15 Days Classic China & Tibet Tour with Zhangjiajie Avatar Exploration

After you arrive in Beijing by flight, please take a taxi by yourself to our reserved hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to explore the surroundings.

Stay overnight in Beijing

Today is guided tour to Forbidden City and Summer Palace which are the traditional must-see places in Beijing. The Forbidden City is the best preserved imperial palace in China and the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. The splendid architecture of the Forbidden City represents the essence and culmination of traditional Chinese architectural accomplishment.

The Summer Palace is the largest royal garden in the world built in Qing Dynasty. The grandeur and beauty of the Palace is overwhelming and is sure to impress anyone.

Stay overnight in Beijing

• The iconic architectural style and legendary history of Forbidden City are fun to explore.
• Summer Palace

The Great Wall tour proves that China was one of the strongest countries in its history. Stretching thousands of kilometers, the Great Wall protected the ancient Chinese against the invasion of the enemy from its north side for more than 1000 years; the Great Wall was listed as one of the world's eight wonders. Mutianyu Great Wall, featured "graceful" enjoy the best quality among all Wall sections, 80km north-east of Beijing with 22 ancient watchtowers, about one every kilometer. (Cable car is optional if you do not want to walk)

Then you will visit the Ming Tombs, the burial site of the emperor Zhuli, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty who ruled for 22 years until his death in 1424.

Stay overnight in Beijing

• Mutianyu Great Wall in Spring
• Ming Tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty of China.

In the morning, you will first visit the historic Temple of Heavens, which is the largest city square in the world and the spiritual heart of China, and then move on to the famous Hutongs, the traditional courtyard residence in narrows alleys in Beijing. It is a great place to know the folk culture and old quarters of Beijing city.

In the afternoon, your tour guide will escort you to Beijing Capital International Airport to take the flight to Chengdu. It will take about 3 hours for the flight journey. Upon arrival, you can take a taxi by yourself to your reserved hotel in downtown Chengdu.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

• Temple of Heaven was a place for emperors to worship the Heaven in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
• Hutong is a lane or alley formed by traditional courtyard compounds lining both sides.

In the morning, the guide will pick you up to visit Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda. Morning is pandas' feeding time, you will visit both adult and baby pandas houses and watch them eating fresh bamboo.

Then, you will visit the Wenshu Temple. Located in the city center, Wenshu Temple is a central leisure tourism area and is integrated with the CBD of the traditional city business center. After that, we will go to explore the famous Jinli Street and Remin Park. You can enjoy a relaxing walk at the ancient street of Jinli, and have a cup of tea in Remin Park, to experience the local lifestyle of this charming city.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

• Panda Breeding and Research Center
• You can take a leisurely stroll along the historic Jinli Street

Please take a taxi by yourself from the hotel to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport to board the flight to Lhasa. When check in and pass by the security, you need to show your original Tibet Travel Permit.

Flying from Chengdu to Lhasa, you will fly from China's low-altitude inland into the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and you can see the plains, canyons, forests, glaciers evolving into the snow-capped mountains from the aircraft.

Upon arrival, your tour guide will pick you up at Lhasa Gonggar Airport and transfer you to the hotel in Lhasa by Tibet Vista shuttle bus.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

• Tibetan tour guide greets you at Lhasa Airport.
• Lhasa River

Today's tour will first bring you to the Potala Palace which is the winter palace of the Dalai Lama. It was put to use since the 7th Century by the 33rd great king of Tibet. The most valuable collections of Potala Palace are the gilded burial stupas of former Dalai Lamas and meditation Cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet.

Then after lunch, tourists head to Jokhang temple which was founded by the 33rd great king of Tibet in the 7th century. Inside you can see the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve. Outside, you can see pilgrims making prostrating in front of Jokhang Temple. Around the temple is Barkhor Street, where you can do kora (a religious circle of a building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals, and explore the old market.

Besides, we can taste Tibetan tea with locals in tea house; the welcome dinner will also be arranged accordingly;

Optional:
With time permitting, you may go with the tour guide to visit Tibetan handicraft art or Tibetan Traditional Medicine center. You can upgrade your service to enjoy Tibetan Culture Show in the evening (fr. 60USD).

Stay overnight in Lhasa

• Potala Palace, the religious center of Lhasa
• Barkhor Street

In the morning, you are going to visit Drepung monastery which is one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet, founded in 1416 by Jamyang choge, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. You can visit the biggest monastery kitchen inside the monastery and enjoy Buddhist Sculpture Carving workshop near Drepung.

In the Afternoon, Tourists will visit Sera Monastery which is another one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet. The hot attraction is the Monks debate at around 3 - 5 in the afternoon. In addition, you can tour the Tibetan religious scripture printing house; inside the monastery, you can see three sand Mandalas and colorful Rock Painting of Buddha.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

• Sera Monastery is one of three famous monasteries in the city along with the Drepung Monastery and the Ganden Monastery.
• Drepung Monastery was one of the “three greet” Gelug monasteries of Tibet.

Today you will first enjoy the free time for yourself before you are transferred to the airport for the flight to Xi’an by your guide. The flight from Lhasa to Xi’an will take about 3 hours. After reaching Xi’an, please take a taxi to your hotel on your own.

Stay overnight in Xi’an

The day tour in Xian is impressive too. The Emperor’s Terracotta Army is also one of the eight wonders in the world. These terracotta warriors and horses are the size of a real army, and were buried alongside the Emperor in a vast underground palace.

In the archeological site of Banpo Village, built more than 6,000 years ago, you will see how the resident matriarchal tribe used to survive in the Neolithic age.

Stay overnight in Xian

• Life-size Terracotta Warriors modeled after real ancient soldiers
• Banpo Site in Xi'an

In the morning, we will first pay a visit to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Shaanxi History Museum. As a landmark of Xi’an, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built for storing Buddhist sutras in AD 652, and is seven-layered with a height of 64.5 meters.

Located to the northwest of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Shaanxi History Museum is China’s first large-scale national museum. There are more than 370,000 pieces of cultural relics collected in the museum, ranging from simple stone tools of ancient humans to various kinds of objects in social life before 1840.

After the tour, you will be transferred to the airport to take the flight to Zhangjiajie.

Stay overnight in Zhangjiajie

• Big Wild Goose Pagoda is one of you must-see attractions in Xi’an
• Shaanxi History Museum is a comprehensive historical museum in Xi'an.

Today you will start your adventure to the miraculous site of Zhangjiajie National Park, and pay a visit to two of the highlighted places there - Huangshi Village and Golden Whip Creek.

As one of the top must-see places in Zhangjiajie, Huangshi Village offers the largest and most concentrated viewing platform in the park, surrounded by steep cliffs and lush green trees. Here you can enjoy an incredible 360-degree view of the towering mountains of the park.

The Golden Whip Creek, located near to the Huangshi Village, is a tranquil place famous for its golden whip rock. It is the earliest developed area in the scenic spot of the park. There is a liquid stream passing through the valley, with peaks dominating both sides.

Stay overnight in Zhangjiajie

• Huangshi Village is characterized by the overhanging cliffs, high staking platforms, and jagged rocks.
• Golden Whip Creek is one of the most beautiful places in Zhangjiajie Forest Park.

Today we will go on to explore another two famous sites in the national park - Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain.

Yuan Jiajie is the location of the "Hallelujah Mountain" in the movie "Avatar". Here you can explore the magical world of the floating mountains in the movie. If there happens to be light rain, you will enjoy a more beautiful view of the misty, peaky scenery. The Mihuntai here is an ideal viewing position, surrounded by hundreds of magnificent pinnacles. Here you can also see the famous bridge that spans between the two mountains and has a vertical height difference of 357 meters.

Then move to Tianzi Mountain, where you will enjoy the spectacular landscape of grotesque peaks, including The Imperial Brush Peak, Garden in the Air, Fairy Bridge etc.

After the exploration, you will be transferred to Zhangjiajie Airport for the flight to Shanghai, which takes about 2 hours. Upon your arrival in Shanghai, please take a taxi to your hotel by your own.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

• Travelers are visiting the famous bridge that spans between the two mountains in Yuanjiajie.
• Tianzi Mountain is one of the most gorgeous and otherworldly places in the world.

Today we are about to visit some of the highlights of highlights of Shanghai Tour. Starting with the fascinating Shanghai Museum, the magnificent 4-story building houses an incredible collection of bronzes, sculptures, ceramics, coins, paintings, calligraphy, costumes and other exhibits in different dynasties. It’s the perfect place for fans of Chinese history and art.

Next comes the Yu Garden. Built in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty, the Yu Garden used to be the private residence of a senior Government administrator in the Ming Dynasty. For a passionate photographer, never miss the chance to photograph Old Street of Yu Garden.

In the evening, we will visit the most iconic building of Shanghai, i.e. Oriental Pearl TV Tower. You can enjoy the amazing panorama of the skyline of Shanghai at night. And as you stroll along the Bund, you will get amazed at the spectacular Huangpu River and dazzling light from buildings of Pudong.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

• Oriental Pearl TV Tower is the most iconic architecture of Shanghai.
• Enchanting ancient Yu Garden offers a respite from bustling metropolis.

End the tour, please arrange taxi from your hotel to Shanghai airport.