TRANSSIB, SILK ROAD, TIBET, CHINA

Silk Road (21 days) 2008

Westbound

Beijing - Moscow Tour
by the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express
 & the Shangri - La Express
 
 

Duration: 21 days.

Day 1. Beijing
Flights are met at Beijing airport and guests are transferred to the Peninsula Beijing hotel, or similar, where we stay for 3 nights. Afternoon free to relax before meeting fellow passengers at the welcome dinner.

Day 2.  Beijing
After breakfast a city tour of China's thriving capital city takes in all the famous landmarks including the Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Lunch and dinner in the city. 

Day 3.  Beijing
After breakfast we visit the Great Wall at Badaling. Lunch is in the city and in the afternoon you'll have free time at the Week-End Market (open every day). Dinner at a specialty Peking Duck restaurant. 

Day 4. Beijing
Free morning before transferring to Beijing West station (the largest in the world) to board China's most prestigious private train, the Shangri La Express at the start of your 11 353 km journey to Moscow. Lunch as we depart. In the afternoon settle into your cabin as we head for Xi'an passing Luoyang along the way. 

Day 5. Luoyang
Luoyang, in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Valley, has an interesting museum containing many relics from Luoyang's days of glory, including historical maps of the city and artifacts recovered from tombs, such as sculpted horses and camels. The day is spent touring this ancient city and traveling out to Dragon Gate an the Longmen Caves, one of China's most important artistic sites and a UNESCO World Heritage site, which contains 110 000 statues in 1 350 caves.

Day 6. Xian
After breakfast we arrive in the ancient city of Xian. We tour the city today with the highlights being the Great Mosque, the 14-km city walls, Drum and Bell Towers, and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The afternoon is dedicated to visiting the world famous Terracotta Warriors, discovered by peasants barely 30 years ago. The 6,000 Terracotta figures, arranged in row after row of warriors and horses, are one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century. Dinner and Tang Dynasty show. After dinner return to the trtain. 

Day 7. Lanzhou
Lunch time arrival into Lanzhou. A vital city on the Silk Route due to its principal crossing point of the mighty Yellow River. A visit to the Gansu Provincial Museum here provides evidence of the kind of goods that moved in an Eastward direction along the Silk Route, along with the famous "galloping horse" dating from the Eastern Han period that was found in a nearby tomb. Late afternoon departure with dinner on board the train. 

Day 8. Dunhuang
Morning arrival in Dunhuang to visit the fascinating Mogao Thousand Buddha Cave Complex. It contains almost 500 grottoes, carved between 700 and 1,700 years ago, and filled with an amazing collection of sculptures and murals depicting the evolution of Buddhist religious art over a 1,000-year period. Over 2,000 statues and 45,000 murals remain. This afternoon we visit the Sand Dunes where we take a camel ride to Crescent Moon Lake. Dinner close to the dunes with a local folk show. Late departure as our journey across the Gobi Desert continues. 

Day 9. Turpan/ Urumchi
Lunch time arrival  in Turpan to view the Flaming Mountains, Emin Minoret and the Karez 2 000 year old Irrigation system. Lunch on the train as we head for Urumchi where we visit the Xinjiang Provincial Museum. Final Chinese dinner as we depart for the Kazak boarder. 

Day 10. Crossing to Kazakhstan
Your final breakfast on board the Chinese train. We arrive in Alashankou  where boarder controls are in place. The boarder crossing takes 5 hours and patience is a virtue. We transfer to our waiting "Trans-Siberian Express" private train in Druzhba for the continuation of our journey to Moscow. Lunch and diner on the Russian train.  

Day 11. Almaty
Arriving in Almaty after breakfast we tour the flourishing former capital of Kazakhstan, nestled in the foothills of the Tien Shen Mountains. Visit the magnificent 170-foot (56 metre) high wooden Zenkhov Cathedral during your morning city tour before having lunch in a Kazak ‘yurt’ in the mountains, somw 25 km from the city. Late afternoon departure.

Day 12. Tashkent
After lunch on board arrival Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan. You spend the afternoon in this pleasant, modern Soviet-style city that was rebuilt with wide tree-lined boulevards after a devastating earthquake in April 1966. After visiting the Museum of the Fine Arts you have dinner in the city before departing for Samarkand. 

Day 13. Samarkand
This wonderful city has been described as ‘Rome of the East'  and ‘the Pearl of the Muslim World’. Its list of admirers includes: Marco Polo, Tamerlane and Alexander the Great. Founded in the 6th century BC, its architecture gives an indication of its former status as one of the most important cities in Asia. We spend the day visiting the many fabulous buildings including the Bibi Kharum Mosque, the Ulag Beg observatory and end at the awe-inspiring Registan Square, one of the most inspirational sights in all of Central Asia. After dinner we return to Square to see it splendidly lit up and enjoy an evening of traditional dancing and music. Return to the train for a midnight departure.

Day 14. Bukhara
Traversing the Kyzyikum Desert during the night you awake to the splendor of Uzbekistan’s oasis city, Bukhara. Smaller than Samarkand but no less impressive, UNESCO funded the renovation of this "jewel of the desert"  for its 2,500 year anniversary in 1999. The highlight of the tour is a visit to The Ark, the fortified residence of the Emirs of Bukhara, rulers infamous for their cruelty, and who survived into Soviet times. Lunch provides an authentic experience of traditional local cuisine as we dine within on of the city’s many medressahs (beautifully-tiled Islamic schools). We then travel out of the city to visit the Emir’s Palace of the Moon and Stars.

Day 15. Ashgabat
We arrive in the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat and tour this newly-constructed ‘Las Vegas of the Kara Kum desert’. The old city has been replaced with a modern, multi-fountained, gold gilded center dedicated to "President for Life", Sapamurat Turkmenbashi. Dinner in the city before returning to the train for a late evening departure.

Day 16. Merv
After breakfast we pull into Mary and are transported by bus to the ancient Silk Road city of Merv, a city left to 'die' after the Emir of Bukhara destroyed the dam which the population depended upon for water. The 50-square mile area houses five different cities of which we visit one. Lunch in the City.

Day 17. Khiva
Early morning the train crosses back into Uzbekistan arriving in Urgench. We are transferred to Khiva covering a short distance to tour this fascinating Silk Road city on the Amur Darya, which was on of the most  important trading centres at the crossroads of the routes between Mongolia, Russia, China and Persia. Its former wealth is evident in the fabulous buildings, mosques, bazaars and minarets that are within the walled city and which have been restored with the support of UNESCO for the city’s 2,500th anniversary. Lunch and dinner on the train as we depart North through the desert, bound for Russia. 

Day 18.  Kara Kum
A relaxing day on board the train heading through Kazakhstan’s Kara Kum desert. Enjoy the scenery and the remote villages we briefly stop at from time to time. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on the train. In the evening we pass into Russia and follow the Volga northwards.

Day 19. Volgograd
On the banks of the Volga River, Stalingrad, as a city was known in Soviet times, was the scene of probably the most important battle of World War II. The Russians finally turned back the Nazi advance to the Caucasian oil fields in Baku in the famous battle that claimed many hundreds of thousands of lives. Up to this defeat Hitler had lost no major battles, after Stalingrad he won none; it was the turning point of the war but Stalingrad had paid an enormous price. The city was virtually destroyed and today we visit the sobering Mamayev Kurgan war memorial, followed by the excellent diorama and interesting museum before we return to our train for lunch and our final dinner on the Trans-Siberian Express. 

Day 20. Moscow
Lunch time arrival in Moscow where our tour where our tour is over after a night in a five-star hotel. Afternoon visit to Red Square and the Kremlin. Farewell dinner in the city.

Day 21. Moscow
After a sumptuous breakfast in the hotel, a morning sightseeing tour of the rapidly changing Russian capital brings your tour to an end. Airport transfers provided to connect with afternoon flight departures. 

Included: accommodation on board the trains; hotel accommodation as per itinerary; all meals starting with dinner on the first day, arrival/ departure transfers, all guided off train programmes; services of experienced tour leaders; complimentary tea, coffee, mineral water 24 hours a day; a doctor. The tour language is English. French, German, Spanish, Italian and Japanese speaking guides are available on request and at a supplement. 

Not included: airfares; charges of a personal nature; any optional excursions; drinks in the bar car; visa and excess luggage charges; insurance and laundry services.

You are welcome to travel by the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express & by the Shangri-La Express along the Great Silk Road!