The Silk Road

Chengdu—1172km—Lanzhou—250km—Xining—347km—Zhangye—251km—JiayuguanPass—385km—Dunhuang—430km—Hami—580km—Urumqi—151km—Turpan

Scenery along

Lanzhou: Binglingsi Monastery

Bingling is a transliteration of Tibetan, which means Ten Thousand Buddha, just the common name of Buddhist caves in China. They were initially made in 420, and expanded several times through the ages. Nowadays, there still exist 183 niches, 694 stone statues, 82 clay sculptures, and 900 square meters of murals. All the statues, sculptures and murals exhibit superb craftsmanship, and have great artistic appeal. These caves, which stretch for 200 meters, include the caves of Western Qin, North Wei, Sui, Tang, and Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties.

Hexi Corridor: Jiayuguan Pass;

Jiayuguan Pass is the first pass at the west end of the Great Wall of China and was built during the Ming Dynasty. It is located 6 kilometers southwest of Jiayuguan City, which is in Gansu Province. It is located at the foot of Jiayuguan Hill, between two hills of which the Pass lies, so earned the name "The First and Greatest Pass under the Heaven". This is different from "The First Pass under the Heaven", which is located at the east end of the Great Wall near Qinhuangdao City in Hebei Province.

Dunhuang: Mogao Grottoes

The Mogao Caves, which are located in the Gobi-desert 25 kilometers away from the city, consist of 492 caves with 25000 square meters wall paintings and more than 3000 painted sculptures. These well preserved caves span a period of one thousand years, from the 4th to the 14th century, and visually represent with vivid detail the culture of medieval China. The discovery in 1900 of a secret library cave, which was sealed around the mid-11th century and remained untouched for nine hundred years, has further made Dunhuang an extremely important site for the studies of medieval Chinese civilization.

Urumqi: Lake Tianchi (Heavenly Lake)

In the middle of Bogda Peak, 110 km (68miles) east of Urumqi, nestles Heavenly Lake. Covering 4.9 square kilometers (1.89 square miles), this crescent-shaped lake deserves its name, Pearl of Heavenly Mountain (Tianshan Mountain). With melted snow as its source, Heavenly Lake enjoys crystal water.
In summer, the beautiful lake is an ideal cool resort. Boaters on the lake see the ever-changing silvery mountains soaring into the blue sky, their slopes highlighted with verdant pasture and flamboyant wild flowers. Fishing at dusk has its own special charm. A day in this fairyland promises restoration.

Turpan:Ancient City of Gaochang

46 kilometers (29 miles) southeast of Turpan near the "Flaming Mountains" sit impressive ruins of the ancient city of Gaochang. Built in the first century B.C. and originally called Gaochangbi, it used to be a garrison town and later became a key point along the ancient Silk Road. By the seventh century it held sway authority over 21 other towns and the practice of Buddhism led to the establishment of many monasteries and temples. In the ninth century, the Uigur established the Kharakhoja Kingdom here and Manicheamism flourished. The city was burnt down around the 14th century, during a period of warfare that lasted 40 years.

Korla: Ancient City of Loulan