Peter, most people don't realize the extent of propaganda in China. In fact, it has been so pervasive in the educational system, that the guides that one encounters have no idea that they have essentially been brainwashed.

I recommend that everyone read "Out of Mao's Shadow" by Phillip Pan. Mr. Pan is an American who was formerly with the Washington Post, but is now with the New York Times. As a foreign correspondent in China, he saw first hand how ordinary people were imprisoned and tortured for speaking out against the government. It's a good read.

I have always tried to stay a-political when posting here, but I thought this would shed light on Peter's position.

Indeed these aren't so much points about the regime's politics as about the control of information and of narrative in general, and about what the foreign visitor can reasonably be expected to understand. Unfortunately very few people in China have the first idea how little they know, and it's not their fault. Counter-intuitively and very unfortunately they're for the most part the very last people you should ask for accurate information on the topic of China.

In the same vein I'd recommend Louisa Lim's 'People's Republic of Amnesia' (former BBC/NPR correspondent), and Ian Johnson's 'Wild Grass' (long-term China resident and contributor to the New Yorker and others). Disclosure: I'm lightly acquainted with both authors.

While most of these places are connected to the train network, some stations are actually very far from the city. In many of these locations you need to hire a driver (or local taxi) as several key sites can only be reached by car. Some that can be reached by bus but this option is very troublesome and hiring a taxi is much better. In Zhangye, not a soul spoke English, even at the hotel (the largest hotel in town). Not a problem for us but for most travelers this means a very good preparation is a requirement.
We saw very few foreign (caucasian) tourists during our Silk road trip. All of them were on tours.

Thank you very much everyone! We have delayed our trip to September due to schedule conflicts. We will update you folks about how our trip goes!

Thanks, I look forward to hearing about your trip.

Hi, I live in the Silk Road city of Luoyang, which I would highly recommend seeing (many sights in this area and only an hour by train from Xi'an).

https://www.thetripgoeson.com/single...do-in-Luoyang1

I was in Urumqi a few months ago and would warn against travel there. Diabolical place.

https://www.thetripgoeson.com/single...-take-my-knife

Rather than taking a tour, it's easy to plan everything yourself. You can order train tickets on line to travel between all your cities and also book accommodation all using Ctrip.

http://english.ctrip.com/

Best of luck. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Best regards,
Steve