Rafting & Trekking in China
12 days / October - January
Pricing: Pricing is based on group size and seasonality, please check with us to secure the best pricing.
Highlights:
• Get up close and personal with the Great Wall of China – one of the greatest architectural achievements in the history of humanity. See the whole thing, end-to-end, and actually hike along the well-preserved portions.
• Take a sheepskin raft down the Yellow River, the second longest river in China.
• Ride back in time with a camel-back camping trip along the Old Silk Road through the Tengger Desert.
Start Map
Day 1: BEIJING
We will pick you up at the airport and bring you to your hotel in the downtown.
Day 2 BEIJING-DUNHUANG
We will take a flight to Dunhuang to visit the world famous Mogao Grottoes, the Whistling Sand Mountain, and, if there’s time, the Crescent Moon Spring.
Day 3: DUNHUANG-JIAYUGAN
We will drive to Jiayuguan to visit the Jiayuguan Fort, the western terminus of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. The desolate desert surroundings and the snowcapped Qilian Mountains form a dramatic backdrop to the impressive fort, which was built in 1372, and enlarged in 1539, to keep out the remnants of the defeated Mongols. We will also hike north through the Jiayuguan Pass to the Hanging Great Wall. Built from sandstone and clay, it is a rich sandy-brown color, and quite different from the gray bricks seen elsewhere.
Day 4: ZHANGYE - SANDAN GREAT WALL - WUWEI
In the morning, we will drive to Zhangye and visit the Giant Buddha Temple, largest reclining Buddha in China, built in 1098. His ears are over two meters long! Then we will hike along the ruin of Great Wall at Sandan. The scenery during the hike is quite varied: grassland, Gobi Desert, red stone mountains, and the ruins of both a fortress and a beacon tower. At the end of the hike we will drive to Wuwei, a city famous for the Bronze Galloping Horse, known in Chinese as “Ma Chao Long Que.” The horse is depicted in a full gallop supported on just one foot upon the back of a bird in flight.
Day 5: WUWEI, ZHONGWEI
In the morning, we will travel through history, driving along the Old Silk Road to Zhongwei, a desert city in Ningxia Province. Our late afternoon hike will cover the desert and the ruins of the Wall, passing a particularly lovely lake that provides an oasis for thousands of migrating birds in spring.
Day 6: CAMEL RIDING
We will continue our trip back through time this morning on camelback, riding woolly Bactrian camels from one camp to another across the seemingly endless Tengger Desert.
Day 7 ZHONGWEI-ZHONGNING
In the morning, we will begin our trip down the Yellow River in a sturdy sheepskin raft. Along the way we will see the relics of the Great Wall, old temples, an abandoned ferry, and farmland.
Day 8: ZHONGNING - QINGTONGXIA - WUZHONG
Our rafting trip will take us past forests, through gorges, and by a ruined beacon tower, with a stop at The Bird Island for lunch. Disembarking at Qingtongxia, we will briefly enjoy the mystery of the 108 dagobas stupas arranged near the riverbank in the shape of an equilateral triangle before we drive to Wuzhong and check into our hotel. Wuzhong boasts a large Hui population and we will visit the local Hui Bazaar after dinner.
Day 9: WUZHONG - YINCHUAN
We will continue our rafting trip from Wuzhong to Yongning, and then drive to Yinchaun where we will visit the Muslim Culture Garden and Museum. We will enjoy traditional Hui cuisine for dinner, followed by a local historical story show.
Day 10: YINCHUAN
In the morning, we will hike along the ruin of the Wall. The scenery on the way becomes greener as we enter an area of grasslands, dotted with small lakes, villages, and along the Wall, ruins of fortresses. In the afternoon, we will raft along the Yellow River, disembarking to visit the Han Dynasty-era Bingou Tomb.
Day 11 YINCHUAN-BEIJING
In the morning, you will visit the Mausoleums of the Western Xia Kingdom. These tombs were originally created by Li Yuanhao, the founder of the Western Xia Kingdom (1038-1237 AD). We will also visit the ancient painting on the Stone at Helan Mountain before we catch a plane back to Beijing.
Day 12 BEIJING-HOME
After a lovely breakfast, we will escort you to the airport to catch your return flight home.
We are working on this issue at present with our partners in China. Please call us to discuss this Adventure.