Beijing to Lhasa and Chengdu Tour 14D

Welcome to Beijing, the capital of P.R.China. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to Beijing hotel. 

Today you will take 2-hour ride to Mutianyu Great Wall, a section of the Great Wall built in Ming Dynasty 600 years ago. You can walk up or take cable car up to the Wall, and walk from tower to tower. It is amazing to view the ancient military construction that is well preserved on the giant mountains.

Head to Summer Palace this afternoon to view the amazing Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill this afternoon, where it used to be a summer resort for the royal families during Qing Dynasty.

Later you will be transferred back to your hotel.

You will visit the biggest city square in the world, the Tiananmen Square. Then walk to The Forbidden City, the biggest palace in the world. Explore the main buildings with a local guide in the palace. 

Then You will visit Temple of Heaven where there are many people are doing excercising, dancing or singing, you can join some of activities to practise. 

Later you will catch 3-hour flight to Xining. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to hotel. 

This morning visit Kumbum, one of the six biggest Tibetan monasteries, with many well preserved relics, colorful statues and yak butter carving. Kumbum Monastery is where Tsongkhapa, the founder of Yellow Hat Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, was born.

This afternoon you will catch approx. 19-hour overnight train to Lhasa. Enjoy the fantastic plateau scenery on the train.

Welcome to Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your Lhasa hotel. You can take a rest for the rest of today for acclimatization the high altitude 3600 meter in Lhasa.

Today you will visit the famous Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Street. Potala Palace was first built in the 7th century by the famous Tibetan king—Songtsen Gampo. The current one was built by the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century. The Potala is divided into Red Palace and White Palace. The red palace was for religious use and the white one for political use. It takes the whole morning to visit Potala Palace.

Then you will have lunch at the local restaurant.

Afterwards you will walk to visit Jokhang Monastery that is situated in the old section of Lhasa, which was built in the 7th century AD by king Songtsen Gampo. It is the most sacred place in Tibet as it houses the sculpture of 12-year-old Sakyamuni that was brought by Wencheng Princess in the7th century.

Barkhor street is a big free market around Jokhang Monastery where you can purchase all sorts of Tibetan souvenirs. Barkhor Streets is also an essential pilgrim route.

Today you will drive to Gyangtse via Gampa La pass(4980m) which offers spectacular views for the Nojin Kangsang snow ranges, the turquoise lake  (4400m) Yamdrok-tso,  the glacial mountain peak Nojin Kangsang (7200m) , and Gyangtse township(4000m). 

This afternoon, you will visit Gyangtse township, Pelkor Monastery and the old part of town in Gyangtse. 

Continue driving in the Nyang-chu valley about 90 km to north via Padnam township to Shigatse city (3900m) where we will visit Pachen Lama's seat place, the great Tashilumpo monastery, a very big and complex monastery in Tibet. Afterwards continue driving to Sakya, a seat monastery for Sakyapa school of Tibetan Buddhism.

This morning you will visit the imposing Sakya Monastery. It has a history of more than 900 years, and is the leading monastery for the Sakyapa school of Tibetan Buddhism. A number of cultural relics and artifacts in the Sakya Monastery ensure that it is a historical and cultural museum, presenting its glittering past to all visitors. 

Afterwards you will drive about 4 hours through the high pass over 5200m to Shegar town.

Today we will get away from the Friendship Highway and travel towards Rongbuk Monastery near the Mount Everest Base Camp. Rongbuk Monastery is the highest monastery in the world and has been rebuilt considerably in the past decade. From Everest base camp, you can see stunning views of Everest and the surrounding Rongbuk Valley. Spend the rest of the day on exploring the Everest Base Camp. 

This morning you still can explore the Everest base camp area, afterwards you will take the same way back to Shigatse. Please note the Everest view might be covered by clouds depending on the weather.

Today you will be transferred to Shigatse Airport to catch your flight to Chengdu. Upon arrival, you will visit Kuan & Zhai Alleys if time permits. 

Today you will visit Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Base in the morning to view the cute panda feeding. Afterwards you will head to Wenshu Temple or Qingyang Temple in Chengdu depending on your interest, one is Buddhism Temple, other one is Taoism Temple. 

Later you will visit the Jinsha Site Museum that is a wonderful ruin museum to exhibit the bronze culture in the history in Chengdu.

Taste the yummy Sichuan Cuisine dinner tonight, and try to eat some local snacks as Sichuan Cuisine is renowned for all sorts of snacks, dishes and hot pot.

Today is departure day, you will transferred to Chengdu Airport to catch your flight flying to your next destination, where the wonderful tour concludes.