Discover old wonders in China by taking a tour through the Silk Road. There are many more places to discover in China aside from the tourists' beaten track, and the Silk Road is one such fascinating tour to experience. China is investing 4 trillion pounds to restore and develop the Silk Road, specifically on new roads, rail links, oil pipelines and other infrastructure.
Even long before 1492 when Columbus discovered America, Europe was already engaging in trade with China, reports Daily Mail Co UK. They were already trading in silk, dates, spices, mostly coming from Asia. Merchants came in camels loaded with goods from China and these came to the Mediterranean. They trekked the called Silk Road. This generated a lot of wealth during that time. In the desire of the Spaniards to find a better way to the East, sea travel developed and land travel soon diminished.
One goal of restoring the Silk Road is to make the transport of goods by land faster and cheaper than by sea. Another goal is to further boost the tourism of China, particularly for Xian and Chengdu.
The two cities of Lanzhou and Dunhuang has many aspects that represents the old China. Dunhuang, which is near the Gobi desert, has markets and antiques, but is mostly known for the Mogao caves. These caves are Buddhist grottoes which have survived thousands of years of strife like invasions and revolutions. There is a tour that offers a 26-day tour of the Silk Road which includes 2 nights in Lhanzou and 3 nights in Dunhuang.
Another place along the Silk Road is Xian, a former capital of China, where you will find the Terra-Cotta soldiers. These were supposedly created to protect China's first emperor in the afterlife. One can also take the train to Jiayuguan, which serves at the Western gateway to China. You can visit the Jiayu fortress and view the Gobi Desert on the western portions of the Great Wall.
Another part of the Silk Road tour is a four-day coach journey along the Xinjiang region. Along the way at Kurla, one can visit the Iron Fortress. Then there is Kashgar with a Bazaar like that in One Thousand And One Nights. The tour ends in Beijing with a tour of the Forbidden City.
While China is modernizing with high tech industries, it is assuring to know that it's tourism is again investing on the road that once helped to develop the modern world. If you want to know more about specific portions of the Silk Road Tour, you can find out here.
