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THE
TAKLAMAKAN DESERT EXPEDITION TO COMMEMORATE THE
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EXPLORATION OF THE CHINESE
WESTERN REGIONS
This
coming October will feature a great celebration
of the 100th Anniversary of the exploration of
the Western Regions in XinJiang, China. Together
with the local government, China Travel Service
( Holdings ) Hong Kong ltd., the head quarter
of the U.S. China Travel Service Inc. will launch
a special program “Trekking Across the Takalamagan
Desert”. This soft adventure program will operate
once a year in October, the best season to explore
this second largest desert in the world and experience
the fascinating ethnic culture along this unbeaten
track.
Departure
Date for 2005 (One departure only):
October 13th, 2005 to November 1st 2005
SPONSORED
BY:
CHINA TRAVEL SERVICE (HOLDINGS) HONG KONG
LIMITED
CHINA TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT HONG KONG
ORGANIZED
BY:
U.S.
CHINA TRAVEL SERVICE INC.
CHINA TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL (XINJIANG) LTD.
CO-ORGANISERS:
THE PEOPLE’S GOVERNMENT OF XINJIANG UYGUR
AUTONOMOUS RIGION
THE PEOPLE’S GOVERNMENT OF URUMQI MUNICIPALITY
TOURISM ADMINISTRATION OF XINJIANG UYGUR AUTONOMOUS
RIGION
TOURISM ADMINISTRATION OF URUMQI MUNICIPALITY
I.
Theme of the Activity
1)
To develop the culture of the Silk Road, inherit
and transmit the historical civilization and
to protect the cultural heritage of history.
2)
To visit the archaic Kerians who live deep in
the Taklamkan Desert all the year round.
3)
To safeguard the environment, the unique planet
which human being live on reliantly and the
identical family for human.
4)
To dedicate and contribute to our old and new
clients for their kind support and loyalty to
the China Travel Service brand.
II.
A Brief Description of the Takelamagan Desert
1)
Taklamakan Desert is the second largest in the
world, covering an area of 327600 square kms.
Taklamakan, in Uygur, translates as “the abandoned
hometown” or “come in and never come out”. 100
years ago, the expedition of the Western Region
started from here. The western expeditions found
large quantity of culture relics and history
documents, which made the desert well-known
to the world and aroused the world’s attention.
100 years later, we use the high technique and
modern equipment to experience the exploration
again to regain the history, restudy the nature,
and trans value ourselves. Therefore, we are
more aware of the disaster caused by humankind’s
destroying environment. And meanwhile, it will
make more people understand desert, love nature
and embosom life, and cherish the earth we are
living on today.
Crossing
the Taklamakan Desert has been a dream for the
people lasting for thousands of years; however
the rough natural environment stopped the people’s
step. Today, we offer this chance to all the
brave people the access to experience the Taklamakan
Desert. No doubt, you will achieve a lot and
have a new understanding of the Taklamakan when
the program ends, and also it must become one
of your most unforgettable experiences in your
whole life.
Our
ancestors once lived near by the river, which
used to be running in the desert, and established
their hometown and even city one after another
on oasis. But due to the change of the system
of the river, and the over-snatching from the
nature, the biography was seriously destroyed.
Under the sand storm attacking, they did not
safeguard their hometown at last. What they
left was ruined buildings here and there, and
a variety of cultural relics and historic sites
covered by the endless sand.
Taklamakan
is one of the major deserts in the world; it
is only smaller than Sahara Desert by its area.
The foot of Mazatag Mountain is the end point
of our trekking. The Mazatag Mountain is the
only mountain in the center of Taklamakan Desert,
100km from east to west, 1km from north to south,
1636m above sea level, and the highest point
is 400m from the ground. In the vast sea of
sand, it looks like a dragon creeping out from
the ground, which makes people feel it strange
and mysterious. It was respected as a holy mountain
by the people passing by. Poplar trees around
the mountain, and on the both sides of whilom
riverbeds, which are considered as “hero trees”,
offer a unique scene in the center of the desert
especially in the golden October.
Daliyaboyi
village is the jumping-off point for this trekking,
which is 220kms. away from Yu Tian county and
97km. away from Mazatag mountain in upright
direction. Actually, for area, it is the biggest
natural village in China, as long as 100km from
south to north, in which there are only 169
families. It keeps the local people here isolated
from outside world by such a dispersal and difficult
traffic. They build their house by poplar trees.
They just discern time by watching the sun in
the day time. At night the moon is the corporate
lamp for them. They smoke the calumet together
by generations, never disturbed by the outside.
They have no shop, no fair. The most important
food for them is the cake made from wheat powder,
which is cooked in such a specific course: they
knead the blocks containing flour and water
for a while; meanwhile, they heat some sand
by burning firewood. Then, they make the loaves
covered by the heated sand. The interesting
thing is that when the bread is cooked, you
can’t find any sand on it. They name the food
Kumaixi. The Kerians can eat few vegetables
for the rough surrounding. They have beef and
mutton except the food made of flour. Such a
poor diet influences their health seriously.
It is reported that this natural village living
in the center of the desert will move out before
long owing to the deterioration of the zoology.
The
tour fans that are accommodating and possess
exploration spirit, heart of fellowship, devotion
to nature, concern of protecting environment,
are warmly welcome. The best and experienced
personnel for fieldwork we have will occupy
the job of safeguard, which must guarantee each
member’s safety. We will offer field tent, sleeping
bag, waterproof cushions, high-quality open-air
food, delicious field meal, enough drinking
water, team doctor, medicines, satellite telephone,
global satellite direction finder, outstanding
open-air guide. Baohua Zhang and Heping Liu
will be the principals of this activity, who
have attended the activity of passing through
TaklaMakan Desert organized by the united exploring
party of China and Britain in 1993.
2)
Leaders from Xinjiang Uygur autonomy district
people's government and the tourism administration
in the district will award "the certificate
of passing through TaklaMakan Desert in 2005”
for the team member that participates in the
tour of exploration in TaklaMakan Desert.
3)
Itinerary of traveling: East or West U.S.--Beijing--Urumqi–
Kuerle—Minfeng—Yutian—Kashgar—Urumqi—Beijing-U.S.
(A detailed itinerary follows.)
III.
Arrangements for the 2005 group
( Note: Program may vary from year to year
and depend on the special requirements of clients
)
1)
You will join a international group for the
exploration and make friends with worldwide
participants.
2)
There will be a departing ceremony in the hotel
courtyard and a group photo will be taken.
3)
Visit the aged Kerians residents, call at their
home and taste their unique delicacies food.
4)
Pass through TaklaMakan Desert on foot, experience
ancient long history and culture of Silk Road.
5)
Leave your footprint of exploration on the second
desert in the world and you will never forget
it for the rest of your life.
6)
Experience the explorer's arduousness and remarkable
exploration experiences deeply,which were from
various countries in the beginning of last century.
7)
Last the harmony between human and nature and
the outpouring of the true feelings among the
members, especially in the arduous and hard
natural environment, and remind people to protect
the environment and protect the only planet
we live on.
8)
It is total 140km from Along Great River Village
to Mazatag Mountain, and it will cost 7 days
to finish the wonderful journey, 20km per day
on average.
9)
Hold the bonfire party, and set off the fireworks
and firecracker to celebrate the success of
passing through TaklaMakan Desert at the foot
of Mazamag Mountain.
10)
Dinner party of celebrating the success.
11)
You will reach Urumqi, the Capital of Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Regions on October 31, 2005,
and the grand dinner party of celebrating victory
will be hold at that night. The leaders of the
autonomy district people's government and tourism
administration of Urumqi will show up and congratulate
on the success and award the certificate to
the heroes that succeed in passing through TaklaMakan
Desert.
IV.
The Scheme of the Itinerary and the Characteristic
of the Journey
1)
Since half of the19th century, the ruins of
ancient humankind of Kerians gives out enormous
glamour again, and draws so many explorers ,
archaeologists, scientists, to come to the huge
yellow sand wasteland searching treasure and
ancient city ruins covered by sand. The famous
explorer Sven Hedin has come to this area exploring
and researching several times from 1862 to 1943.
In addition, another explorer, Marc Aurel Stein
from Britain has come as well. They made a large
quantity of notes and wrote a lot of works according
to their experiences there. This cryptic area
full of the mystery color is really a paradise
for explorer.
2)
The exploration route in TaklaMakan Desert is
designed according to the Swedish explorer Sven
Hedin’s. The natural landscape near the way
containing desert, Gobi desert, Yardan, poplar
trees, rivers, historical site of Silk Road
melts into an organic whole, which not only
makes you experience the yellow endless desert
scene, but appreciates the multi colored natural
conditions and local customs of all minorities
the Western Regions, and historical culture
as well.
3)
It is an unprecedented activity of the amount
of people and scale and its reasonable arrangement
and abundance in content will let you have a
worthwhile trip and go back with definite satisfaction.
4)
The Japanese made 4 wheel drive jeeps are allocated
in the whole journey; guide and medical personnel
with abundant open-air experience will serve
as escort during the whole journey.
5)
Each member will get a VCD of the activity shot
on the whole journey.
6)
The activity is exactly arranged in golden October,
when Xin Jiang’s fruit is just in season. You
can enjoy all the fruit, such as local product
"Hami" melon, water-melon, grape,
pomegranate, walnut, etc. At the same time October
is the best season entering TaklaMakan Desert
too, with 28 degrees Centigrade of maximum temperature
in the daytime and 5-10 degrees Centigrade of
minimum temperature at night.
7)
The registration begins right now and the closing
date for entries is October 1st, 2005.
V.
Your Ground Tour Operator
China
Travel International (XinJiang) Ltd. is a sister
company of U.S. China Travel Service Inc. both
are head quartered in Hong Kong. It is one of
the most famous tour enterprises in China for
organizing out door explorations. They engage
in trekking, desert exploration, passing through
Lop Nor, mountaineering, photography, drifting,
and self driving tours all the year round. There
is a group of experienced field exploration
personnel in the agency, who have succeeded
in organizing the passing through the sea of
death, the TaklaMakan Desert in 1993, which
the united group of China and Britain participated
and lasting 60 days in total and has been written
into the human history, CCTV's news has done
the report 6 times in the form of follow-up
story, and it is one of the most successful
examples of exploring report in China.
VI.
Itinerary:
Day
1 October 13th Thu San Francisco / Beijing
Depart the USA for Beijing today.
Day 2 October 14th Fri Beijing
Upon arrival in Beijing, you are met by your
local guide and transfer to the 5 star hotel.
Day 3 October 15th Sat Beijing / Urumqi
Transfer to airport for flight to Urumqi and
transfer to the hotel. (Hai De Hotel or same
class hotel)
Day 4 October 16th Sun Urumqi - Kuerle
Urumqi to Kuerle, 500km. Taste the geography
and local-custom briefly. Check in Oil hotel
(four star)
Notice: Please regard the local minority’s custom.
Day 5 October 17th Mon Kuerle - Min Feng
Kuerle to The Oil Field of Central Tarim Basin
(470km), After lunch, go to Min Feng (240km),
sightseeing the longest desert road in the world,
and the unique landscape of the desert. Check
in Ni Ya Hotel.
Notice: Be prepared for the rest of the long
distance journey
Day 6 October 18th Tue Min Feng - Yu Tian
Min Feng to Yu Tian, begin to enter the riverbed
of Keria River, (220km to encampment), camping
at night.
Notice: it is the first day to enter the desert,
so you might feel a little unease for the tough
environment.
Day 7 October 19th Wed Yu Tian - Keriabuyi
keep on going to Keriabuyi (200km) seeing about
zoology of Keria River, and experiencing the
local
Kerian’s primitive living condition and their
characteristic folk custom. Camping
Notice: Good preparation needed for the hardship
of the journey.
Day 8 October 20th Thu Keiabuyi
You will enjoy the oasis and local custom around
Kerianbuyi, taking photos and barbecue party
in the evening. Camping.
Notice: Please respect the local folkways and
customs
Day 9 October 21th Fri Keiabuyi - Mazatag Mountain
Begin to trek to Mazatag Mountain (140km), experience
the funof desert exploration and the culture
of The Silk Road. Camping
Notice: It is an awkward journey to walk for
5 or 6 hours per day.
Day
10-15 October 22th to 27th (Sat –Thu) Mazatag
Mounatin Camping
Day 16 October 28th Fri Mazatag - He Tian
Along the road which Sven Hedin once took, from
Mazatag to He Tian (240km), on the
way, visit the specific village, handcraft carpet
factory, handcraft silk factory, and the over
500 year old walnut tree. Stay in Zhe Jiang
Hotel
Notice: Please respect the minority’s custom.
Day 17 October 29th Sat He Tian - Kashgar
From He Tian to Kashgar along the southern branch
of Silk Road (540km), it takes about 8 hours.
After lunch, visit the tombs of Sha Che Empire.
Check in Qiniwak Hotel or same class hotel.
Day 18 October 30th Sun Kashgar / Urumqi
Sightseeing in Kashgar, Aidkah Mosque, the biggest
mosque in China with a history of about 500
years, visit the Abkh Khija Tombs along the
way.
Take flight back to Urumqi in evening. Check
in Hoi Tai Hotel (5 star) or the same class
hotel.
Day 19 October 31th Mon Urumqi / Beijing
Free at leisure in the morning. Transfer to
airport for flight to Beijing. Upon arrival,
transfer to 5 star hotel. Free at leisure.
Day20 November 1st Tue Beijing / San Francisco
Transfer to airport for your flight home. Arrive
back in the U.S. the same day.
VII.
Tour Cost:
Depart
from San Francisco and Los Angeles: $3400/pp
based on twin share hotel rooms
Depart from N.Y. and Chicago: $3600/pp based
on twin share hotel rooms.
Please contact us for more information at: 1-800-899-8618
or send an email to: info@chinatravelservice.com
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