake includes more than 30 lakes, which scatter over the around
200,000-square-kilometre Qaidam Basin and forms a unique natural beauty, some of them lies
by the snow-clad mountains and others in the desert. Tourists may see the buses and trains
traveling on the dry surfaces of some of these lakes.
Lamaism is popular in Qinghai. Ta'er Lamasery, built in 1560, is one of the six
great lamaseries of the Yellow Sect and the birthplace of the founder of the Yellow sect.
Xining City is the capital and a hub of communications of Qinghai Province. It has
regular flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an, Urumqi, Chengdu and Golmud and bus
and train connections with other cities in Qinghai or in the other provinces in China.
5. Xinjiang
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which is located in the heart of the Eurasian Continent,
was known as the Western Regions in ancient times. It borders upon Mongolia, Russia.
Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Tajikstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, covering an area of
1.66 million sq. Km, about one-sixth of the national total. The silk Road in Xinjiang was
divided into three routes: the southern, the middle and the northern. Along the 2,000 km
Silk Routes there are numerous ruins of ancient cities, beacon towers and cultural relics.
Lining the routes are many important cities including Urumqi, Turpan, Kashi, Kuqa. Hotan
and Taxkorgan. Xinjiang is a multi-national region marked by distinctive features of both
spoken and written languages, music and dancing, and customs of the ethnic minorities in
accordance with their different background of history and civilization and religious
beliefs.
Urumqi is the regional capital of Xinjiang and also a communications hub. The city
links Moscow, Novosibirsk. Tashkent, Alma-Ata and Islamabad by international airlines, and
22 major Chinese cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an and Lanzhou as well as 11
regional cities by domestic air routes. Major scenic spots in the vicinity are the Baiyang
Gully in the Nanshan Mountain, Tianchi Lake on the snow-clad Mount Bogda and the No.1
Glacier.
Turpan-the Fiery Land, is a depression enclosed by mountains in eastern Xinjiang,
also called Gushi in ancient times. In the center of the Turpan Depression is the
Aydingkol Lake which is 154 m below sea level, second only to the Dead Sea in Jordan,
lowest in the world. The mean temperature there all-year-round is 12.1 degrees to 14.9
degrees Centigrade, and in the sweltering summer days it rises up to 40 degrees C, with a
ground temperature as high as 80 degrees C. Hence the name the ?¡ãfiery Land?¡À. As an
important post on the northern route of the age-old Silk Road, Turpan has now many spots
of interest such as the ancient cities of Gaochang and Jiashe, Bezeklik Thousand-Buddha
Caves, Emin Minaret, grape Valley, and Karez wells.
For the King of Gaochang during his pilgrimage to India for Buddhist scriptures. Gaochagn
city consists of three parts: the outer city, the inner city and the palace city. The city
walls are fairly well preserved and some other remains can still be seen. |
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