Of inestimable cultural and historic value, the famous Silk Road once connected ancient China to the outside world, and in some instances it still functions as a commercial trade route today.

Brief Introduction of the Silk Road
Silk Road Map

First, Silk Road is a historically important international trade route between Chin and the Mediterranean. Because silk comprised a large proportion of trade along this road, it symbolized a kind of culture and Chinese ancient trade style. So, in the vision and views, this road is not only an ancient international trade culture, but also a splendid cultural bridge linking large scale area. Through this kind of trade, it spread Chinese traditional specialties and brought the foreign specialties into the inland. So, it formed a large scale exchange making all the countries gathering together sharing the benefits, improving the development of China.

Iconic Attractions along Silk Road
Silk Road Tour

With the modern society developing faster and faster, more and more tourists started to be interested in the attractions along the Silk Road. Also, there are many tourists want to have a trade along the Silk Road having an imitation. Earlier in the Han Dynasty, this ancient road is first from ancient capital – Changan. It got through the Gansu province via Tianshui, Lanzhou, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Jiayuguan and Dunhuang along the Hexi Corridor.

Tips of Exploring Silk Road
After this introduction, I believe there are any people want to have a challenge about this tour. However, there are many tips during your tour needing your attention. So, now, I would like to share some tips with you. First, you should get acquainted with the locations of these attractions and the Silk Road. Second is the language, because during the journey of Silk Road tour, you would have a chance to explore about 20 kinds of different languages, such as the Tibetan, Mongolian and Uigur, etc. Also, there are many different cultures and religions you would meet. You should get their living style and pay attention your behavior!

Nowadays, the Silk Road is quite popular with adventurous travelers. For those seeking adventures and exotic flavors, the Silk Road is truly worth exploring.

Dotted with plenty of cultural and historic sights, the famous Silk Road once opened the ancient China to the outside world, and nowadays it still serves as an important commercial trade route in China. Visitors to China could easily spend a couple of days exploring this mysterious road without running out of thigns to see, do and experience! There are a large number of points of particular interest along the road, worth visiting. Here are a few top picks by insiders:

No.1: Xian Bell Tower. Hailed as one of the most remarkable icons in Xian, the Xian Bell Tower was located at the intersection of four famous roadways. It enjoys a long history (from the 14th century) in the city, and used to serve as the starting point of the famous silk road.

No.2: Terracotta Warriors Museum. No trip would be complete without a visit to the Terracotta Warriors Museum. While traveling in Xian, the tomb of Qin Shihuang is really not to be missed. Guarded by 7,000 life-sized terra cotta warriors, the mausoleum is architecturally amazing. Nearly 1,000 of the astonishing statues had been buried underground for thousands years before the site was found in the early 1970s. Visitors to Xian could easily spend an entire day exploring the site and still have a lot to see and do!

No.3: Heavenly Lake. Hailed as one of the loveliest body of water in China, this gorgeous crater lake, about a 3-hour ride from Urumqi, is perfect for those seeking recreation and vey popular with Kazakh families who will set up their tents during the summer every year. The lovely lake and surrounding hills and mountains are all worth exploring while hiking along the Silk Road, and it is a perfect spot to catch some breath and relax for a while.

No.4: Mogao Grottoes. Located to the southeast of Dunhuang, the Mogao Grottoes is made up of about 40 caves and has been a favorite haunt for spiritual seekers since the 4th century. Visitors can get a glimpse of the giant statues of the Buddha which are placed in a couple of the caves, and get up close to the tens of thousands of religious and political documents and artifacts displayed there, which all have been discovered at the turn of the 20th century.

All in all, you will have a lot of fun exploring the Silk Road with so many interesting sights along the way!

Dunhuang was of great importance as a defensive and cultural center on the western borders of the Chinese empire at various points in its history, especially as an important part of Silk Road. Dunhuang region was also become the site of very important Buddhist monastic complexes, the most famous of which was at the Mogao Grottoes.

Location of Mogao Grottoes
Top Attraction along Silk Road

Mogao Grottoes situated at a strategic point along the Silk Route, at the crossroads of trade as well as religious, cultural and intellectual influences. It is about 25 kilometres south-east of the oasis town of Dunhuang in Gansu province, western China, in the middle of the desert. Mogao Grottoes are famous for their statues and wall paintings, spanning 1,000 years of Buddhist art.

Overview of Mogao Grottoes
Mogao Caves

Dating from the fourth to the fourteenth centuries, the ancient Buddhist site contains 492 decorated caves temples excavated into 1.6 kilometers of cliff face. The site includes some 45,000 square meters of wall paintings and over 2,400 polychromed sculptures comprising the largest body of Buddhist art in China.
Mostly all the famous caves were excavated and filled with exquisite Buddhist art, manuscripts and treasures. Because its masterpiece design and architecture of Chinese art, Mogao Grottoes has listed as China first World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. The complex of grottoes represents a unique artistic achievement, an outstanding example of a Buddhist rock art sanctuary.

How to Get Mogao Grottoes?
Located little bit far from Dunhuang, 25km from the closest town, most people visit by taxi or private car. Visitors are also can take the green city bus to Mogao for 8 yuan each way. The bus also stops at the train station, and stops in front of the Silk Road hotel in Dunhuang city.
For your convenience, you can also reserve the tour to Dunhuang or our Silk Road Tour.

Some Information about Mogao Grottoes
Visitors are not allowed to take pictures inside the cave. More than that, to prevent damage to the caves' Buddhist frescoes new rules are also requires. All individual tourists should make a phone or online reservation before visiting the Buddhist shrine. And the maximum time tourists are allowed to spend in each cave will be shortened from the current eight minutes to five.

Silk Route not just about the ancient business route but also filled with lots of cultural and religious sites along the road. Mogao Grottoes is one that you should not be missed.