13 Days Chengdu, Lhasa, Xian and Beijing Tour with Tibet Train Experience

When you arrive in Chengdu, our local tour guide will be there to meet you at the Chengdu International Airport, and help you transfer to your hotel, where you can rest after your flight. The rest of the day is yours to either rest or to explore the area and take in some of the local sights.

Stay overnight in Chengdu.

In the morning, drive to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Breeding, the home to giant pandas, where you will catch pandas' feeding time. They are at their most active, both Adults and Babies. There's a wealth of information and a panda museum in this 230-hectare park 10 km (6 miles) north of Chengdu. It takes about 2.5 hours to visit this site.

Then, you will visit some other highlights of Chengdu, including the Wenshu Temple, Renmin Park and Jinli Street. As the best-preserved Buddhist temple in Chengdu, Wenshu Temple is famous for its exquisite gardens and halls. Renmin Park is a beautiful city park often filled with locals, and you can enjoy a cup of tea to experience the slow life of Chengdu there. In the end of today, you will walk along the Jinli Old Street to fully appreciate Sichuan’s customs and folk arts.

Stay overnight in Chengdu.

The whole day is free for you to explore around the city. In the evening, you will be transferred to Chengdu Railway Station for the train to Lhasa. Your Tibet Permit will need to be checked before boarding.

Stay overnight on the train.

Today, you will spend the whole day on the train to Lhasa. It is quite a long journey from Chengdu to Lhasa, for about 36 hours in total. You will pass through two important provincial capital cities in northwest China, Lanzhou and Xining. Xining is known as the beginning of Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

You will witness the most beautiful scenery along Qinghai-Tibet Railway. From the deserts to massive grassland, snowy mountains to turquoise lakes, all these landscapes will continually appear and strongly appeal to your eyes.

Stay overnight on the train.

The Chengdu-Lhasa train will arrive in Lhasa in the morning. Upon your arrival, your tour guide will hold a board with your name on it at the exit to welcome you. A private car will take you to the reserved hotel. You may view the Yarlung Tsangpo River (the longest and largest river in Tibet) and Lhasa River on their way to Lhasa.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Tips: If this is your first visit to Tibet, you will need to acclimatize to the increased elevation, to prevent altitude sickness. This is best done by resting in the hotel and minimizing any physical exertion.

Today, you’ll pay a visit to the famous Potala Palace, the world cultural heritage. You can explore its audience halls, the jeweled and Golden burial chortens (stupa Tombs) of past Dalai Lamas, and a tremendous number of Buddhist frescoes, Thangkas, combinations of mandala, etc.

Then tourists will head to the holiest temple in Tibet, the Jokhang Temple, built during Songtsen Gampo's reign by princess Wencheng of Tang dynasty, 647 A.D. Here you can observe sincere pilgrims making prostration in front of Jokhang Temple. While entering the temple, you can see the holiest statue of Buddha. Around the monastery is the famous Barkhor Street, where you can do the kora with pilgrims and locals. And then we’ll go to explore the old market and you may have the chance to see the traditional jewelry trading between people from different part of Tibet.

Finally, you’ll taste Tibetan tea with locals in the tea house and enjoy a welcome dinner at night.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Optional:
After finishing the sightseeing, if time allows, you may go with tour guide to visit Tibetan handicraft art or Tibetan Traditional Medicine center. Besides, you can also choose to upgrade your tour to enjoy Tibetan Culture Show in the evening (fr. 60USD).

Today, you will visit two of the three prestigious Gelugpa monasteries in Lhasa, the Drepung and the Sera. Founded by Jamyang Choeje in 1416, Drepung Monastery is the largest monastery in Tibet. Situated at the foot of Gambo Utse Mountain, Drepung was once home to more than 10000 monks. Here you can see the biggest monastery kitchen inside and then pay a visit to the Buddhist Sculpture Carving near Drepung.

After having lunch, you’ll continue to visit the Sera Monastery, which was founded in 1419 by Tsongkapa's disciple Jamchen Choeje. The highlight is the monk debate held in the courtyard at around 3-5 in the afternoon. Besides, you can also see the colorful Rock Painting of Buddha and the three sand Mandalas and then visit the Tibetan scripture printing house.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Today your guide will transfer you to the Lhasa Gonggar International Airport for your flight to Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province of China. One of the oldest cities in China, the flight takes around three hours, and our local guide, who will help you with your transfer to your hotel, will meet you. The rest of the day is yours to rest or look around.

Stay overnight in Xi’an.

The next morning will see you visiting the Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, a must-see when in Xi'an. Around 8,000 ancient, life-sized figures were created to accompany the first Emperor of China to the afterlife, and were part of his mausoleum. Each figure has a unique facial structure and expression, as if they had been made from living people. The warriors were buried with the Emperor in 208BC and were not discovered until 1974.

In the afternoon, you will be able to enjoy the ancient City Wall of Xi'an by bicycle tour. The wall around the inner part of the city was built in the 14th century and is 14km long. It is an amazing example of ancient defensive structures.

In the evening you will be able to travel to the Muslim quarter, with its famed gourmet street full of tasty delights. It is the largest area of Muslim business in the city, and is the perfect place to buy souvenirs of Xi'an and China, with a wide range of local snacks and handicrafts.

Stay overnight in Xi'an.

In the morning, you will head over to another of the most visited sites in Xi'an, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Built in 652, the pagoda is a repository of Buddhist figures and scriptures brought to Xi'an from India by Xuanzang, the first abbot of Daci'en Temple.

Then you will have the chance to visit the Shaanxi History Museum, where you can take in the glory and ancient history of China. The museum holds artifacts that date back as far as the Paleolithic era, up to the more recent Qing Dynasty. The museum is packed with thousands of exhibits from all periods of history, and is a busy, popular attraction.

After lunch, you will transfer to the Xi’an Railway Station, where you will board one of China’s famous High-Speed bullet trains to Beijing. The train journey takes around 4-5 hours, and on your arrival at Beijing Railway Station, a private driver will pick you up, load your luggage, and transfer you to your hotel. There you can rest from the journey, or take in some of the local sights.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

Your first full day in Beijing will take you first to the infamous Tiananmen Square, where you can see the mausoleum of China’s famous Chairman Mao, take a walk around the National Museum of China, and get some great photos of the great hall of the People. Tiananmen Square is the largest square of its kind in the world, and is part of the heart of China.

Your tour of Beijing continues with a visit to the famous Forbidden City, which was the Chinese Imperial Palace from around 1420 to 1912. Set right in the center of Beijing, it now houses the Palace museum. The Temple of Heaven is your next stop, which was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor. The complex was extended and renamed Temple of Heaven during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the 16th century.

In the Afternoon, you will visit the incredible Summer Palace, the imperial summer home of the Qing Dynasty. Situated in the Haidian District northwest of Beijing, Summer Palace is the largest and most well preserved royal park in China, and is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens, and palaces. These beautiful attractions show visitors what life was like for the royal household in ancient China, and how the Chinese emperors managed their empire.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

No tour of China would be complete without a visit to the great Wall, the largest man-made structure on the planet, which can be seen from orbit. This tour shows the great strength of the Chinese Empire, and the wall protected the ancient Chinese from invasion by their enemies from the north. The Mutianyu section of the wall is 2,250 meters long, and includes a total of 22 watchtowers, making it one of the most protected sections of the entire wall. Mutianyu is the longest fully-restored Great Wall section open to tourists.

After the awesome sight of the Great Wall, you will visit the Ming Tomb of the 13th Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Wanli. Ruler of all China for 48 years, he was the longest ruling of all the Ming emperors and was entombed on his death in 1620. One of 16 Ming Tombs, the tomb of Emperor Wanli is the only one that has been excavated and opened for public viewing.

Then it is off to take a tour of Beijing’s fantastic Olympic Village. Known as the Bird’s Nest, the National Stadium in Beijing was built for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and is now a major tourist attraction, as well as a venue for important football matches and athletic events. Nearby lies the equally famous Water Cube, the National Aquatics Center, the official swimming and water sports facility for the 2008 Olympics.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

In the morning, you will get to visit the world-renowned Temple of Heaven, an imperial temple complex that was often visited by Ming and Qing Emperors for the annual prayer ceremonies for a good harvest. The ceremonies would be held twice a year in the temple, where the emperor and his retinue would camp within the complex and pray to heaven for good harvests, kept out of sight of the common people.

Later, you will be transferred to Beijing International Airport for your flight home.