| Day 1: Beijing |
| Independent arrival at the Beijing Airport. Transfers for all passengers arriving at Beijing Capital Airport today to the Peninsula Palace Hotel, or similar, where we stay for two nights. Afternoon free to relax before meeting fellow passengers at the welcome dinner. |
| Day 2: Beijing |
| After breakfast, a city tour of China’s thriving capital city takes in all the famous landmarks including the Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Lunch and dinner in the city. |
| Day 3: Beijing |
| This morning, visit the Great Wall at Badaling and Ming Tombs. Lunch. Early afternoon we board China’s most prestigious private train, the “China Orient Express” at the start of your 10,000 km journey to Moscow. Settle into your cabin as we head for Xian. |
| Day 4: Luoyang |
| Free morning before transferring to Beijing West station (reputedly the world’s largest) to board China’s most prestigious private train, the ‘”Shangri La Express” at the start of your 11,353 km journey to Moscow. Lunch as we depart. In the afternoon settle into your cabin as we head for Xian passing Luoyang along the way. |
| Day 5: Xian |
| After breakfast we arrive in the ancient city of Xian. We tour the city today with the highlights being the Great Mosque, the 14-km city walls, Drum and Bell Towers, Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The afternoon is dedicated to visiting the world famous Terracotta Warriors, discovered by peasants barely 30 years ago. The 6,000 Terracotta figures, arranged in row after row of warriors and horses, are one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century. If time permits we will visit Huaqing Lake and hot springs on the way back to the city for dinner and Tang Dynasty show. After dinner return to the train. |
| Day 6: Lanzhou |
| Lunch- time arrival into Lanzhou; a vital city on the Silk Route due to its principal crossing point of the mighty Yellow River. A visit to the Gansu Provincial museum here provides evidence of the kind of goods that moved in an Eastward direction along the Silk Route, along with the famous ‘galloping horse’ dating from the Eastern Han period that was found in a nearby tomb. Also included today is a visit to the Longmen Grottoes; undoubtedly the most spectacular sight in the vicinity with a vast array of more than 100,000 Buddhist sculptures situated in 1,352 grottoes. Dinner on board the train and an early evening departure. |
| Day 7: Jiayuguan |
| This morning we arrive in Jiayuguan. The fortress at the end of the Great Wall is situated here and dates back to 1372; perfectly restored it is considered one of the great sights of North-western China. Lunch is in the City and we visit both the fort and the museum before returning to the train for a dinnertime departure. |
| Day 8: Dunhuang |
| Transfer to the small oasis city of Dunhuang to visit the fascinating Mogao Thousand Buddha Cave Complex, which contains almost 500 grottoes, carved between 700 and 1,700 years ago, and filled with an amazing collection of sculptures and murals depicting the evolution of Buddhist religious art over a 1,000-year period. Over 2,000 statues and 45,000 murals remain. This afternoon we visit the Sand Dunes where we take a camel ride to Crescent Moon Lake. Dinner near to the dunes with a local folk show. Late departure as our journey across the Gobi desert continues. |
| Day 9: Urumchi |
| Lunch-time arrival in Urumchi. In the afternoon we visit Heavenly Lake, situated at 1,900 meters elevation, and dominated by the 5,445- meter high Bogda Feng, or Peak of God. This idyllic setting looks like a part of Switzerland or Canada set in the midst of the Gobi desert. Dinner at the hotel before rejoining the train for a late evening departure. |
| Day 10: Crossing to Kazakhstan |
| Your final breakfast on board the Chinese train, we pass through dramatic mountain scenery before arriving in Alashankou, where border controls are carried out. We transfer to our waiting ‘ Trans-Siberian Express private train for the continuation of our journey to Moscow. Lunch and dinner on the Russian train. |
| Day 11: Almaty |
| Arriving in Almaty after breakfast, you tour the flourishing former capital of Kazakhstan, nestled in the foothills of the Tien Shan Mountains. Visit the magnificent 170-foot (56 meter) high wooden Zenkhov Cathedral during your morning city tour before having lunch in a Kazak yurt in the mountains, some 25 kms from the city. Mid-afternoon departure. |
| Day 12: Tashkent |
| After lunch on board, arrival in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Spend the afternoon in this pleasant, modern Soviet-style city that was rebuilt with wide tree-lined boulevards after a devastating earthquake in April 1966. After visiting the Museum of Fine Arts you have dinner on the train as it departs for Samarkand. |
| Day 13: Samarkand |
| Many phrases have been used to describe this wonderful city, including “Rome of the East” and “Pearl of the Muslim World; Alexander the Great, Marco Polo and Tamerlane are among its most well-known admirers. Founded in the 6th century BC, its architecture gives an indication of its former status as one of the most important cities in Asia. We spend the day touring the many fabulous buildings including the Bibi Khanum Mosque, Ulug Beg observatory and end at the awe-inspiring Registan Square, one of the most inspirational sights in all of Central Asia. After dinner we return to the Square to see it splendidly lit up, and enjoy an evening of traditional dancing and music. Return to the train for a midnight departure. |
| Day 14: Bukhara |
| Traversing the Kyzyikum desert during the night you awake to the splendor of Uzbekistan's oasis city, Bukhara. Smaller than Samarkand, but no less impressive, UNESCO funded the renovation of this 'jewel of the desert' for its 2,500 year anniversary in 1999. The highlight of the tour is a visit to The Ark, the fortified residence of the Emirs of Bukhara, rulers infamous for their cruelty and who survived into Soviet times. Lunch provides an authentic experience of traditional local cuisine as we dine within one of the city’s many medressehs (beautifully-tiled Islamic schools popular in the area), after which we travel out of the city to visit the Emir's Palace of Moon and Stars. Dinner on the train returned. |
| Day 15 / Day 16: Ashgabat and Merv |
| We arrive in the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat and tour this newly-constructed “Las Vegas of the Kara Kum desert.” The old city has been replaced with a modern, multi-fountained, gold-gilded center dedicated to “President for life,” Sapamurat Turkmenbashi. Return to the train as we continue through the desert to the ancient Silk Road city of Merv, a city left to “die” after the Emir of Bukhara destroyed the dam, which the population depended upon for water. The 50 square mile area houses five different walled cities of which we visit one. |
| Day 17: Khiva |
| Mid-morning, the train crosses back into Uzbekistan arriving in Urgench. We are driven the short distance to Khiva to tour this fascinating Silk Road city on the Amu Darya, which was one of the most important trading centers at the crossroads of the routes between Mongolia, Russia, China and Persia. Its former wealth is evident in the fabulous buildings, mosques, bazaars and minarets that are within the walled city and which have been restored with UNESCO’s help for its recent 2,500th anniversary. Lunch in the city and dinner on the train as we depart north through the desert, bound for Russia. |
| Day 18: Kara Kum |
| A relaxing day on the train heading through Kazakhstan’s Kara Kum desert. Enjoy the scenery and the remote villages we briefly stop at from time to time. Breakfast, lunch and dinner on the train. In the evening we pass into Russia and follow the Volga northwards. |
| Day 19 Volgograd |
| On the banks of the River Volga, Stalingrad, as the city was known in Soviet times, was the scene of probably the most important battle of World War II. The Russians finally turned back the Nazi advance to the Caucasian oil fields in Baku in the famous battle that claimed many hundreds of thousands of lives. Up to this defeat Hitler had lost no major battles, after Stalingrad he won none; it was the turning point of the war but Stalingrad had paid an enormous price. The city had been virtually destroyed and today we visit the sobering Mamayev Kurgan war memorial, followed by the excellent diorama and interesting museum before we return to our train for our final dinner on the “Trans-Siberian Express.” |
| Day 20: Moscow |
| Lunchtime arrival in Moscow where our tour concludes with a night in a five-star Hotel, overlooking the Kremlin. Afternoon visit to Red Square and the Kremlin. Farewell dinner will be held in the city. |
| Day 21: Moscow |
| After a sumptuous breakfast in the hotel, a morning sightseeing tour of the rapidly-changing Russian capital brings your tour to an end. Airport transfers provided to connect with afternoon flight departures. |
