Tibet Pilgrim

Our guide will wait for you at the airport according to your international flight schedule. As soon as you fetch your luggage and clear customs, you will see the guide welcoming you at the exit holding a banner with your name. We will transfer you to the 4-star Holiday Inn Central Plaza Hotel, which is the best Holiday Inn Hotel in Beijing. As it is your first day in our country, we are sure you will have many questions. Please talk with your guide. The best time to get answers is on the way from the airport to your hotel. For the rest of the day, you may either relax at the hotel to recover from the long journey, or explore the city on your own for an exotic touch of a foreign land.

Visit the Summer Palace, a pearl store and Hutong alleys as the conclusion of your Beijing travel. The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China. It was built on the basis of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. You may have a pleasurable time strolling this comely but spectacular garden. Hutongs represent the unique culture of Beijing City. There are thousands of Hutongs in Beijing and you will experience one classic alley by rickshaw. The visit to a quadrangle courtyard is another highlight during the Hutong tour. Lunch is again served at a fancy local restaurant of an a la carte style. Later in the afternoon, our guide will see you off at the airport for your flight to Xian. Upon arrival, you will see the guide in Xian waiting for you warmly outside the baggage claim area. Transfer to the 5-star Sheraton Hotel for a two-night stay. (B+L)

The highlight today is the marvelous Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. It is the most important cultural relic and historic site in Xian and was crowned as the "eighth wonder of the world". It is also the world's largest underground military museum. Then visit a pottery-making factory. Today, you will have an opportunity to have a close contact with Chinese people and see how they live by visiting a local family home. Lunch is also served at the home by the host and we are sure you will be deeply impressed by this. Then we will visit the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and Xian Museum. In the evening, enjoy yourself at the Shaanxi Opera Theatre for an extraordinary Dumpling dinner as well as a wonderful Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show. (B+L+D)

After breakfast at the hotel, we will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Lhasa. Our guide in Lhasa will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the 4-star Xinding Hotel. Due to the flight schedule, lunch is not included today. Lhasa is the capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It has been the Tibetan political, economic, cultural, and religious center for a long time. With the high altitude of 3,650 meters above sea level, we suggest you rest at the hotel for the rest of the day to acclimatize yourself to the altitude. (B)

Visit Norbulingka Park in the morning. Located in the western suburb of Lhasa, the park is the summer palace for the Dalai Lama in successive dynasties. The elegant garden was built in the 18th century. It was also the place where the Dalai Lama would deal with political affairs and hold religious activities. Covering an area of 46 hectares, now it is an ideal place for people to worship, relax and enjoy palace architecture in the Tibetan Style. A set-menu lunch is arranged at a nice local restaurant. Afterwards, visit the Sera Monastery, which is a typical shamanism monastery. This monastery has a rich collection of precious culture relics and art works such as Buddhist sutras, figure of Buddha, mafors, gold and silver ware etc. On every weekday afternoon, the monks debate ardently in the yard. It is a kind of discussion or sharing of Buddhist knowledge. Then we pay a visit to a local Tibetan family. (B+L)

Standing solemnly on the Red Mountain of Lhasa, the Potala Palace is a large-scale architectural complex in stone and wood. It is the symbol of Lhasa and is called “the Pearl on the roof of the World”. The sacred Potala Palace has unshakable status among Tibetan people. For those who have entered the Potala Palace, they will regard it as a reward and gift of life. After lunch, visit the Jokhang Temple, a Gyangjian Tangka Art Store and Barkhor Street. The Jokhang Temple is the spiritual center of Tibet. For most Tibetans, its importance is no lower than Potala Palace. The most impressive and touching thing you will see here is the religious pilgrimage of believers prostrating themselves along the street. Walking along Barkhor Street, you may buy some small gifts for your families or friends. Then visit the Tibetan Traditional Medicine Hospital, where you will get a lecture from a professor on some basic knowledge of Tibetan medical science. (B+L)