Day 1: Beijing
Transfer from airport to five-star hotel in Beijing for two-night stay. Welcome dinner. Day 2: Beijing
Full-day tour of Beijing, including the Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Lunch and dinner in the city. Day 3: Beijing
Morning visit to Great Wall at Badaling. Lunch in the city followed by free time at the market. Dinner at specialty Peking Duck restaurant. Day 4: Board the Shangri-La Express
Transfer to Beijing West station to board your private train, the Shangri-La Express, and begin the 7,050-mile journey to Moscow. Lunch and dinner on board. Day 5: Luoyang
Arrive Luoyang, in the Yellow River Valley. Visit local museum with city artifacts recovered from tombs. Tour Longmen Caves. This complex of 1,350 caves contains over 100,000 statues and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Day 6: Xi’an
Morning arrival in ancient city of Xi’an. See the Great Mosque, eight-mile city walls, Drum and Bell Towers and Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Afternoon visit to the world-famous Terracotta Warriors, discovered by peasants just over 30 years ago. The thousands of terracotta figures are one of the best-loved and most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century. Dinner and Tang Dynasty show in city; evening train departure. Day 7: Lanzhou
Arrive midday in Lanzhou, a vital city on the Silk Route. Visit the Gansu Provincial Museum to see the kind of goods that moved along the Silk Route, along with the famous “galloping horse” dating from the Eastern Han period. Late afternoon departure and dinner on board. Day 8: Dunhuang
Morning arrival in small oasis city of Dunhuang to visit the fascinating Mogao Thousand Buddha Cave Complex. It contains about 500 grottoes, carved 700 to 1,700 years ago, and is filled with an amazing collection of sculptures and murals depicting the evolution of Buddhist religious art. Afternoon trip to the Sand Dunes; optional camel ride to Crescent Moon Lake. Dinner near the dunes with a local folk show. Day 9: Turpan/Urumchi
Arrive Turpan, where you view the Flaming Mountains, the Emin Minaret and the Karez 2,000-year-old irrigation system. Lunch on the train as you travel to Urumchi to visit the Xinjiang Provincial Museum. Depart for Kazakhstan. Day 10: Crossing to Kazakhstan
Arrive Alashankou after breakfast, where border controls are carried out, and you transfer to the waiting Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express private train for the continuation of the journey to Moscow. Lunch and dinner on the train. Day 11: Almaty
Morning arrival in Almaty and tour the flourishing former capital of Kazakhstan, nestled in the foothills of the Tien Shan mountains. Visit the magnificent 170-foot-high wooden Zenkhov Cathedral before lunch in a Kazak yurt in the mountains. Day 12: Tashkent
Lunch on board and arrival in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan. Spend the afternoon in this pleasant, modern Soviet style city, including a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts. Day 13: Samarkand
Many phrases have been used to describe this wonderful city – “Rome of the East” and “Pearl of the Muslim World” — and it counts Alexander the Great, Marco Polo and Tamerlane among its most well-known admirers. Full day touring the many fabulous buildings including the Bibi Khanum Mosque, Ulug Beg observatory and the awe-inspiring Registan Square. After dinner enjoy an evening of traditional dancing and music at the splendidly lit Square. Day 14: Bukhara
Awaken to the splendor of Uzbekistan’s oasis city, Bukhara, having traversed the Kyzyikum Desert during the night. UNESCO funded the renovation of this “jewel of the desert” for its 2,500-year anniversary in 1999. Tour includes The Ark, fortified residence of the Emirs of Bukhara — rulers infamous for their cruelty. Enjoy a lunch of traditional cuisine in one of the city’s many beautifully tiled Islamic schools, then travel out of the city to visit the Emir’s Palace of Moon and Stars. Day 15: Ashgabat
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. Day 16: Merv
Continue through the desert to Merv, an ancient Silk Road city left to die after the Emir of Bukhara destroyed the dam, which the population depended upon for water. Visit one of the five walled cities. Day 17: Khiva
Cross back into Uzbekistan and tour fascinating Khiva today — 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 — many of which were restored with UNESCO’s help for its recent 2,500th anniversary. Lunch and dinner on the train as you travel north. Day 18: Kara Kum Desert
Day spent on board while traveling through Kazakhstan’s Kara Kum Desert. Stop briefly at remote villages along the way, with breakfast, lunch and dinner on the train. Cross into Russia this evening. Day 19: Volgograd
Probably the most important battle of WWII occurred on the banks of the River Volga in Stanlingrad, as it was known then. The Russians finally turned back the Nazi advance to the Caucasian oil fields in Baku in the famous battle that took more than two million lives on both sides, the bloodiest battle in human history. Up to this defeat, Hitler had lost no major battles; after Stalingrad he won none. Stalingrad paid an enormous price for the victory — it was virtually destroyed. Visit the sobering Mamayev Kurgan war memorial, excellent diorama and interesting museum. Return to the train for a final dinner on board. Day 20: Moscow
Lunchtime arrival in Moscow where the tour concludes with a night in a five-star hotel. Afternoon visit to Red Square and the Kremlin. Farewell dinner held in the city. Day 21: Moscow
Airport transfers provided to connect with flights. | 
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