Tibetan Adventure Tour

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“Best of China” Tour

–	21 days tour to Beijing, Xi’an, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai, Yichang, Yangtze River, Chongqing, Guilin & Hong Kong
•	$4,350 – Land portion all inclusive price
•	During the period of • March 31 – April 20, 2012 • April 21 – May 11, 2012
•	5 star hotel accommodation (4 star in HKG); 5 star cruise ship along the Yangtze River

---- A 15 day tour which will bring you to “the Roof of the World”. The tour will cover Shanghai, Chengdu, Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse, Lake Yamzhog Yum, Tsedang as well as Beijing. – the international gateways for this trip.

View Larger Map		Tibet Railway
		A: Shanghai C: Lhasa E: Gyantse G: Tsedang	B: Chengdu D: Shigatse F: Lake Yamzhog Yum H: Beijing

ITINERARY:

*ABF - American Buffet Breakfast; B – Breakfast; L – Lunch; D –Dinner; SD –Banquet;
** Time – All times listed in the itinerary are LOCAL TIME;
*** Based on your agenda, the whole itinerary could be reversed;

Day 1 International Gateway / Pacific Ocean
You depart from any city in USA/Canada and will fly across Pacific Ocean.

Day 2 Shanghai JIAN GUO HOTEL (4 star)
You arrive in Shanghai, the economic heart of China. As the largest city in China, Shanghai is undergoing a rebirth but manages to maintain some of the style and charm of the 1920s when it was known as the “Paris of the Orient”.

Day 3 Shanghai / Chengdu (ABF, L, D) TIBET HOTEL (4 star)
You take a morning flight to Chengdu, the gateway to Tibet and famous for the home of the Giant Pandas. There you visit the Panda Breeding Centre in the morning. For dinner, you enjoy a special meal featuring Sichuan cuisine..

Day 4 Chengdu / Lhasa (ABF, L, D) Norbu Lingka LHASA HOTEL (3 star)
You fly to Lhasa, known as “The Holy Land” in Tibetan language. The land sits 3,700 meters above sea level; Lhasa is a cultural city with a history of more than 1,300 years old. It is also known as the solar city because it is exposed to the sun for a longer period of the day. After a short stay in LHASA HOTEL (3 star, local best) to acclimatize to the 12,000-foot altitude, You begin your tour from Norbu Lingka, which lies in the western suburbs of Lhasa. Built in the 1840s, it served as the summer residence to the 7th Dalai Lama. Expansion since then has made it into the present scale. The New Palace reflects the architectural styles of palaces, monasteries and villas. On holidays, locals clad in the best costume sing and dance day and night here.

Day 5 Lhasa (ABF, L, D) Potala Palace, Jokhang Monastery, Barkhor Street
You are driven back to Lhasa. Today’s highlights include the Potala Palace, which was built in the early 7th century. The palace stands on the Red Mountain in the west of old Lhasa City. The 13-story structure is 117.19 metres high and consists of the Red Palace; a stupa hall for Dalai Lamas of dynasties, and the White Palace; the living quarters of the Dalai Lamas and offices of the local government. It is Tibet’s largest museum of cultural relics, under key protection of the state. This is followed with the golden-roofed Jokhang Monastery, which was first constructed in 647 in the old section of Lhasa. Your day ends with a stop at Barkhor Street, essentially a pilgrim circuit round the periphery of the Jokhang Monastery and a hive of market activity.

Day 6 Lhasa (ABF, L, D)
You visit the Zhaibung Monastery after breakfast. Built in 1416, Zhaibung Monastery is the largest monastery of Yellow Sect, and holds many Buddhist classics and cultural relics. The monastery was once the residence of 5th Dalai Lama before he moved to Potala Palace. The monastery was accustomed to housing 10,000 monks in its heydays. It is here where a great number of personnel on Buddhist philosophy were trained. A visit to the Tibetan’s home will be arranged in the afternoon, where you will enjoy a Tibetan Singing & Dancing party in the evening.

Day 7 Lhasa / Gyantse (B, L, D) GYANTSE HOTEL
You are driven to Gyantse, another ancient city blooming with culture in Tibet. Upon arrival in Gyantse, you visit the Pelkhor Chode (Baiju) Monastery, known for its Kumbum (10,000 images) Stupa. It was built by Yaodan Gongsangpa and Tsongkhapa’s disciple Khedrub Je in 1418. Its unique feature is that the three sects, the Sa-kya-pa, Ka-tam-pa, and Ge-lug-pa, had their headquarters in it; a rare phenomenon in Tibet. It attracts numerous visitors with its unique architectural style, sculptures, and paintings.

Day 8 Gyantse / Lake Yamzhong Yum / Shigatse (B, L, D) SHIGATSE HOTEL
You begin the day with a tour of the lake Yamzhog Yum, one of the three holy lakes in Tibet. It has an area of 638 square kilometres and is 4,000 meters above sea level. The lake area is a scenic spot with snow-capped mountains, islands, pastureland, hot springs, wild animals and plants, and monasteries. It is here where the Yamzhog Yum Pumping Station, the highest of its kind in the world, is located. It is also a home for water birds and many other fauna. You continue your trip to Shigatse and spend the night in SHIGATSE HOTEL (3 star – local best).

Day 9 Shigatse (B, L, D)
Shigatse, a 500-year-old city of culture 3,800 meters above sea level, is another headquarter of the Pancen Erdeni. It is located to the north of the world-renowned Mt. Qomolangma. There, you have a chance to visit Tashilumpo Monastery, one of the four main monasteries of the Ge-lug-pa Sect. The monastery covers nearly 300,000 square meters in area and was built in 1447 by the Tsongkhapa’s disciple Gedun Truppa, who had recently become the first Dalai. The monastery enshrines a gilded-bronze Buddha of Qiangba, the largest of its kind in the world and made from 614 pounds of pure gold.

Day 10 Shigatse / Tsedang (B, L, D)
You are driven along the Yar Long Tsang Po River for about three and a half hour, bringing you to the Tibetan Culture Centre – Tsedang. The altitude of Tsedang is 3,560 meters above sea-level; lower than that of Lhasa. 365 KM.

Day 11 Tsedang / Lhasa (B, L, D)
In Tsedang, you visit the Yumbulangang, Trandruk Temple, and the tombs of Tbetan Kings.
Trandruk Temple is considered to be one of the first Buddhist temples built in Tibet. It was built by King Sogntsen Gampo in the 7th century. When King Songtsen Gampo moved to Lhasa, from time to time, he came back to his hometown with his Chinese Queen Wen Cheng and stayed in this temple. Yambulagang is about 7 km south of Tsedang and is the first palace in Tibet. It dates back to the time of the first Tibetan King Nyatri Tsenpo during BC 200. The castle - built on the spur of a hill – commands an impressive view of the entire Yarlung Valley. You are driven back to Lhasa to check in at the Lhasa Hotel again.

Day 12 Lhasa / Beijing (B, L, D) TIAN LUN DYNASTY HOTEL (5 star)
You bid your farewell to this land and board your flight back to Beijing and view the spectacular 22,000-foot Himalayan peaks en 2-hour route (if the weather is clear). Upon arrival in the capital city, you visit the harmonious Temple of Heaven, one of the best examples of Ming Dynasty architecture in China, also an ornate sanctuary where Chinese Emperors worshiped the Gods. You accommodate in TIAN LUN DYNASTY HOTEL (5 star or similar).

Day 13 Beijing (ABF, L, D)
After breakfast, you will start your tour from the largest public square in the world - the Tiananmen Square – before entering the intriguing Forbidden City; home of Chinese emperors for more than 500 years. In the afternoon, you tour the majestic Summer Palace, the Royal Summer Resort 100 years ago. For dinner, you feast on the emperor’s cuisine; The Beijing Roast Duck Banquet will be arranged for you at a leading city restaurant.

Day 14 Beijing (ABF, L, D)
In the morning, you will enjoy an unforgettable outing including a walking to the wondrous Great Wall at Badaling part, where you will have a chance to climb a portion of this 3,700-mile vista. Its dramatic descending steep ridges and narrow valleys will scatter and display a beautiful landscape for your camera. In the afternoon, you travel through the valley of the Ming tombs with its bold avenue of animals, where 13 emperors, empresses, as well as their concubines were buried in the Ming Dynasty.

Day 15 Beijing / USA or Canada (ABF, L, D)
You enjoy some leisure time in the morning to discover the culture of morning Beijing. At noon, your local tour guide will meet you at the hotel lobby to transfer you to the airport for your flight home, marking the end of this remarkable journey.

The Whole Trip is Finished!

DEPARTURES & RATES:

• Guarantee departure for any group with minimum participants of 2 adults;

The above tour arrangement is inclusive of:

• All domestic transportation within China (Shanghai; Chengdu; Lhasa; Gyantse; Shigatse; Tsedang; Lhasa; Beijing);
• The cost of comfortable and clean hotel accommodations throughout (based on double occupancy);
• All related taxes, 12.5% hotel service charge fee, and airport security fees within China;
• The cost of daily American buffet breakfast throughout;
• The cost of daily lunch and dinner as indicated in the itinerary;
• All airport, hotel, and airport transfer fees;
• The cost of comprehensive sightseeing with all transfers in each city with a private vehicle;
• All admission fees for the programs listed in the itinerary;
• The cost of English speaking guides;
• The cost of travel permit(s) to Tibet (if applicable).

The above tour arrangement is exclusive of:

• Travel Insurance; it is strongly recommend to check if your current insurance policy will cover your trip to China. If not, you may ask our travel agents to arrange this for you;
• International round-trip air ticket (International Gateway; Beijing; open for tour; Shanghai; International Gateway)*;
• Any lunch in Hong Kong;
• Gratuities to: tour guides, private tour coach drivers (suggested US$12 [CND$15] per tourist, per day);
• Any personal expenses such as laundry, long distance phone calls, hotel room services, hotel pay-per-view services, hotel mini-bar beverages, postages, et cetera.
• The cost of China visa (if applicable);