China Essential Tour with In-depth Tibet Visit

Welcome to Beijing, the political and cultural center as well as the capital of China. With a history of more than 3,000 years, Beijing is a well-known ancient city of China with many splendid landscapes and rich cultural heritage. There are more than 7,300 cultural relics and over 200 tourism attractions in Beijing, such as the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall. Nowadays, Beijing has both ancient and modern buildings. There are small alleys, old tea houses, bars, and bustling commercial streets that add charms to each other. Here, in your escorted tour to Beijing, you can not only feel the majesty of ancient palaces but also the prosperity and convenient transportation of such a modern cosmopolitan city. 

After you arrive, you will see your tour guide waiting for you at the airport with your name sign so you can find him easily. Then he will take you to the hotel we booked for you. Today, you can stay in your room, unpack your luggage and have a good rest before we start our Beijing escorted tour.

This morning, we will bring you to visit Tian’anmen Square located at the center of Beijing. Tian’anmen Square is rectangular, 880 meters long from north to south and 500 meters wide from east to west, with a total area of 440,000 square meters, making it the largest city center square in the world. This square can accommodate one million people, which means that 1/13 of the total population of Beijing can stand here at the same time. Here, you can see The National Flag Pole, the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao, and the Zhengyang Gate Tower standing along the central axis of Beijing from north to south. It is worth noting that there are seven white marble bridges in front of Tian’anmen Gate Tower, called the Golden Water Bridge. In China’s feudal society, the widest bridge in the center was for the emperor only, the two bridges on either side were for the royal relatives, and the stone bridges on the outer sides were for high-rank ministers. Low-rank officials, factotums, and servants could only cross at the two outermost bridges.

Next, we will visit the Forbidden City (closed each Monday). Forbidden City, located at the center of Beijing, is an imperial palace in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1636-1912) Dynasties, with an area of 720,000 square meters. The buildings in the Forbidden City can be divided into two parts, the outer court and the inner court. The center of the outer court consists of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, collectively known as the Three Great Halls, which were used to hold important ceremonies. The center of the inner court was the Hall of Heavenly Purity, the Hall of Union and Peace, and the Hall of Earthly Tranquility where the emperor and the empress lived.

After you finished your lunch, we will head to the Temple of Heaven. It is a place for the emperors in the Ming and Qing Dynasties to pay tribute to heaven. With a total area of 2,730,000 square meters, the Temple of Heaven has two main buildings, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest and the Circular Mound Altar. The two buildings are located on the same north-south axis, separated by a wall. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is where the spring ritual ceremony has been held. It is a colorfully painted three-story gabled circular hall with the interior 28 pillars signifying the twelve months, and the 12 two-hour periods. You can see the wisdom of royal architects in ancient times.

Next, we will go to the Summer Palace, an imperial garden of the Qing Dynasty. With a total area of more than 3 square kilometers, the whole garden is based on Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. Longevity Hill is located in the center of the Summer Palace. On the hill, the trees are lush and the buildings are majestic, fully demonstrating the grandeur of the imperial garden. You may want to climb the mountain on foot, not only to exercise but also to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. Coming down from Longevity Hill, we can stroll along Kunming Lake. The area of Kunming Lake is about 2 million square meters. There are several stone bridges of different styles on the lake, including the 17-hole bridge, which was built during the Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty and is 150 meters long with 17 holes. There are 544 stone lions on the pillars of the bridge, making it the bridge with the most stone lions in the world. In addition, these stone lions have different postures, and no two of them are the same. Some are deftly doing various graceful movements on the ball, while some baby lions are playing around their mother, showing a delightful atmosphere.

The Temple of Heaven

The Summer Palace

Today, we will go to visit Hutongs by taking the rickshaw and visit a local family there. Hutong refers to small alley which was originated in the Yuan Dynasty (1217-1368) and is a Mongolian translation of the word “water well”. This is because wherever there is a settlement of people, there is a well. Beijing has a long history of distributing residential areas centered on wells. According to the history, there were over a thousand wells in Beijing in the Ming Dynasty and more than 1,800 in the Qing Dynasty. Since the reform and opening up of China, with the development of the economy and urban construction, there are now about 4,000 hutongs with names in Beijing. These hutongs are named in different ways, such as names of people, places, plants, and markets. All of them are closely related to people’s life. Hutongs are not only small alleys but also a residential district. You can walk into a house and talk to the host of this family, get to know their lifestyles, and feel the family atmosphere in the hutongs.

Next, we will drive northwest for about 1 hour and 35 minutes to visit the Badaling Great Wall, 66 kilometers from Hutongs. The Badaling Great Wall is the essence of the Great Wall, and it is the representative of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. The terrain of this section is rugged, so it served as a military pass in the Ming Dynasty and a barrier to the capital Beijing. Walking on the wall, you will notice that the Great Wall is paved with neat and large strips of stone, some of which are 2 meters long and weigh hundreds of pounds. 2-meter-high battlements are built on each side of the wall, with lookout holes above and shooting holes below. You can also see that the beacon tower was built at regular intervals. If the enemies invaded the border, the soldiers here would light fireworks to transmit military information. Through the beacon towers, the military condition at the border can be transmitted to the imperial city promptly.

Hutongs

Badaling Great Wall

Today, we are going to leave Beijing and fly to Xi’an. After breakfast, you can go back to your room and pack your luggage, and then you will be transferred to the train station to take the estimated train G571 09:22/15:07 to Xi’an. Xi’an is an ancient city with a history of more than 3,000 years, and thirteen dynasties had set up their capitals here. As one of the best cities for tourism in China, you will visit several famous attractions here, such as the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum and the Ancient City Wall. After you arrive, your tour guide will pick you up at the destination and then bring you to the hotel. You could have a good rest today before we start our Xi’an escorted tour.

Today, we will drive northeast for about 53 minutes to visit the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, 42 kilometers from the center of Xi’an. It was originally the burial pit of the first emperor of Qin Dynasty (221 BC -207 BC.), Qin Shi Huang, and now a museum has been built on this basis. There are three pits that have been excavated here, covering an area of more than 20,000 square kilometers, equivalent to the size of about 50 basketball courts with more than 8,000 terra cotta warriors and horses. There are many types of terracotta warriors, including generals, infantries, and knights. The warrior figurines are tall and strong, with an average height of 1.8 meters. They dressed in battle robes, armor, and boots, holding a lance (all the lances are taken and safely kept by museum staff). These horses have strong and muscular bodies, and are the same size as real horses. If you stand high up and look down, the rows and columns of terra cotta warriors stand neatly in squads, just like the real army commanded by Emperor Qin Shi Huang at that time.

After lunch, we will see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which was used to house Buddhist texts brought from ancient India by Master Xuanzang, a famous monk in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is built in the Daci’en Temple in Xi’an and is well-preserved. In the early days, it was only a five-story building. After several times of construction, it became the seven-story brick pagoda. With a height of 64.5 meters and a doorway on each side of the ground floor, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a simple but majestic masterpiece of Buddhist architecture in China. It is also a famous tourist attraction in China and a symbol of the famous ancient city Xi’an. The pattern of Big Wild Goose Pagoda is emblazoned in the center of Xi’an’s city emblem if you have noticed.

The next stop is the Xi’an City Wall. Xi’an City Wall, also known as the Ming City Wall of Xi’an, is the largest and best-preserved ancient city wall in China, located in the downtown area of Xi’an. It took eight years to complete in the Ming Dynasty and was built based on the imperial city wall of the Sui (581-618) and Tang Dynasties. There are four main city gates, which are also the original gates of the ancient city wall. The ancient City Wall of Xi’an have a set of well-designed and magnificent military defense facilities. The moat was the first line of defense to stop the enemy from attacking. The only passage on the moat was the suspension bridge controlled by the soldiers who guarded the city gates. It will be raised and lowered at regular intervals according to command. Once there was a battle, the suspension bridge would rise high, and the whole city would become a closed battle fortress to beat the enemy on the ground.

Terra Cotta Warriors and Houses

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Today, we need to say goodbye to Xi’an. After breakfast, your tour guide will wait for you in the lobby of your hotel and bring you to the airport to take the estimated flight MU2335 11:10/14:25. A few hours later, you will arrive in a new city Lhasa. Located in the middle of the Tibetan plateau, north of the Himalayas, at an altitude of 3,650 meters, Lhasa is the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and an international tourist city with highland and ethnic characteristics. In addition, it is a sacred place for Tibetan Buddhism. Lhasa is also known as the Sunshine City, with 3000 hours of sunshine per year, no severe cold in winter, and no scorching heat in summer, making it a great place for tourists around the world.

Upon your arrival, you will meet your tour guide at the airport, and then you will be transferred to the local hotel that we have reserved for you. Have a good rest today, and we will explore many impressive places in our Tibet escorted tour in the next few days.

The first stop on our first day is the Potala Palace. The Potala Palace was built in the seventh century by King Songtsen Gampo for Princess Wencheng, who was born in central China and married to Songtsen Gampo in Tibet. It is the highest palace-style complex in the world today, with an altitude of more than 3,700 meters and an area of more than 360,000 square meters. It is a comprehensive building that integrates religious and political functions. It consists of the White Palace in the east, the Red Palace in the middle, and its subsidiary buildings. The beautiful and unique architecture, gorgeous and splendid decoration, as well as the surrounding natural beauty are harmoniously blended, so the Potala Palace is also known as the pearl on the roof of the world.

Next, we will visit Jokhang Temple. Jokhang Temple, meaning Buddha Temple in Tibetan, is a Tibetan Buddhist temple located in the center of the old city of Lhasa. This temple was built by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo to enshrine the statue of 12-year-old Shakyamuni brought by Princess Wencheng from Chang’an (today’s Xi’an) in the Tang Dynasty, which made Lhasa enjoy the reputation of the holy land. After completion, the Jokhang Temple has been overhauled and expanded several times in the later Yuan (1271-1368), Ming, and Qing Dynasties, becoming what you see now. With a history of more than 1,300 years, Jokhang Temple has a leading position in Tibetan Buddhism. In front of the temple, every day, you can see the smoke in the air caused by burning incense, and the stone floors in front of the door have left deep head-sized traces because of the devotees’ kowtow (kneeling and bowing to have one’s head touching the ground to show his respect to the Buddha).

Surrounding the Jokhang Temple is Barkhor Street. The Tibetans refer to it as the Holy Road. Today, Barkhor Street is both a road for pilgrimage and an ethnic shopping street full of Tibetan atmosphere. The street is full of stone-built Tibetan-style buildings and is paved with hand-built stone slabs. Taking a stroll around Barkhor Street, you can pick as many souvenirs as you like. The shops along Barkhor Street sell a wide range of exotic goods that showcase all aspects of Tibetan life. There are some religious-related goods such as Thangkas (Buddhist paintings), bronze Buddhas, ghee lamps, sutras, rosaries, and pine branches. There is also a wide range of household goods and food, such as aprons, leather bags, horse harnesses, snuff bottles, Tibetan shoes, Tibetan knives, Tibetan hats, ghee, wooden bowls, barley wine, milk dregs, and air-dried meat.

Potala Palace

Jokhang Temple

This morning we will go to the Drepung Monastery. Drepung means snow-white rice piled high in Tibetan. From a distance, the dense white buildings are the world-famous Drepung Monastery. In the first half of the 17th century, the Fifth Dalai expanded the monastery and later built magnificent and elaborate monastery buildings covering the entire hillside. There is also an interesting legend about the origin of Drepung Monastery. In 1416, Qiang Yang Trijer (a Buddhist master) came here with eight disciples in a cowhide boat across the Lhasa River. He solemnly lit three ghee lamps and placed them on the east, west, and middle of the hill. When a gust of wind blew, the two lamps in the east and west went out, but the one in the middle was still lit. He picked up another stone and threw it down the hill. A shepherdess passed by and shook her colored apron, and the stone suddenly stopped at the same time. Then he said, this is an auspicious place for the first house of our monastery, so let’s build the monastery here. You will see this stone enshrined in the monastery like a holy relic, and it will make a musical sound when you strike it. You can try it if you like.

After lunch, we will go to the Sera Monastery. Sera Monastery is known as one of the Three Great Gelug (a sect of Buddhism) Monasteries in Lhasa, together with the Drepung Monastery and the Ganden Monastery. It was built in 1419 by Jangchen Choje, a disciple of Tsongkhapa (the founder of Gelug sect), and completed in 1434. Located in the northern suburbs of Lhasa, Sera Monastery is surrounded by willow forests and has been a place for sermons and discourses since ancient times. Sera Monastery houses tens of thousands of Buddha statues, most of which were made locally in Tibet. There are also many bronze statues brought from central China or India. In addition, it is said that the monastery has a collection of eighteen carved sandalwood Arhats given to the temple by the Ming emperor.

Next, we will go to Norbulingka Park. The park was built in the 1840s as a summer retreat for successive Dalai Lamas and is a typical Tibetan-style garden. After more than two hundred years of expansion, the park covers an area of 360,000 square meters and contains more than 100 species of plants, including not only common flowers and trees from the Lhasa area but also exotic flowers and plants taken from the northern and southern foothills of the Himalayas, as well as valuable flowers transplanted from central China or imported from abroad, making it a plateau botanical garden. In addition, the garden has a collection of valuable cultural relics including statues, stupas, murals, and porcelain. Some of them are religious relics made in Tibet, while others are treasures given to the local Tibetan officials by the central government and emperors in ancient times.

Drepung Monastery

Norbulingka Park

Today, we will leave Lhasa and go to Shigatse, and on the way, we will visit two sites. First, we will drive southwest for about 2 hours and 20 minutes to the Yamdrok Yumtso Lake, 105 kilometers from Lhasa. Yamdrok Yumtso, meaning Jasper Lake in Tibetan, is one of the three sacred lakes in Tibet. With an area of 675 square kilometers and an altitude of 4,441 meters above sea level, it is the largest inland lake in the northern Himalayas. The picturesque scenery of Yamdrok Yumtso is like being in a fairyland on earth. The lake surface is calm and blue, like a sapphire on the Shannan Plateau. The Yamdrok Yumtso Lake scenic area is a unique natural attraction that combines highland lakes, snow-capped mountains, islands, pastures, hot springs, wildlife, and monasteries, and is surrounded by the year-round snow-capped peaks. Among the snow-capped peaks, the highest ones are over 7,000 meters above sea level. The lakes, snow-capped mountains, and blue sky add beauty to each other, making it an unforgettable place to visit.

After leaving the Yamdrok Yumtso Lake, we will continue driving west for about 3 hours to arrive at Gyangtse, 138 kilometers from Yamdrok Yumtso Lake. We will visit the Gyangtse Old Street here. Gyangtse Old Street is located on the north side of Gyantse County of Tibet, 4,020 meters above sea level, and has a history of over 600 years. The street is lined with Tibetan-style buildings, all of which are arranged naturally and casually, combining folk houses, restaurants and shops. Courtyards and alleys also give people a sense of peace and tranquility.

Next, we will keep driving northwest for about 100 minutes (95KM) from the Gyangtse to Shigatse, today’s final destination. Upon your arrival, you will be transferred to the local hotel to have a good rest.

Yamdrok Yumtso Lake

Gyangtse Old Street

This morning, we will drive southwest for about 4.5 hours from Shigatse to Dingri, with a total distance of 238 kilometers. We will visit two sites on the way. First, we will visit the Tashilunpo Monastery. As the largest monastery in the region, Tashilunpo Monastery is comparable to the Potala Palace, and its architecture has profoundly influenced other Tibetan Buddhist buildings. In 1447, Tashilunpo Monastery was built by Gendun Juba, a disciple of Tsongkhapa. Covering an area of 150,000 square meters, the entire monastery is on the hillside, and the halls are arranged closely, forming a harmonious symmetry. Located in the center of Tashilunpo Monastery, the Tsochin Hall, is one of the earliest buildings here and a place for major ritual activities. It can accommodate more than 2000 people here for chanting. Nearly 100 thangkas are hanging in the Tsochin Hall, including the Qing Dynasty thangka - The Pure Land of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, which depicts the gorgeous building complex, with beautiful girls dancing in the air.

After leaving the Tashilunpo Monastery, we will drive southwest for about 2 hours and 40 minutes (150KM) to visit the Sakya Monastery before we arrive at Dingri. As a must-see, the famous Sakya Monastery is in the middle of the Kailas Range and Himalayas. Sakya in Tibetan means grayish-white land. Sakya Monastery consists of the South Monastery built on the flat valley and the North Monastery built on the northern slope of the mountain. As the North Monastery does not exist anymore, we will visit the south one, which is a castle-style building. It is famous for its scriptures, statues, porcelains, and murals, such as the white dharma conch that was consecrated by Shakyamuni, the wall of scriptures that is 10 meters high, the heaviest scripture in China that weighs more than 500 KG. Interestingly, it’s said that the 10-meter wall of scriptures at Sakya Monastery can foretell disaster. When the world is at peace, the scriptures will be neat and clean, while the world is in chaos, the scriptures will also be in a mess.

Then, we will continue driving westwards for about 2 hours and 40 minutes (about 135KM) to Dingri. When we arrive, your guide will take you to the hotel we have arranged for you. Have a good rest today, and tomorrow we will take you to see the well-known Mount Everest.

Tashilunpo Monastery

Tashilunpo Monastery

Today, we will drive southwest for about 3 hours to visit Mount Everest, about 110 kilometers from Dingri. Since the Everest Base Camp has been closed for environmental protection, we will take you to the Rongbuk Monastery to see Mount Everest. Located at the end of the Rongbuk Glacier at the foot of Mount Everest, Rongbuk Monastery is about 5,154 meters above sea level and about 20 kilometers from the top of Mount Everest. It is the highest temple in the world and the best place to watch Mount Everest. The entire monastery is on the mountain, with a total of five floors, and only two floors are open to the public. On sunny days, you can see a cloud of milky white on the top of the mountain, like a white flag flying over Mount Everest, which is a great wonder in the world.

After lunch, we will drive southwest for about 6.5 hours to Shigatse to have a good rest tonight before we go back to Lhasa tomorrow.

Mt. Everest

Rongbuk Monastery

This morning, we will drive you back to Lhasa, and we will visit a Tibet local family on the way to experience the real life of a Tibetan family. You can taste local delicacies such as buttered tea, barley wine, and dried apples. In addition, as a Tibetan Buddhist region, there are some traditional customs in Tibetan families, such as offering the Khata, which is the most common welcome ceremony of Tibetan people. Khata is a ceremonial scarf in Buddhism to show respect for guests from afar. When a hospitable host offers you a Khata, you should bow to accept it. Of course, there are some taboos. When walking into an ordinary Tibetan home, remember not to step on the threshold with your feet. If a host asks you to sit down, you may sit cross-legged, and do not straighten your legs and turn the soles toward others. In addition, you should not casually touch the top of a Tibetan’s head with your hand. Other customs and taboos will be told to you by the tour guide on the way.

Tibetan House

Tibet Plateau

Today, we will say goodbye to Lhasa and fly to Shanghai, our last stop in China. This morning, you will pack up your luggage after breakfast, and then you will be transferred to the airport to take the estimated flight TV9881 09:25/15:30 to Shanghai. When you arrive in Shanghai in the afternoon, you can meet your local guide at the airport, and he will take you to the hotel. 

Shanghai is located on the mouth of the Yangtze River and is bordered by the East China Sea. It is one of the largest economic centers in China and a famous historical and cultural city. In recent years, it has rapidly developed into an international metropolis at an astonishing pace and has become a dazzling Pearl in the East. In our escorted tour to Shanghai, you can both see buildings of various styles and fully enjoy shopping.

On the first day, we will go to the Jade Buddha Temple, which is one of the top ten tourist attractions in Shanghai. As a place for practicing Buddhism, the Jade Buddha Temple is located in a prosperous urban area, known as a piece of pure land in the bustling city. The founder of the Jade Buddha Temple was Master Huigen. When he traveled around the world to study Buddhism and passed through Burma, he was surprised by the excellent jade there and wanted to carve it to Buddha statues. With the sponsorship of local overseas Chinese, he excavated the mountain to get jade and made five jade Buddha statues. When arriving in Shanghai, he left a sitting Buddha and a reclining Buddha for the local Buddhists and built the Jade Buddha Temple to enshrine the two Buddhas. In addition, there are also many classic cultural relics here, such as the bronze Buddha statues of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) and the wooden Guanyin statues of the Ming Dynasty, which are beautifully crafted and show the skillfulness and wisdom of the craftsmen at the time.

Next, we will visit Yu Garden (closed each Monday). Yu Garden was built in 1559 by Pan Yunduan, an official of the Ming Dynasty, who built it to make his father pleasant in his declining years, and Yu means "pleasure" in Chinese. The layout of the garden is exquisite, and the scenery is beautiful. The exquisite pavilions, curved corridors, exotic rockeries, and the precious flowers and trees add radiance and beauty to each other, showing the charming scenery of southern China. In Yu Garden, you can see many brick sculptures and clay sculptures, which have a long history and are finely designed. Also, there are more than thirty trees over a hundred years old, and the oldest one is the ginkgo tree in front of the Wanhua Building, which is over four hundred years old. You will learn more about Chinese culture and history after the visit to Yu Garden.

After lunch, you will visit the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The 468-meter high Oriental Pearl TV Tower is now the fourth tallest tower in Asia and the sixth tallest in the world. Located in Pudong New Area, the TV Tower is located across the river from the Bund and has become a landmark of Shanghai, just like the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Sydney Opera House, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower has become one of Shanghai’s tourist hotspots, integrating sightseeing, dining, shopping and entertainment. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is the best place to see the whole of Shanghai. When you look down from the tower, the Bund, the Nanpu Bridge, and the Yangpu Bridge are all in full view. Take a photo here and you’ll never forget it.

Coming down from the TV Tower, we will come to visit the Bund. Located on the west bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, the Bund is a historical and cultural district of China, 1.5 kilometers in length. Since Shanghai became a commercial port, some foreign banks, merchant houses, associations, and newspaper offices began to gather here, and the Bund became the financial center of the country. The Bund is home to 52 classical revival buildings in various styles which are known as the Exhibition of International Architecture. The HSBC Building, now the Pudong Development Bank, was completed in 1923 and is the largest building on the Bund, designed by the famous British architectural firm Palmer & Turner Architects and Surveyors. Of particular note are the four columns in the building’s lobby chiseled from whole blocks of natural Italian marble. Made in Italy, each of these columns weighed about 7 tons was brought here from Italy intact. It is said that there are only six such marble columns in the world, and the other two are in the Louvre in France.

Leaving the Bund, we are going to the nearby Nanjing Road. It is one of the first commercial streets in Shanghai, with a total length of 55 kilometers, divided into two sections, the east, and the west. The east road is 1,599 meters long and has long been known as the first commercial street in China, with many long-established stores and malls along the roadside. When you come to the street, you will see the Shanghai No.1 Department Store, Shimao Festival City, Taikang Food Store, Hengdeli Watch Shop, Maochang Optical Company, Shen Dacheng Pastry Shop. And now there are also several internet-famous stores such as Nike, M & M’s, and Lego. The integration of tradition and modernity has added a unique charm to this century-old street. It is not only a precious land where merchants gathering, and also a paradise for shoppers from home and abroad.

Yu Garden

Nanjing Road

Today, you will say goodbye to China and prepare to fly back to your home. Your guide will bring you to the airport and see you off. We hope you have a wonderful journey in your Chinese escorted tour, and we will welcome you again at any time.

Editor: Fan Lin

Proofreader: Summer Hou