The ancient Silk Road was China's link with central Asia and Europe. On this tour you will discover the mystery and excitement of this legendary route, and experience the cultural contrast and diversifications of this area.

Two of the highlights are visiting the huge, famous Sunday Market in Kashgar, and concluding the tour with a visit to Shanghai's wonderful World Expo.

All the items below are included in the price:

• Air fares with China Southern from Sydney into Xian and out of Shanghai, plus four flights within China. 

• Two overnight train trips in the first class soft sleeper quad share compartments. 

• Good accommodation - mainly 4 to 5 star hotels in central locations, or the best available in remote areas.   

• Nearly all meals.  

• All transport and transfers. 

• All entrance fees, including the World Expo. 

• Chinese tour guide, and if there are 12 or more tour participants there will be an Australian toue leader. 

• China visa fee for Australian passport holders.

If you don't have a travel partner but wish to travel at twin share rates, we will our best to match you up with someone in the same position, but this is not guaranteed. For a single room there is an additional cost of $735.

Tour Itinerary

Terms and Conditions

Booking Form

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	Itinerary for China Silk Road & Shanghai World Expo Tour
	Included meals are indicated as B = Breakfast, L =Lunch, D = Dinner
18.08.10	Sydney - Guangzhou Depart Sydney at 9:50am on CZ 326, arriving in Guangzhou (canton) at 5:00pm. Depart Guangzhou at 8:20pm, arriving in Xian at 10:50pm. On arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
19.08.10 ( B, L )	Xian This morning you will view the excavated Terracotta Warriors and Horses, buried over 2000 years ago to guard the tomb of the first emperor Qinshihuang who died in 210 BC. Then you will walk along Xian's massive City Wall, one of the best preserved in China. You will also visit the famous Shaanxi Provincial Museum, which houses over 300,000 artifacts from prehistory onwards, including carvings, murals, pottery, porcelain, murals, paintings, coins and objects of bronze, gold and silver.
20.08.10 ( B, L, D )	Xian - Lanzhou - Xiahe Transfer to the airport for the flight to Lanzhou. Upon arrival, take coach to Xiahe. Several hundred kilometres (and a world) away from Gansu's smoggy provincial capital of Lanshou, Xiahe is a diverse little place featuring ethnic Tibetans (Buddhist), Han (Taoist, Buddhist and State Religion) and Hui (Muslim).
21.08.10 ( B, L, D )	Xiahe Today you will visit Labrang Monastery, a propitious place in the hearts of the Tibetans. It stands by the Daxia River and faces the Dragon Mountain. The Labrang Monastery boasts tens of thousands of statues of Buddha made of gold, silver, copper and aluminium. Also visit the beautiful Dajiutan Praire near Xiahe.
22.08.10 ( B, L, D )	Xiahe - Lanzhou - Jiayuguan In the morning you will be transferred by coach to Lanzhou. Upon arrival visit the Gansu Provincial Museum, the biggest comprehensive museum in the province. Built in 1956, the museum covers a total area of 18,000 square metres (about 4 acres). Designed by the soviet experts, this museum will provide visitors with a unique and memorable experience. Tonight, take the overnight train to Jiayuguan.
23.08.10 ( B, L, D )	Jiayuguan Arrive Jiayuguan early morning, transfer to the hotel to have breakfast. This morning there is a visit to the famous fort constructed in 1372 at the western end of the Great Wall and then to the 16th Century Overhanging Wall which once connected the fort to the Mazong range. Another attraction is the Mural Tomb of the Kingdom of Wei and Jin Dynasties.
24.08.10 ( B, L, D )	Jiayuguan - Dunhuang Fly to Dunhuang. You will visit the magnificent desert scenery of the Mingsha Sand Dunes, some as high as 300m, where there will be an opportunity to ride camels. This evening you will visit the lively Night Market just off the towns main street, where an exotic range of souvenirs including leather puppets, scroll paintings, jade items, antique coins and much more is offered for sale.
25.08.10 ( B, L, D )	Duhuang - Turpan Today you will tour the astonishing caves cut by the Buddhist monks from 366AD on into cliff faces at Mogao. These caves contain the greatest grouping of early Buddhist painting and sculpture to survive. Late check out at the hotel and transfer to the station for the train to Turpan.
26.08.10 ( B, L, D )	Turpan Arrive Turpan, breakfast at the hotel. Today there is an excursion to the spectacular rock formations of the Flaming Mountains and you will see the ancient Thousand Buddha Caves at Bezeklik. Following this you travel into the desert to see the mystical ruins of the ancient settlement of Jiaohe, founded over 2000 years ago. In the evening you enjoy a Folklore Show.
27.08.10 ( B, L, D )	Turpan Today we drive 70km to the peaceful ancient village of Tuyugou in a lush valley in the Flaming Mountains. In 1905 a set of Buddhist caves clinging like a swallows nest to the almost spectacular slope of the mountainside, were discovered. They date from the 4th century, the oldest in the Turpan area. Nearby is the Astonia Tombs were a Tang Dynasty burial ground where the imperial dead of Gaochang were buried. Next is a donkey cart tour of the ancient ruins of Gaochang. Then visit the ancient (2000 years old) Karez irrigation system. It is the most outstanding of its kind in the world. A series of wells and 5000kms of underground channels delivers gravity-fed water from the snow clad mountains all the way into the depression. You will have lunch, accompanied by music, in the Grape Valley. Enjoy a special dinner at the Uigur Home.
28.08.10 ( B, L, D )	Turpan - Urumqi - Kashgar In the morning drive to Urumqi. Then take a flight to Kashgar.
29.08.10 ( B, L, D )	Kashgar Today you will visit the famous Sunday Bazaar, where tens of thousands of villagers and nomads arrive in their donkey carts, often causing traffic jams. Large numbers of minority peoples come to trade, all sporting their distinctive costumes and headgear. Here you will visit Kashgar Museum and Idkah Mosque, the largest mosque in Xinjiang and one of the largest in China. You will walk down Handicraft street, including the exotic musical instrument workshops.
30.08.10 ( B, L )	Kashgar - Urumqi Fly to Urumqi and transfer to the hotel on arrival. You will visit the excellent Xinjiang Regional Museum. Here you will see the well preserved mummies from the Astana Tombs of Gaochang.
31.08.10 ( B )	Urumqi - Shanghai Transfer to the airport for your flight to Shanghai. Transfer to the hotel upon arrival. Enjoy one of the famous Acrobatic Troupes in the evening.
01.09.10 ( B )	Shanghai Today visit the World Expo 2010 Shanghai China, which is a scheduled World Expo in the grand tradition of international fairs and expositions. (Return transfer included).
02.09.10 ( B, L, D )	Shanghai This morning take a walk along the famous Bund past the facades of the colonial buildings lining the Huangpu River and look across the soaring TV tower and fantastic skyscrapers of the Pudong district on the opposite side. Following is a visit to the beautifully maintained Yu Garden, an outstanding example of a classical garden dating from the 16th century. Later you will cruise across Huangpu River to ascend the Shanghai World Financial Centre (94th floor), one of the world's tallest buildings, for an astonishing view over the whole city. Enjoy your farewell dinner tonight.
03.09.10 ( B )	Shanghai - Guangzhou - Sydney You will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Sydney via Guangzhou. Depart Shanghai at 2:45pm on CZ 3538, arriving in Guangzhou at 5:00pm.   Depart Guangzhou at 9:05pm on CZ 325, arriving in Sydney at 8:30am (04.09.10).

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Deposits and Payments - A non-refundable deposit of $200.00 per person is payable within 7 days of booking. This deposit is not refundable should you later cancel. The balance is payable in full 8 weeks prior to departure.

Refunds and Cancellations - Cancellations after final payment will result in a refund limited to whatever we can recoup from the airline.

Insurance - Adequate travel insurance is essential. We can arrange this for you if desired.

Passports - All travellers require a current passport with at least 6 months left on it at the end of the tour. Non-Australian passport holders require a re-entry visa for Australia.  Visas are required for all Australian passport holders to China. Visa costs for Australian passport holders is included in the tour cost. 

Basic Tour Price and Taxes - Air taxes and fuel levies are included in the basic tour price, and as air taxes and fuel levies change regularly  the exact amount will be advised at time of invoicing. At present air taxes and fuel levies come to $340 for the standard tour. Total tour cost may therefore change.

Not  Included in the Cost -  Travel insurance and all items of a personal nature such as telephone calls, drinks, excess baggage, tips, meals (except those specified in the itinerary), etc. are not included in the cost.
Similarly, credit card payments can only be accepted if 2% is added to the price to help defray the heavy merchant fees charged to us by the credit card companies.

Breakaway Fee
All fully inclusive prices are based on group travel and any deviation from the set itinerary will incur a breakaway fee.

Booking through other Agents - As we keep the cost of our tours as low as possible, there is insufficient margin for us to be able to pay commission to other travel agents, so some bookings can only be accepted if the client pays the other agent's commission. 
Macleay Valley Travel is a fully licensed travel agent and as such any monies paid to us are fully insured by the Travel Compensation Fund. We are happy for any prospective traveller with us to check us out with your local Consumer Affairs (fair trading) department.

Health and Fitness -Macleay Valley Travel recommends that the passenger is reasonably healthy and/or fit to participate in this tour.  Persons with a disability requiring special assistance must be accompanied by a companion. Macleay Valley Travel and their representatives cannot provide this service.  Macleay Valley Travel reserves the right to accept/decline or terminate a passenger's participation in the tour under certain circumstances.

Limitation of Liability - As Macleay Valley Travel acts only as agent for the Airlines, Hotels, Coach Companies etc., providing accommodation, transportation and other services, Macleay Valley Travel shall not be liable or responsible for death or injury to any person or loss or damage to any property including baggage arising out of or connection with any transportation, accommodation or other services, or resulting directly or indirectly from acts of God, fire, breakdown in machinery or equipment, acts of Government or other authorities, de jure or defacto wars, whether declared or not, hostilities, civil disturbances, strikes, riots, thefts, epidemics, quarantines, medical or customs regulations, delays or cancellations caused by changes in schedules or itinerary, or over bookings or defaults or for any causes beyond Macleay Valley Travel's control or any loss or damage resulting from improper or insufficient passports, visas or other documents and neither Macleay Valley Travel, and its servants or employees shall be or become liable or responsible for any additional expenses or liability sustained or incurred by the tour member as a result of the foregoing causes.
Macleay Valley Travel reserves the right to modify the itinerary or the accommodation if circumstances make this necessary, provided that the amended itinerary is of equal value or greater value than that of the original program.
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