15-day China Tibet Impression Tour

Day 1Arrival in Shanghai

Welcome to Shanghai, the most metropolis of China! Upon your arrival in Shanghai, your guide will meet you and escort you to check in hotel for a rest.

Day 2Shanghai

After breakfast, you will start a full day tour in Shanghai to visit Yuyuan Garden, Town God's Temple, Shanghai Museum, Shikumen, Old Concession Area. Then you will have a bird view of Shanghai city on the top of Jinmao Tower and enjoy coastal sight at the Bund of Shanghai.

Acrobatic performance for night show option.

Day 3Shanghai/Guilin

After breakfast, you will take a morning flight to Guilin. Upon arrival, your local guide will meet you and transfer you to the downtonw to Guilin city to visit Reed Flute Cave. The cave's many bizarre stalagmites and stalactites make visitors feel like they have stepped into another world. You will then be driven to Elephant Trunk Hill, the symbol of Guilin, which offers commanding views of Guilin City and the Li River.

Day 4Guilin/Yangshuo

After breakfast at the hotel, our guide and driver will transfer you to the Zhujiang pier to board the ship for Li River cruise (4 hours) from Guilin to Yangshuo. It is one of the great waterways to admire the picturesque scenery along the river sides. Upon arrival at Yangshuo, you will have a stroll along the famous West Street. This is a vibrant place alive with cafes, pubs, restaurants and where many westerners gather.

Tips: Today we kindly suggest you have a larger breakfast at the hotel this morning as the lunch provided on the cruise is less than adequate. The cruise arrives at terminal Yangshuo at around 13:30 to 14:30 according to the different water flows. There are many cafes available in Yangshuo.

Optional activites for late afternoon:
1. Attend a Chinese cooking course in a cooking school
2. Learn Taichi for 1-2 hours.
3. Li River Beer Fish is recommended for dinner.
4. Night show options: Commorants Fishing or Impression Liu Sanjie

A cruise along the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo is an unforgettable experience for stunning scenery. In Yangshuao, there's something interesting such as lumbering water buffaloes pulling carts or cooling off in the river, fishermen gliding along on their narrow bamboo rafts, and if you're very lucky you might see one of the famous fishing cormorants.

Impressions of Liusanjie performance. The Performance, directed by Zhang Yimou, China's premiere movie director and director of the Beijing Olympics' Opening Ceremony, is made up of hundreds of people and is performed on the Li River with the mountains as the backdrop. It is an unforgettable experience.

Day 5Guilin/Chengdu

There are three options for morning enjoyment: a countryside biking, a bamboo rafting on the Yulong River and a helicopter tour over Yangshuo.

In the late afternoon, you will be driven to the Guilin airport for the flight to Chengdu. Upon your arrival in Chengdu, your local guide will meet you and escort you to check in your hotel.

Day 6Chengdu

On this day, you will visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, followed by a trip to the Wenshu Temple, where you can spend some time sitting in its tea house enjoying a cup of traditional Chinese tea and absorb the special atmosphere of Chengdu and Jinli Old Street.

Recommended paid add-on show: Sichuan Opera is an important part of Chengdu culture. Besides the normal singing, and martial arts, Sichuan Opera has many unique features that set it apart, features such as fire breathing, changing faces, and juggling pottery. When enjoying the performance, visitors always amaze at different facial make-ups that are changed fast and mysteriously.

Day 7Chengdu/Lhasa

After breakfast, you will take a morning visit to Dujiangyan Irrigation System. Then you will transfer back to Chengdu, to catch the flight to Lhasa. Upon arrival, You are warmly welcome to Tibet by saying Tashi Delek at the Train station/airport by our professional tour guide and send you to reserved hotel in Lhasa. After checking in, the rest of the day is for you to acclimate to the high altitude and weather of Lhasa. Avoid strenuous physical activities during this first day since that may cause high altitude sickness.

Guide Tips:
1) avoid vigorous activities but do take some leisurely walks in the city to acclimatize to the air and high altitude of Lhasa city (altitude of 3600m);
2) do not drink liquor in the arrival day, instead plenty of water and fruits are recommended.

Day 8Lhasa

Today you will start a morning visit the famous Potala palace and explore the grandest of this myriad chapels. As the symbol of Tibet, it was built in 641 AD and was the winter palace of Dalai Lama who is Tibet's pope. Impressive Tibetan architecture, huge golden Buddha statues, red-robed lamas and devoted pilgrims all make it a must-visit.

In the afternoon, you'll visit the Jokhang Temple, the spiritual center of Tibet. Every day, pilgrims from every corner of Tibet trek here from long distances to worship. Finally, walk the special circular pilgrimage route as local followers always do at Barkhor Street.

Tips: 1) wear suitable headgear and glasses to protect you from strong sunlight, but do not wear any hat while visiting inside the Tibetan monasteries; 2) photography is not allowed inside the chapels of monasteries; 3) have your passport with you all of the time.

Day 9Lhasa

After breakfast, we start today with a morning visit to the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas and also the largest Tibetan garden – Norbulingka Park. The luxuriant trees and flowers, cool ponds and comfortable palaces make Norbulingka the best place for a summer retreat. Then drive about 5km westward to Drepung Monastery, once the largest Monastery housing 10,000 monks in its heyday.

If we are very lucky, we may even come across Sera Monastery’s Monks debiting which was held in the courtyard at around 3;00-5:30 in the afternoon. Your tour ends at Sera Monastery.

Day 10Lhasa/Xian

Today is free for you until to be transferred to the airport in time for your flight to Xian. After arrival in Xian, the ancient heart of China, be transferred to your hotel for a short rest. And then you will have a evening or night relax on Xi'an Muslim Street.

Day 11Xian

After having breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be driven to visit the incredible Terracotta Warriors. After lunch you will be driven to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Scenic Area, where you will stroll through the gardenlike area around the pagoda.

Day 12Xian/Beijing

After breakfast, your guide will meet you and you will be driven for a morning visit to the Shaanxi History Museum to discover Xian's amazing history. After that you will go on a walk or a biking on the top of Ancient City Wall to get a bird's eye view of this ancient capital. Then visit Xi'an Muslim Street for a relax.

In the late afternoon you will be driven to the station for bullet train (hours) to Beijing. Upon your arrival in Beijing, your guide will meet you and escort you to check in hotel.

Day 13Beijing

Today's tour begins to visit the Tiananmen Square, the world's largest plaza. Walking through Tiananmen Gate, you'll enter the splendid Forbidden City, China's No.1 palace complex adorned with imperial treasures.

In the afternoon, you'll marvel at the Summer Palace the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China, the next 'must see' site after the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

Night option: Kungfu Show for Chinese martial art culture.

Day 14Beijing

After breakfast, you will pay a morning visit to the world's greatest man-made projects, the Great Wall at Badaling section, set up as a military fortification more than 2,000 years ago. Then vist the Sacred Road of Ming Tombs and Dingling, an ancient emperor's mausoleum group of the Ming Dynasty with underground palace.

On the way back to Beijing downtown, you will have a stop for an outside look of two famous Olimpic site: Bird Nest (National Stadium) and Water Cube (National Aquatics Center).

Day 15Beijing Departure

After breakfast, you will take a morning visit to Beijing Hutongs - the old lanes and courtyard houses. Take a rickshaw or biking to explore Beijing's charming lanes. The visit to a local family, who've lived in the Hutongs for generations, offers a local perspective of history, and is a highlight of the Hutongs for most of tourists.

After a Hutong tour, you will be escorted to the airport for your flight to next destination.


Service Ends