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Tibet Paradise Train Tour

Tour code: TB039
Duration: 14 days
Route: Beijing, Xian, Lhasa, Yamdrok Tso, Gyantse, Shigatse
Attractions: Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terra Cotta Warriors, Potala Palace, Yamdrok Lake, Tashilumpo Monastery, Bajiu Monastery, Kumum Stupa, etc

Itinerary:

Day 1 ( )
Arrive / Beijing
Transfer via: International flight on your own arrangement.
Arrive at Beijing. Be met & transferred to your hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.

Day 2 (B, L, D)
Beijing
Full day trip to the Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square and the Summer Palace. Enjoy the Peking Opera Show in the evening.

Walking across the Golden River Bridge, enter the Forbidden City, the inner sanctum and palace where for centuries Chinese emperors ruled their world. It has 9000-room maze of courtyards, places, and ceremonial halls, where 24 emperors used to live. Forbidden City was indeed a forbidden place, where commoners were kept out for nearly 500 years in the past. Tour the palace and imagine the mystery, intrigue and incredible power that reigned here.

TianAnMen Square, the symbolical heart of China and gathering place for the masses. It is the biggest public square in the world, which can hold one million people. Having a free walk there, imagining the great historic events of the 20th century took place there. You will also see legendary landmarks including the Great Hall of the People and the towering 125 foot granite obelisk, Monument to the Peoples Heroes, honoring those who died in revolution.

The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China with a history of over 800 years. With its cool features - water, gardens and hills, it was the palace of choice for vacationing emperors and Dowager Empresses. It was badly damaged by Anglo-French troops during the Second Opium War (1860) and its restoration became a pet project of Empress Dowager Cixi, the last of the Qing dynasty rulers.

Day 3 (B, L, D )
Beijing
Full day trip to the Great Wall at Mutianyu section, Ming Tomb and Sacred road. Enjoy a famous Peking Duck Banquet for dinner.

The Great Wall of China is the longest structure ever built. It is about 4,000 miles long, and it was built entirely by hand. About 1, 200 - 1, 500 miles of the Great Wall were built during the reign of Emperor Shi Huangdi (Qin Dynasty). The Great Wall crosses northern China from the east coast to the central part of China.

Visit the fabled Ming Tombs, the resting places of thirteen emperors and their splendid treasures, passing down the Spirit Way, a road lined with statues of dignitaries, as well as huge elephants, lions, camels and horses, you will encounter the marble tombs of the Ming Dynasty emperors. Visit one of the spectacular tombs-Changling, a museum.

You will dine and be entertained in traditional fashion on this evening excursion. See the nightlife of Beijing and enjoy world famous Peking Roasted Duck . You'll discover the culinary secrets in carving the duck and eating it "Beijing style."

Day 4 (B, L, )
Beijing / Xi'an
Transfer via: overnight train
Visit the Temple of Heaven, the Hutongs by rickshaw and Xiushui Street. Transfer to railway station for your overnight train to Xian.

Temple of Heaven was built in the 15th century, a sacred site for ancient Beijing, where the emperor and his 1000 member entourage would retreat twice a year for religious ritual. Surrounded by enormous grounds designed in accordance with fengshshui, the Temple complex consists of the Celebrated Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a unique wooden and blue-tiled structure built without a nail. It is considered the supreme achievement of traditional Chinese architecture.

Hutongs: The old narrow paths where common people lived. All the Hutongs crisscross with each other, dotted with the Kindergarten, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the Tea House, and the lake, House of Gong Infant and local people's houses among them.

Day 5 (B, L, )
Xian
Arrive at Xian. Be met & transferred to your hotel. After breakfast, have city tours to the Provincial Museum and the Ancient City Wall.

Xian City Wall: Xian City Wall is a major landmark, and iis the best preserved, as well as the oldest and largest of the city defence systems in China. Bikes can be rented to ride along the top of the wall for about RMB20/hour.

Visit the Old City Wall. It is the most complete city wall survived in China as well as one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. The wall was built in the Tang dynasty (618 -907) and enlarged in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

Day 6 (B, L )
Xian
Tour to Terra Cotta Warriors & Wild Goose Pagoda.

The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses: The greatest archaeological findings of the century: the army of terra-cotta warriors and the bronze chariots entombed in vast underground vaults at emperor Qin's tomb.

The Wild Goose Pagoda: The pagoda where widely renowned Master Xuanzang (Monk Tripitaka) stored his classics brought from India.

Day 7 (B, )
Xi'an / Lhasa

Transfer via: by air
Visit the Bell Tower and Great Mosque in the morning.Transfer to Lhasa by air. Be met & transferred to your hotel. Free at leisure to acclimatize yourself to the high latitude. Arrive at Lhasa. Be met & transferred to your hotel. Free at leisure to acclimatize yourself to the high latitude.

The Bell Tower: is the most well-preserved and best-known one among many ancient cities of China. The Bell Tower was originally built in the Yingxiang Temple in 1384, at the intersection of West Street and Guangji Street. Then in 1582, it was moved to its present pivotal position, in the very heart of the city at the junction of four main streets extending to the east, south, west and north, for rebuilding and later restorations. With magnificent carved beams and painted rafters, this classical building is truly elegant.

Day 8 (B, L, )
Lhasa
Full day trip to Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Barkhore Street.

The Potala Palace is a landmark of Lhasa and Lama Buddism. It is a 13 storey and 1000 rooms' palace and once winter residence of the Dalai Lama. The construction of the present structure began during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama in 1645 and took more than 50 years to complete.

The Jokhang Temple is the spiritual centre of Tibet - a destination for millions of Tibetan pilgrims. The oldest part of the temple dates back to the 7th century AD - being one of the two temples built by King Songsten Gampo to house the statues of the Buddha that his two foreign wives brought to Tibet from China and Nepal.

The Barkhor Street is Lhasa's inner pilgrim circuit shaped roughly like an octagon that runs around the Jokhang. The circuit is lined with markets, shops, stalls and street vendors providing every conceivable item a Tibetan could need. The best place to start the circuit is right outside the Jokhang in a clockwise direction.

Day 9 (B, L, )
Lhasa
Full day trip to Drepong Monastery, Sera Monastery and visit a local Tibetan family.

The Drepong Monastery: a cluster of white buildings resembling a riceheap, against the backdrop of Mount Gyenbuwndze. Founded in 1416, Drepong is the biggest and richest monastery in Tibet that was divided into four Tantric colleges - that specialised in different branches of knowledge.

The Sera Monastery lies on the northern edge of Lhasa at the base of Tatipu Hill. 'Sera' means 'merciful hail' denoting its rivalry with the 'Rice Heap' (Drepong) since hail destroys rice. Sera was smaller than Drepong with about 7,000 monks but was very rich and comparable in power.

Day 10 (B, L, )
Lhasa / Yamdrok / Shigatse
Drive via Yamdrok Tso to Shigstse (about 400km, 5.5 hours driving, have a picnic at the Yamdork Lake). Afternoon to visit the Tashilungpo Monastery in Shigatse.

Yamdrok Lake: It is within Langkamu county, with an area of 638 square km and a coastal line of 250 km.

Tashilumpo Monastery: Painted in red and white, the buildings in the monastery stand closely together in terraced rows, offering a grand and majestic view.

Day 11 (B, L, )
Shigatse / Gyangtse / Lhasa
Morning from Shigatse to Gyangtse (about 90km,1.5 hours driving). Visit the Kumbum Stupa & Pelkor Chode Monastery, also called Baiju Monastery. After lunch, drive to Lhasa, via Shigatse,(about 370km, 5 hours driving). Check into hotel.

Baiju Monastery: It is with 9 stories, 108 doors and 77 rooms. Each room contains a different statue of Buddha and the wall frescoes telling the story about it.

Day 12 (B, )
Lhasa / Beijing

Transfer via: T28 (0800 / the third day 0800)

Free time till to transfer to the railway station for your overnight train to Beijing.

Day 13
Stay on the train.

Day 14
Beijing / Depart
Transfer via: own arrangement
Be met & transfer to the airport for your flight to next destination.

Service ends.