Flexible Private Turpan Day Tour from Urumqi with Lunch

If you have limited time in Urumqi, but want to see some ruins from the ancient Silk Road? This is a perfect day tour for you. Turpan boasts a tangible history as part of the Silk Road that is absolutely fascinating. During this one day tour,  you can chose 2-3 attractions in Turpan, such as Jiaohe Ancient City, Karez Irrigation System, Emin Minaret, Bezklik Thousand Buddha Caves, Flame Mountain and more. This private tour includes tasty local lunch, all entrance fee(2 -3 attractions), an English-speaking guide and tivate vehicle.

Your English speaking guide and private car will pick you up at 8:00am in your Urumqi hotel’s lobby. Then heading directly to Turpan, it will take about 3 hours.
The 3 hours ride towards Turpan is itself a fabulous sightseeing trip through Mr.Tianshan. You will passes a giant wind-farm,saltwater lakes,  different rivers,  and mountain pastures. The professional tour guide will give you an explication of the Silk Road and the related Chinese history and culture on the way.  Sit back and enjoy the sceneries along the way.
You can chose 2-3 attractions according to your interested in Turpan, feel free to discuss with your tour guide, and your guide will put together an itinerary for you.
•  Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. It is a complex of Buddhist cave grottos dating from the 5th to 14th century. They are high on the cliffs of the west Mutou Valley under the Flaming Mountains,  and most of the surviving caves date from the West Uyghur kingdom around the 10th to 13th centuries.
• Emin Minaret (Su Gong Ta),the largest extant old tower in Xinjiang and the only Islamic tower among the hundred famous towers in China. Right beside the minaret stands Su Gong Ta Mosque, one of the largest mosques in Xinjiang. The grand mosque can accommodate 1000 people despite the inconspicuous appearance.
• Karez irrigation system which is 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. Here you can learn how the locals have irrigated a dry climate like Turpan for hundreds of years.
• Ancient City of Jiaohe (Yarkhoto)–the capital of the Anterior Jushi Kingdom. Like a willow leaf, the ancient city of Jiaohe has a history of 2300 years. Jiaohe ancient city was considered as the largest, oldest and best-preserved earthen city in the world. It was listed as the World Heritage by UNESCO on June 22, 2014.
• Flaming Mountains, which are barren, eroded, red sandstone hills. It is the hottest place in China with the highest temperature around 47.8 °C (118 °F) and surface temperature over 70 °C (158 °F) in summer.
• Astana Tombs which served mainly as the cemetery for the descendants of Chinese settlers in Gaochang from the 4th century to the first half of the 8th century.The complex contains over 1,000 tombs. Due to the arid environment many important artifacts have been well preserved at the tombs, including natural mummies.Your tour also including a delicious local lunch.
Your full-day tour will end with drop-off at your Urumqi Hotel.