Itinerary of China Tibet Tour - 16 Days Yangtze River & Lhasa Tibet Tour

• Day 1: Arrival at Beijing
  When you arrive at Beijing, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. After that, free on your own for the rest of the day.

 
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  Day 2: Beijing (B, L, D)
  Pick you up from your hotel on decided time and then you will enjoy the full day trip to the famous historical attractions in Beijing, including the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. In the evening, enjoy a Peking Duck Dinner and an amazing Peking Opera Show. After the tour, transfer you back to your hotel.
  - Tiananmen Square: is said to be the largest public square in the world. It is 880 meters from north to south, and 500 meters from east to west, with a total area of 440,000 square meters and can hold one million people.
  - Forbidden City: the largest ancient imperial palaces where 24 emperors, 14 of the Ming and 10 of the Qing, ruled the country from here over a span of nearly 500 years. It takes pride in its precious collections of more than 900, 000 cultural and art objects.
  - Temple of Heaven: The perimeter of the Temple of Heaven is 6,369 meters with 6 meters high. The temple was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for good harvests.

 
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  Day 3: Beijing (B, L)
  Pick you up from your hotel on decided time and then have a full day trip to the Great Wall, Ming Tomb and Sacred Road. After the tour, transfer you back to your hotel in Beijing. On the way to the hotel, you could enjoy the external view of Bird's Nest and Water Cube on the bus.
  - Badaling Great Wall: As its name implies it gives access to every direction. With an elevation of 600 meters it is the most famous and best-preserved section of the Great Wall.
  - Ming Tomb: it is the largest clusters of imperial cemeteries in China. They are mausoleums of thirteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Dingling and Changling were open to the tourist.
  - Sacred Road: Which means the road leading to heaven is lined with 18 pairs of stone human figures and animals, they are important decorations of the mausoleum.

 
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  Day 4: Beijing - Xian (B, L)
  Pick you up from the hotel and transfer you to visit Summer Palace and Beijing Zoo. Then, transfer you to airport to take flight to Xian. Arrive at Xian, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
  - Summer Palace: the largest and best preserved imperial garden of the Qing Dynasty extant in Beijing, as well as a famous classical imperial garden.
  - Beijing Zoo: Beijing Zoo is the largest treasure house of animals and birds in China and has become one of the ten biggest Zoos in the world.

 
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  Day 5: Xian (B, L) 
  Pick you up from the hotel and then visit the Terra Cotta Warriors. After lunch, move on to visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Ancient City Wall. And in the evening, see the fascinating and popular Tang Dynasty Show. After the tour, transfer you back to your hotel.
  - Terra Cotta Warriors: It is a part of the tomb complex of the Qin emperor, the Terra Cotta Warriors is the greatest findings in the archeology world.
  - Big Wild Goose Pagoda: the symbol of the long history of Xian, and a well-preserved ancient building and holy worshipping shrine for Buddhists.
  - Ancient City Wall: the most complete city wall survived in China as well as one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.
  - Tang Dynasty Show: a wonderful performance of the ancient music and dance, is a must when you visit Xian.

 
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  Day 6: Xian - Lhasa (B)
  Pick you up from the hotel on decided time and transfer you to visit the Hanyangling Museum. Then transfer you to airport to take a flight to Lhasa. Arrive at Lhasa, pick you up at the airport and transfer you to the hotel.
  - Hanyangling Museum: It is the Mausoleum of the Western Han Emperor, Liu Qi. And it is a magnificent and abundant cultural relic, comprising the tomb of emperor, the tomb of empress, the south and north burial pits, ceremonial site, human sacrifice graveyard and criminals' cemetery.

 
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  Day 7: Lhasa (B)
  Pick you up from the hotel and transfer you to visit the magnificent Potala Palace. Then move on to visit Sera Monastery, Norbulingka Park and a local Tibetan family. After the tour, transfer you back to the hotel.
  - Potala Palace: A UNESCO endorsed world cultural heritage site. It was where Dalai Lama lived. The palace consists of White Palace and Red Palace, with nearly 10,000 rooms.
  - Sera Monastery: It is dedicated to the Gelugpa Sect, a branch of Tibetan Buddhism and is famous for debates on Buddhist doctrines. Almost 10,000 Buddhist statues are preserved here.
  - Norbulingka: The biggest man-made garden in Tibet. It consists of palaces such as Kelsang Potrang, Golden Potrang and Takten Migyur Potrang, with totally 374 rooms.

 
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  Day 8: Lhasa (B)
  Pick you up from your hotel on decided time and drive you to visit the Jokhang Temple. Then continue to visit the famous Barkhor Street, Tibet Museum, Tibetan Traditional Medicine Hospital and Carpet Factory. After the tour, transfer you back to your hotel.
  - Jokhang Temple: built in 647 as the earliest wood-masonry structure in Tibet. It is dedicated to a statue of Sakyamni. It has a collection of cultural relics dating back to the Tang, which includes statues of Songtsan Gambo and Princess Wencheng.
  - Barkhor Street: Also called Bajiao Street - an ancient circular street with strong Tibetan flavor. It is a route where pilgrims holding prayer wheel walk clockwise. And now a famous commercial street.

 

• Day 9: Lhasa - Lanzhou (B)
  Pick you up from the hotel after breakfast and transfer you to the railway station to take a soft sleeper train to Lanzhou. You will have lunch and dinner by your own.
  (Tips: It takes more or less 28 hours from Lhasa to Lanzhou by train. That means you will spend the whole day on your own. Since there is only a limited choice of food on the train, while the flavor is just so-so, you are then advised to prepare some fast food and snacks in advance).

 
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  Day 10: Lanzhou
  After your arrival in Lanzhou, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. If time allows, visit the Waterwheel Garden and the Gansu Provincial Museum.
  - Waterwheel Garden: The garden covers an area of 1.45 hectares (3.58 acres) and is comprised of two waterwheels, a cofferdam, the recreation area and a house of water mill. the waterwheels are irrigation machines.

 
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  Day 11: Lanzhou - Chongqing (B, L, D)
  Pick you up from the hotel and transfer you to visit the Binglingsi Grottoes. After the tour, drive you to the airport to take a flight to Chongqing. At the hotel, have a delish buffet dinner and after that tour guide will transfer you to have a Yangtze River Cruise.
  - Binglingsi Grottoes: also known as the Bingling Temple, are a series of Buddhist caves that are situated on a not easily accessible cliff face, some 80km from Lanzhou.

 
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  Day 12: Yangtze River (B, L, D)
  We will start the cruise from 9:00am and have a short excursion to Fengdu Ghost City. During the cruise, you will enjoy stunning nature views along the river.
  - Fengdu (Ghost city): Fengdu is the only ghost city in China. The temples are all over the mountain with many statues.

 
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  Day 13: Yangtze River (B, L, D)
  In this day, have an excursion to Baidicheng. Not only that, you will also passing Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge. Passing the famous and fascinating Shennong Stream and cruising through Dam Shiplock and Three Gorges Dam.
  - Qutang Gorge: it is the first of the three gorges of the Yangtze River and it is famous for its sheer and spectacular precipices.
  - Wu Gorge: Wu Gorge is the second gorge of the Three Gorges system in Yangtze River and gifted with exquisite peaks and lush mountains and ranges.
  - Three Gorges Dam: located in the Yiling District of Yichang, in Hubei province, China. It is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping. It is the largest electricity-generating in the world.

 
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  Day 14: Yichang - Shanghai by air (B, L)
  Before your arrival at Yichang, we will pass Xiling Gorge. After your arrival, pick you at the port and have lunch. After lunch, you will be transferred to the airport to take a flight to Shanghai. Arrive at Shanghai, our tour guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel.
  - Xiling Gorge: it is the largest and furthest downstream of the Three Gorges.

 
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  Day 15: Shanghai (B, L, D)
  Pick you up from your hotel and drive you to visit the Shanghai Museum and the Yuyuan Garden. After lunch, transfer you to the Bund area to take a cruise tour on the Huangpu River. The cruise will start at 14:00pm, and it will reach the Wusongkou pier and then get back to the Bund at 17:00pm. Have some free time to explore the Bund area by your own. After that, have an a la carte farewell dinner in Central Hotel, and see Portman Acrobatic Show at the Shanghai Centre Theatre. After the tour, transfer you back to the hotel.
  - Shanghai Museum: ranked as the best museum of China.
  - Yuyuan Garden: is considered one of the most lavish and finest Chinese gardens in the region.
  - The Bund: the picturesque bund with tall building of various tower over the river, looking as a museum of modern world architecture.
  - Nanjing Road: the most famous thoroughfare in Shanghai for shopping and entertainment.
  - Huangpu River: the most important shipping artery of Shanghai. Cruises are available everyday, including the shorter cruises and the complete cruises.

 

• Day 16:  Shanghai / End (B)
  Pick you up from your hotel on departure time and transfer you to airport or free on your own.

 

Tour Price (exchange rate: 1US$ = 6.1CNY)