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Two Days Tour to Turpan

Day 1

Urumqi to Turpan

Our guide and driver will meet you at your hotel at 7:00AM local time and drive to Turpan on the first class highway for about 2.5 hour. Once you arrive in Turpan first check into the Oasis hotel, then we start our wonderful day in Turpan beginning with a visit the ancient city of Idikut (Gaochang). The city was first built in the first Century BC and later became capital of the Idikut (Gaochang) Uighur Kingdom in the 8th Century. You can take a donkey cart to visit the site if you like. We’ll stop in the city for about 40 minutes and then drive to Karakhoja Astana tombs, a Tang-dynasty burial ground which also known as the "Underground Museum". Astana means "capital" in the Uighur language and Karakhoja is the name of a legendary hero of the ancient Uighur Kingdom who conquered by killing a vicious dragon.

Moving on, we journey to Toyuq village, an old, beautiful and timeless village with a friendly Uighur community. Here we visit several local families and eat lunch with a local family in their home. This could quite likely be the highlight of your tour.. After lunch we visit Bizeklik Thousand Buddha caves which used to be an important center for Buddhist worship under the Xizhou Huigu government of the Idikut (Gaochang) Kingdom.

Finally, on the way back to the hotel we will stop at the Flaming Mountains which people claim are so hot and dry that "flying birds even a thousand miles away dare not to come”. Later, we’ll eat dinner in the Oasis hotel restaurant and the round the day off with an atmospheric song and dance festival in the famous grape valley.

Day 2

Turpan to Urumqi

Following a hearty western breakfast at the Hotel we start our another wonderful day in Turpan. Our special itinerary today includes sightseeing in Turpan and drive back to Urumqi after Lunch. First we visit Yargul Ancient city which is one of the best preserved ancient cities in China. The ruins of the buildings are divided into temples, civilian dwellings and government offices. Workshops and residential houses in the streets are still visible and time there is time spent in a world long disappeared.

After an hour of walking around the city area, we’ll push on to see the world famous Karez irrigation system, unique to this part of the world. The system is considered as one of the three great projects in China with the other two being the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. Then visit the Emin Suliman minaret which is a magnificent combination of ancient Uighur and Islamic architecture. It is the tallest ancient pagoda in Xinjiang and the only Islamic ancient pagoda in the country. Locals call it “pure tower.”

After lunch we’ll leave Turpan to Urumqi