This route covers the old Chinese Silk Road and is serviced only in the summer by restored vintage trains. Indulgently decked out in red and black lacquer and old mahogany furniture, the train boasts two European toilets and a deliberate lack of hot water, due to the steamy weather.
The tour itself is a very thorough round trip, beginning and ending in Beijing and making stops for a large number of truly marvellous sights such as the Terracotta Warriors, the Great Wall, the Mogao Caves and the Gaochang necropolis.