15 Days China Wonders with Tibet Expedition

Transcription

1 15 Days China Wonders with Tibet Expedition

2 Day 1 - Beijing Upon arrival, you will be greeted by your guide and be transferred to your hotel in the city center. Accommodation: The Peninsula Bejing (Grand Deluxe Room) Day 2 - Beijing (B, L, D) Today your tour begins with a walk through Tiananmen Square, which is the world's largest with a capacity to hold over one million people. Continue through the beautiful Gate of Heavenly Peace to enter the splendid Fobidden City. It was the sacred heart of the empire for about 500 years ( ), totally 24 Ming and Qing Dynasty emperors lived and ruled here. Your tour here will include access to two special exhibition halls, Hall of Clocks and Treasure Gallery, which are not included in normal tours.

3 Have lunch at Li Jia Cai (Family Li Imperial Cuisine), the first Michelin star restaurant in Beijing famous for Chinese imperial cuisine. After lunch embark on a pedi-cab tour of the hutongs(alleyways) in Beijing's historic Houhai(Back Lakes)district. These alleyways containing traditional courtyard homes used to be neighborhoods in Beijing. Though many have been torn down to make room for modern buildings, some are saved and well preserved. On this tour, you will get to visit several homes and chat with the families who reside in them, a rare insight into everyday life of Beijingers. Tonight enjoy a traditional Peking duck dinner at Dadong Restaurant which is considered by many as the best duck restaurant in Beijing and repeatedly voted "Best Chinese Restaurant of the Year" in Beijinger's Annual Restaurant Awards. The skin of the duck at Dadong is crispy and you dont find any oil at all in the duck meat, more tasty and healthier. Accommodation: The Peninsula Bejing (Grand Deluxe Room) Day 3 - Beijing (B, L)

4 Today we head for the superb Mutianyu section of the 2,000-year-old Great Wall, which is the country's most famous attraction and one of the few sights in the world that is still able to exceed the expectations of visitors. Walking along the walls and enjoy the breathtaking landscapes. Cable car ride is available to save your energy. For lunch, you will taste the authentic American food at Mutianyu Schoolhouse Restaurant. After lunch visit the Summer Palace, a royal residence set among traditional Chinese gardens on the beautiful Kunming Lake. Stroll along the famous Long Corridor and enjoy the traditional imperial architecture. Tonight, dinner will be on your own arrangement. Accommodation: The Peninsula Bejing (Grand Deluxe Room) Day 4 - Beijing (B, L) Today you will visit the spectacular Temple of Heaven, one of the most important landmarks of Beijing and a magnificent example of ceremony architecture, where emperors offered ritual sacrifices and prayed for good harvests. After that go to Liulichang, a street with long history and rich cultural atmosphere. It is a favorite place of scholars, painters and calligraphers as there were hundreds of shops selling ancient books, paintings, ink stones...etc. This noon, you will have lunch at Crystal

5 Jade, an outstanding restaurant serving Cantonese cuisine and Dim Sum. After having lunch pay a visit to Lama Temple (Yonghe Temple), the largest and best preserved lamasery in China. The last program of today is a leisurely walk along Salitun, the famous bar street in Beijing. Dinner will be on your own arrangement tonight. Accommodation: The Peninsula Bejing (Grand Deluxe Room) Day 5 - Beijing Xian (B, L, D) After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport and take flight CA1209 (Air China, 10:30am-12:25pm)to Xian. Upon arrival, your local guide will meet you and take you to the downtown area. Enjoy lunch at Real Love Chang An, Xian's best-known restaurant. You will be deeply impressed by both its tasty dishes and excellent decoration. This afternoon visit the Shaanxi History Museum, which houses a wonderful collection of historic and cultural artifacts. Xian saw its heyday in Han (206 BC - AD 220) and Tang ( )Dynasty. The museum boasts a great deal of extremely valuable relics reflecting the history, culture and social life of the two periods. From this point of view, even the Palace Museum (Forbidden City) can't compete with it. Tonight you will enjoy dinner at Tang Palace while watching a fantastic dancing show Tang Dynasty Show. It is quite impressive and reflects the social conditions and culture of Tang Dynasty ( ) vividly. Accommodation: Sofitel on Renmin Square (Executive Room) Day 6 - Xian (B, L) After enjoying your breakfast depart with your guide and driver for Xian's

6 most famous attraction, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. Your tour here will include a special ticket to get a closer look at the soldiers and horses. You may see the archaeologists working in the pit as the warriors are still being excavated. Lunch will be served at Xian Restaurant. This time-honored restaurant serves authentic Shaanxi food including various traditional Xian snacks. After lunch drive to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It was built in AD652 to house and protect Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by a famous Chinese monk Xuanzang, who spent 17 years traveling to India for the scriptures and translating them into Chinese. His journey has been described in the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West. The dinner is on your own arrangement. Accommodation: Sofitel on Renmin Square (Executive Room) Day 7 - Xian Lhasa (B, D) After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport and take flight MU2335 (China Eastern, 11:35am-2:15pm)to Lhasa. Lunch is served onboard. Upon arrival at Lhasa Gonggar Airport you will be greeted by your local guide. Take a good rest and acclimatize for the high latitude after checking in your hotel. For the first dinner in Lhasa, you will make it at Tibet Steak House. Accommodation: Four Points by Sheraton Lhasa Hotel (Deluxe Room) Day 8 - Lhasa (B, L)

7 After breakfast step out to appreciate the famous attractions include Lhasa's cardinal landmark- Potala Palace and the most revered religious structure in Tibet - Jokhang Temple. The quadrangle of streets surrounding the Jokhang Temple is the Barkhor- Lhasa's most interesting pilgrimage circuit. This area of the Old Town is both the spiritual heart of Lhasa and the main commercial district for Tibetans. You will try Tibetan lunch at Mad Yak restaurant this noon. Dinner is on your own tonight. Accommodation: Four Points by Sheraton Lhasa Hotel (Deluxe Room) Day 9 - Lhasa (B, L, D) Today you will visit Norbulingka Monastery (the jeweled park), a palace and park built in 1755; it served as the traditional summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas from 1780s to late 1950s. Lunch is served at local restaurant named "Snow Land". In the afternoon visit of Sera Monastery, which was founded in 1419 by Sakya Yeshe, a disciple of Tsongkhapa. The uddhism Scriptures Debatingin Sera is very famous. For night entertainment, you will visit Phintsok Gedon, a local family to join them in tasting the most authentic tibetan food. Accommodation: Four Points by Sheraton Lhasa Hotel (Deluxe Room) Day 10 - Lhasa Chengdu (B, L)

8 After enjoying your breakfast enjoy a free morning at leisure. After lunch For your last meal in Tibet, you will make lunch at Shangri-la restaurant to remember this mysterious place. you will be transferred to the airport and take flight CA4111 (Air China, 4:00pm-5:50pm)to Chengdu. Upon arrival in Chengdu, meet your local guide and transferred to your hotel. Dinner is on your own choice. Accommodation: Shangri-la Hotel Chengdu (Deluxe River View Room) Day 11 - Chengdu Leshan Chengdu (B, L, D) After breakfast you will have a day excursion to Leshan by private car to visit the Giant Buddha. Take a short boat trip to view this biggest carved stone Buddha in the world. Have lunch at the local best Shengyan Restaurant. In the afternoon take a bus ride back to Chengdu. At night, you will enjoy a hot pot dinner at Huangcheng Loma. After dinner enjoy a famous Sichuan opera show. Accommodation: Shangri-la Hotel Chengdu (Deluxe River View Room)

9 Day 12 - Chengdu Shanghai (B, L) This morning take an early drive to the Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The lovely creature is usually more active in the morning. Instructed by the staff you can hug and take picture with them. Return to Chengdu for lunch served at Humble House, a great place located in a park surrounded by bamboo groves and waterways. After lunch drive to the airport and take flight 3U8965(Sichuan Airlines, 3:50pm-6:15pm) to Shanghai. Upon arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Dinner in Shanghai is on your own choice. Accommodation: The Peninsula Shanghai (Deluxe River View Room) Day 13 - Shanghai (B, L, D)

10 After enjoying your breakfast visit the lively People's Square, a popular area for Shanghai residents to do morning stretching exercises and a good spot to take in a panoramic vista of the city. Continue to the Urban Planning Museum to learn more about the city's future and past and to see a scale model of how Shanghai will look in Then stop in at the Shikumen Museum, where a traditional courtyard home is decorated as it would have been in the 1920s. Lunch will be served to you at Din Tai Fung which is highly praised for its 'steam dumplings' and many other authentic dim sum items. This afternoon move on to the Former French Concession to experience a mixture of both Chinese and Parisian taste. After that visit the trendy boutiques and restaurants in the Xintiandi district. Have dinner at Lan Club, a high-end venue serving best Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine. Accommodation: The Peninsula Shanghai (Deluxe River View Room) Day 14 - Shanghai Tongli Suzhou Shanghai (B, L, D) This morning you will be driven to Tongli. Explore this small water town with delightful scenery in peace and tranquility. It's well-known for its

11 "low bridges, running water and small villages", for its customs and traditions, as well as its rich collection of antiques and historic sites. After that you continue to travel to Suzhou. You will have lunch at De Yue Lou, a famed Suzhou style restaurant. In the afternoon you visit Suzhou Museum which is designed by the world famous architect I.M.Pei. Besides thousands of cultural relics housed, the museum itself is absolutely a piece of exquisite piece of art work. You will also visit Net of Master Garden. Small but elegant, it was listed as a UNESCO world cultural heritage site in Return to Shanghai afterwards. Tonight you will dine at Jean Georges, a very nice French restaurant on the Bund that offers wonderful views across the river of the Pudong skyline. After dinner go to the historic Peace Hotel to hear its famous jazz band. Accommodation: The Peninsula Shanghai (Deluxe River View Room) Day 15 - Shanghai (B) Free till departure transfer to the airport for your international flight.