15 Days Holy Tibet China Tour

Day 1

Today's Activities: Arrive in Beijing, Airport-hotel transfer

Day 2

Today's Activities: Beijing
Tiananmen Square (50 minutes):

As the largest square all over the world, Tiananmen Square was also a remarkable place of several key events in the history of China, esp, in Chinese modern history, giving the Square more cultural significance. Near the Square, there are governments buildings, Forbidden City, Heavenly Gate, museums and mausoleum.

The Forbidden City, situated at the heart of Beijing City, is most prosperous between 1420 and 1911 during Chinese feudal society, as it is home to 24 emperors. It is precious wealth to China as well as the whole world for the great halls, gates and squares along with the intricate networks of side courtyards, gardens, halls and quarters. As for tour, it is not a single point, Wangfujing Street, Tiananmen Square and Shijingshan Park are not far away.

Summer Palace, one of the premier attractions in Beijing and also a well-known tourist attraction all over the world, is among the largest and the best preserved Chinese imperial gardens. It is pleasant to take a ferry boat to spend ten or more minutes cruising on the Kunming Lake. 

Day 3

Today's Activities: Beijing
Mutianyu Great Wall (4 hours):

Mutianyu Great Wall, about only 2.5-hour drive from the heart of Beijing City, is a place with fewer tourists but also boasting wonderful scenery. Optional cable cars are available, and from where it is also convenient to Badaling Great Wall by bus.

Ding Mausoleum, the mausoleum of Emperor Zhu Yijun, the 13th emperor of Ming Dynasty and his empresses. It is about 27-meter deep, featured by the Stone Bridge, Soul Tower, Baocheng and the stone-made Underground Palace.

Day 4

Today's Activities: Beijing to Xian, Flight to Xian
Temple of Heaven (1.5 hours):

Temple of Heaven, located in the southeastern part of Beijing City, is a complex of buildings in Taoist style. During Ming and Qing dynasties, it was a place for emperors hosting annual ceremonies praying for good harvest.

Hutong in Beijing is just like Nongtang in Shanghai, which has already become a particular symbol of the city. Hutong, namely alleyways, is a maze bearing profound history, where rickshaw is available. Hop one through the narrow alleys, you can truely experience the lifestyle of the locals in Beijing.

Day 5

Today's Activities: Xian
Big Wild Goose Pagaoda (1 hour):

Situated in southern suburb of Xian of Shaanxi province, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Giant Wild Goose Pagoda or Dayan Pagoda) is a holy Buddhist pagoda, which was built in 652 during the Tang Dynasty. It had five stories originally, and the exterior brick facade was renovated during the Ming Dynasty. Besides, it was used to hold sutras and figurines of Buddha that were bought to China from India by the Buddhist translator and traveler Xuanzang.

Constructed originally in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Xian City wall is not only the most complete city wall that has survived in China, but also one of the largest and most complete ancient military systems of defense in the world. However, as time goes, many sections have been destroyed, only 14 km of wall survived.

Day 6

Today's Activities: Xian to Lhasa, Flight to Lhasa
Muslim Street (1 hour):

Walk westward from the Xian city center (teh Bell Tower) and pass the Drum Tower about 100 meters, tourist will see the historical street of Xian Muslim people. Here has ten mosques of different size and tens of thousands of Hui people. It attracts the world for its religious tradition and original habits and customs of Muslim, the reputed snack street, the Great Mosque and the one of the three biggest Old City God's Temple of China. Here is the right plae to experience unqiue historical background and cultural atmosphere of Muslim people.

Day 7

Today's Activities: Lhasa
Potala Palace (1 hour):

Situated on Mountain Maburi (Red Mountain) in Lhasa of Tibet, the Potala Palace is an ancient Tibetan palace complex with a height of 110 meters. The whole traditional Tibetan style building consists of the White Palace in the east which Dalai Lama lives in and the Red Palace in the middle containing the Dalai Lama Stupa Temple and the Buddha Temple.

Located in central Lhasa in Tibet and surrounded by Barkhor Street, Lhasa Jokhang Temple is the ultimate pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Pilgrims. With an area of 25,100 square meters, Jokhang Temple is filled with palmers and tourists. Compared with Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple is smaller while more manageable. The temple itself is a 4-storey and golden-roofed temple.

Situated in the heart of Lhasa encircling the Jokhang Temple, the Barkhor Street is definitly the right place to watch the palmers gathering from different parts of Tibet, doing prostration every 9 steps, or circling deasil around Jokhang Temple, joining the tourists to shop for local products at the colorful stalls, or having a relax in a coffe shop or tea housing to enjoy the show of every passerby, or expacting a date by sitting down against the lover wall?

Day 8

Today's Activities: Lhasa
Norbulingka (2.5 hours):

Situated in the western suburb of Lhasa city of Tibet, Norbulingka it the biggest man-made garden in Tibet Autonomous Region. The garden covers an area of 360,000 square meters, with 374 rooms inside. The area used to be wasteland with wild animals, weeds and scrub which the Seventh Dalai Lama liked and often visited, thus, the Qing Magistrate had a palace built. Later, Kelsang Potrang was built by order ot the Severnth Dalai Lama. Now, it is a park opened to the public.

Situated in the northern suburb of Lhasa of Tibet, the Sera Monastery is a traditional Tibetan temple complex of Great Assembly Hall, three colleges and four structures. Some say the "Sera" means wild rose in Tibetan and the monastery was surrounded by wild roses, hence the name. The Sera Monastery was constructed in 1419 by Jamchen Chojey of Sakya Yeshe of Zel Gungtang(1355-1435), a disciple of Tsongkhapa.

Situated in the southeast corner of Norbulingka of Lhasa of Tibet, the Tibet Museum is a wonderful combination of Chinese and Tibetan architectural styles. The museum is divided into two catalogues.The first catalogue includes two exhibition halls on the first floor, showing the splendid history of Tibet and its abundant natural resources, the other catalogue is on the second floor with five small exhibitions halls displaying the Tibetan religion, folk custom, treasures, and arts and crafts with a rich collection of prehistoric cultural relics including Buddha statues in different postures, imperial jade seals, gold albums, gifts granted by emperors, colorful tangkas, and various printed Sanskrit and Tibetan scriptures.

Day 9

Today's Activities: Lhasa
Yamdrok Yumtso Lake (40 minutes):

Located to the south of Yarlong Tsangpo River in the Shannan area of Tibet Autonomous Region, Yamtso Lake is one of the three holy lakes(Nam Tso Lake, Yamdrok Lake ) in Tibet and the largest freshwater lake at the south foot of the Himalayas with a length of 130 kilometers and a width of 70 kilometers and covers an area of about 638 square kilometers. The Surface of the lake is about 4,441 meters above the sea horizon.

Gyantse Old Street is a small walking street in Gyantse Ancient Town of Tibet Autonomous Region. Along the two sides of the street, there are rows of old styled Tibetan houses. While entering the old street, you can see children playing together, cattles eating straw leisurely, fowl scrabbling around the houses and some old people sitting in the front of doors chatting happily. Moreover, it is seldom to see car or lorry driving through the street, which suggeestes that the air here is very clean.

Day 10

Today's Activities: Lhasa
Tashilunpo Monastery (1 hour):

Situated at the foot of Drolmari (Tara's Mountain), Shigatse of Tibet autonomous region, Tashilunpo Monastery is one of the traditional Tibetan temples. It was constructed by the first Dalai Lama in 1447, the existing Tashilunpo Monastery has already been expanded in several times and now it covers an area of about 300, 000 square meters. The main constructions of the Tashihunpo Monastery are thePanchen Lama's Palace, the Maitreya Chapel and the Kelsang Temple. Besides, over 800 lamas still live in this temple.

Day 11

Today's Activities: Lhasa to Chengdu, Flight to Chengdu

Day 12

Today's Activities: Chengdu

Day 13

Today's Activities: Chengdu
Panda Breeding and Research Center (2.5 hours):

With an area of 230 hectares, Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center is situated about 10 kilometers in the north of the urban area of Chengdu. As the habitat of panda, the center is the perfect place to watch lovely pandas rest, play and feed.

Day 14

Today's Activities: Chengdu to Shanghai, Flight to Shanghai
Shanghai Museum (2 hours):

Shanghai Museum, situated in the People's Square of Huangpu District, constructed in 1,952, is a museum featured by its ancient Chinese art collections. The original site of the museum was in the Former Shanghai Racecourse club house, moved to the Former Zhonghui Building in 1,600, and at last to People's Square.

Shanghai Nanjing Road--the busiest pedestrian streets in China, includes two sections: Nanjing Road West and Nanjing Road East, beginning in the east at the Bund and ending at the junction of Yan'an West Street and Jing'an Temple in the west.

Situated in the Anren Street of the center of the Old Shanghai city next to the Chenghuangmiao(Town God's Temple) area of Shanghai, the Yuyuan Garden is considered one of the most lavish and finest Chinese gardens in the region. With an area of about 20,000 square meers, Yuyuan Garden was built in 1,577 by a government officer named Pan Yunduan for his parents. tourists could access the Yuyuan Garden from the nearby Yuyuan Garden station on the Shanghai Metro Line 10.

The Jade Buddha Temple was founded in 1882 with two jade Buddha statues imported to Shanghai from Burma by a monk named Huigen in 1,882. These were a siting Buddha (1.95 meters tall and 3tonnes), and a smaller reclining Buddha representing Buddha's death. The temple now also contains a much larger reclining Buddha made of marble, donated  from Singapore.

Day 15

Today's Activities: Depart Shanghai, Hotel-airport transfer