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!