Marco Polo--travel writer, merchant, commander, prisoner, and confidant of Kublai Khan--first traveled this Silk Road trading route when he was 17. After navigating the Gobi desert with his father and uncle, he stayed in Dunhuang, in China's Gansu province, for a year.

Take a journey along this ancient route, now we have this Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel, styled after a Ming dynasty palace. Here the weary traveler can indulge in foot massages ($10 for an hour-long foot massage, $18 for a full body massage), cool courtyards, and exquisitely furnished rooms with views of the Gobi desert.