The Silk Road in China is not one road but a corridor: 2,000 kilometres between the Wei River and the Gobi, with the Hexi corridor in the middle and the Taklamakan at the far end. Xi’an was the eastern terminus, and Dunhuang the last oasis before the desert proper.
We run it by high-speed rail between cities and by car for the stretches where the scenery is the point. Ten days is the honest minimum; twelve lets you add Turpan or Qinghai Lake without spending every day in transit.
Every day here is a suggestion. Your guide rewrites it with you the evening before — that is the whole point of travelling privately.
Terracotta Army, City Wall at dusk, Muslim Quarter. One morning in the Great Mosque, a hybrid of Islamic and Chinese architecture that surprises everyone.
Six hours by rail across Gansu. Afternoon at the Danxia landform for sunset; the colours are real, though the saturation in photos is not.
The fortress where the Wall ends and the desert begins. Then the Overhanging Great Wall, a restored ridge walk with nobody on it.
Mogao Caves in the morning with a booked slot, Crescent Lake and the dunes at sunset, camel ride optional, noodle shops mandatory.
Dunhuang to Xi’an or Beijing, or continue west to Turpan if you have four more days.
Xi’an to Dunhuang is 1,700 km. Rail covers the long legs; the car handles the last 20 km to every sight.
A-class tickets (8 caves) sell out weeks ahead in summer. Book early or accept the emergency ticket with 4 caves.
April–June and September–October are ideal. July and August are hot in the desert; winter is cold, clear and completely empty.
Most of the route sits between 1,000 and 1,500 m. Qinghai Lake, if you add it, reaches 3,200 m — we build in a slow day.
One brief, one reply within 24 hours, two or three guides who have done this trip before.
Start planning — it’s free