Beijing - Lhasa
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Trip Rating:
Tour Code: TCT-BT-09B
Tour Type: Private Tour with private guides & vehicles
Highlights: Welcome to Beijing, the capital of China! Your local guide will escort you to your hotel in a private vehicle. The rest of today is free for you to explore the vast metropolis on your own.
Highlights: Today you will visit Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace. Evening is a Kungfu Show for you to learn Chinese martial art culture.
Tian'anmen Square: Literally means Gate of Heavenly Peace, is great cultural significance as several important events of Chinese history happened here. With 440,000 m² - 880 m by 500 m, the Tiananmen Square is the largest city square in the world .
Forbidden City: As the seat of Imperial power, the Forbidden City was built between 1406 and 1420 by the 3rd Emperor of Ming Dynasty, it is also known as the Imperial Palace Museum. Being ruined and renovated for many time, what you can see today is the buildings date from the 1700’s and onwards. The complex is totally 183 acres, there are total 9999.5 rooms in the Museum, some of them are not open for visitors yet.
Summer Palace: As the largest and best preserved imperial garden, the Summer Palace is also known as the Royal Garden Museum. It was used by royal family for 800 years, in 19th century, the famous Empress Dowager Cixi ordered massive renovations and restore by using the funds of Chinese navy. The garden is totally 293 hectares, of which the water takes 220 hectares, the highlights are Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake.
Kungfu Show: Which a great show telling a story of Chin Yu entering the monastery and making his way through life to finally becoming the Abbott. The show are with many demonstrations of Kungfu and various costumes. The show lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes, visitors are not allowed to take photos or videos, but DVD of the show are available to be purchased.
Highlights: This morning tour will take you to size up the world-famous Great Wall (Mutianyu section which is less crowded, round-way cable car fee is INCLUDED), the key symbol of China. Flexible visiting time allows you to enjoy a lifetime trekking trip (1-2 hours' hiking). On the way to the Great Wall, you may have a distant view of the Olympic sites--Brid's Nest and Water Cube. Afterwards is a visit to the Changling Tomb and Sacred Road. In the evening, try the flavorful dish of Peking Roast Duck Dinner.
Great Wall of Mutianyu section: In the northern part of Huairou County some 70 kilometers north-east of Beijing City, the Mutianyu (Mu Tian Yu) section of the Great Wall stretches its way for over 2 kilometers. This section is well preserved and is a good alternative for visitors who would like to avoid crowds along the highly popular Badaling (Ba Da Ling) section during holiday and peak seasons.
Bird's Nest: Which is also known as the National Stadium, due to its iconic design was the key competition venue of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the 13th Paralympic Games. The opening and closing ceremonies of the two Games have taken place here, together with the football, and track and field competitions. The stadium is the world's largest steel structure
Water Cube: which is also called the National Aquatics Centre, is one of the dramatic and amazing venues to host Beijing Olympics in 2008. This is the first building of its kind in China and it is also an economical and water-saving creation. The structural design is based on the natural formation of soap bubbles which give a random, organic appearance and helping to link the structure to its aquatic function.The swimming pool is deeper than most Olympic swimming pools, allowing swimming at faster speeds, while the gutters to the side of the pool disperse wave energy. A consequence of this was the breaking of 25 world records during the 2008 Olympics.
Sacred Road: Affiliated with the Ming Tombs, the Sacred Road was originally built to lead to the Changling mausoleum. It was considered to be the road leading to heaven. Chinese emperors were known as the Son of Heaven. During their reign they often passed through the sacred road to the sacrificial altar in order to converse with heaven. After their death, the funeral procession also took the path through the Sacred Road as a symbol of the passed emperor 's journey to heaven in the afterlife.
Changling Tomb: Fifty kilometers northwest from Beijing City lies the Ming Tombs – the general name given to the mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). The mausoleums have been perfectly preserved, as has the necropolis of each of the many emperors. Because of its long history, palatial and integrated architecture, the site has a high cultural and historic value. The layout and arrangement of all thirteen mausoleums are very similar but vary in size as well as in the complexity of their structures.
Peking Duck Dinner: Peking Duck or Beijing Roast Duck is regarded as one of the most delicious dishes throughout the world; It is a must for most visitors coming to Beijing to have a bite.
Highlights: After breakfast, you' ll be escorted to the airport and take flight to Lhasa. Welcome to Lhasa! Today upon your Lhasa arrival, you will be greeted by your Tibetan guide and escorted to hotel. Rest of the day you will have a good rest to acclimatize the high altitude.
Tips:
As the altitude of Lhasa is up to 3,500meters, so it is recommended to avoid strenuous activities or alcohol drinking for the first few days, taking NO shower upon new arrival is advisable. New commers usually have different level of high altitude sickness symptom, the best treatment is to drink more water, have enough rest , if neccessory you can ask the guide to bring you some oxgen bags to better acclimatize. These measures will help you to overcome or prevent the sickness.
Elevation: 3500m
Highlights: Today you will visit the famous Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street
Potala Palace: Which is known as the cardinal landmark of Tibet and the residence of the Dalai Lama lineages. Stands 13 stories high and owes over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200,000 statues, the Potala Palace formed a small world in it.
Jokhang Temple: Listed on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2000 as part of the Potala Palace,Jokhang Temple is the ultimate pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Pilgrims. The temple is a four-storey timber complex with a golden top, with the combination of Tang Dynasty, Tibetan and Nepal architectural styles. Every day, pilgrims come from every corner of Tibet worship here, make it a perfect site for photograpers.
Barkhor Street: As the oldest street in Lhasa, Barkhor Street is considered as the center of the old city, and a perfect place to lear Tibetan culture, economy, religion, and arts. The street is full of handicarfts, such as ornaments, knives, tangka, religious musical instruments, gold and silver ware, masks and a lot more. If you intend to buy some souvenirs for friends or famiy, Barkhor Street will be an ideal place.
Tips:
1) Some visitors might feel a bit hard to breath when climbing the Potala Palace, so please just climb slowly.
2) Some places are not allowed to take photos, please kindly inquire your guide for details.
3) When shopping around Barkor Street, you can compare and bargain for the unique souvenirs
4) During the summer time, the musical fountain show at the Potala Plalace Square is 19:30—22:00PM.
5) Please bring water, a hat, sun cream, and sun glasses for today’s tour as you will be at outside for a long day
Elevation: 3500m
Highlights: Today's morning you will visit the famous Drepung Monastery . Afternoon visit to Sera Monastery and enjoy the famous debate there.
Drepung Monastery: Located 5 km from the western suburb of Lhasa, the Drepung Monastery is known for its high standards in academic study of Tibetan Buddhism. In its heyday, the monastery accommodated 7,700 monks and possessed 141 fazendas and 540 pastures, as the most important monastery of Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the Drepung is one of the 'Greatest Tree Monasteries' in Lhasa, with the other two are the Ganden Monastery and the Sera Monastery.
Sera Monastery: Which 5km north of Jokhang Temple. It was built in 1419 and considered as one of the top three greatest monasteries in Lhasa, along with the Drepung Monastery and Ganden Monastery. The origin of the name 'Sera' is not certain, but might come from the wild roses (sera in Tibetan) surrounding the original site. The highlights of Sera monastery is the daily 'monk debates' , every afternoon, the monks gather and debate in a central courtyard and debate points.
Tips:
1) Today's road condition is good. The tour involves some easy walking and climbing
2) Please bring water, a hat, sun cream, and sun glasses for today’s tour as you will be at outside for a long day
Highlights: Today you will be escorted to airport for the flight to next city. Your lifetime Tibet tour is now completed.
All Tibet travel permits
Meals as listed in itinerary
Accommodation as listed in itinerary
Domestic flights/trains if listed in itinerary
Lisenced local English-speaking tour guides
Private transportation with experienced drivers
Entrance ticket fees for attractions listed in itinerary
Oxygen for emergey usage (Only for the groups going to Everest or Kailash area)
China Visa
Personal expense
Travel insurance (Recommended)
International flights to and out of China
Tips and gratitude to tour guides and drivers
Meals if not specified in the itinerary (Average meals cost is USD5-8/per)