Beijing in spring
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CHINA 5: SECRETS OF CHINA / 22 DAYS
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Beijing in spring
| Day | Daily schedule | Overnight in |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive in Beijing, transfer to hotel. Afternoon to Temple of Heaven | Beijing |
| 2 | Visit the Tian An Men square and the Forbidden City, Summer Palace. Enjoy show in the evening | Beijing |
| 3 | Visit Great Wall, Holy Road. Afternoon Hutong tour. Soft sleeper overnight train to Taiyuan | train |
| 4 | Continue by car to Wutaishan holy mountain | Wutaishan |
| 5 | Explore the many temples of Wutaishan | Wutaishan |
| 6 | To Pingyao with a stop at the Qiao Family Courtyard house | Pingyao |
| 7 | Pingyao city tour. In the evening soft sleeper train to Xi'an | train |
| 8 | Arrive in Xi'an. Visit Shanxi historical museum and Wild Goose pagoda. In the evening enjoy Tang Dynasty show with dumpling buffet | Xi'an |
| 9 | Terra Cotta Army, afternoon to bustling Muslim area. In the evening soft sleeper train to Lanzhou | train |
| 10 | Arrive in Lanzhou, transfer to Xiahe | Xiahe |
| 11 | Visit the Labrang monastery, nunnery, Red Kap monastery | Xiahe |
| 12 | Visit the Sangke grasslands | Xiahe |
| 13 | Continue to Langmusi via Sangke grasslands | Langmusi |
| 14 | Visit Daceng Lhamo lamasery, go hiking in gorge | Langmusi |
| 15 | From Langmusi to Apa via beautiful grasslands | Apa |
| 16 | Visit the beautiful monasteries of Apa | Apa |
| 17 | From Apa to Songpan | Songpan |
| 18 | Optional horse riding in Songpan | Songpan |
| 19 | Songpan to Chengdu | Chengdu |
| 20 | Visit panda breeding center, car to Leshan | Leshan |
| 21 | See the highest sitting Buddha in the world at Leshan, in the afternoon drive back to Chengdu | Chengdu |
| 22 | transfer to airport |
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Included |
* car and driver for above itinerary * soft sleeper night trains on day 3, day 7 and day 9 * 3 star hotels * English speaking local guide in each city, no guide when traveling from one city to the other * dumpling banquet diner on day 8 |
|---|---|
| Excluded |
* meals * entrance fees * optional horse riding in Songpan which is 350 RMB per person for one day |
| Price |
Price for 2 persons: RMB 21.950 p.p. Special group rates are available on request. (Price will be higher during the Chinese holidays: 1-7 May and 1-7 October.) Calculate exchange rate |
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Best travel time |
Whole year round. Spring and autumn is the best time though |
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Remarks |
This tour can be extended with city trip 1 or city trip 4 |
Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival Beijing, you will be met and transferred to your
hotel. In the afternoon you will visit the Temple of Heaven.
Day 2: In the morning you will visit the Tian An Men square and the Forbidden City. In the afternoon you can admire the wonderful Summer Palace and in the evening we have reserved seats for you to enjoy a Beijing Opera show OR Chinese acrobatics show. Before the Opera show you can go back stage to see the performers put on their extensive make up.
Day 3: Today you will visit one of the highlights of China: the Great Wall at Badaling and the Holy Road. In the afternoon you will make a Hutong tour by pedicab. This is a really great way to see the 700 year old traditional Beijing residences. You can visit one of the houses and take a look at the old courtyards. In the evening you will take the soft sleeper overnight train train to Wutaishan.
Day 4: Arrive in Taiyuan in the early morning and continue by car to Wutaishan.
Day 5. Full day in Wutaishan to explore the many temples and pavilions.
Day 6: Today you go by car to Pingyao. On the way you will stop at the Qiao Family Courtyard house, where the great Chinese movie "Raise the Red Lantern" was filmed.
Day 7: You will enjoy a city tour of Pingyao, a classical Chinese old style town. In the evening you will board the soft sleeper overnight train to Xi'an.
Day 8: Arrive Xi'an in the morning, where your new local guide will meet you and transfer you to your hotel in Xi'an. In the afternoon you will visit the Shaanxi Historical museum and Wild goose Pagoda. In the evening there is the renowned Tang Dynasty Show which you will enjoy together with a dumpling banquet.
Day 9: Today you will visit another highlight of China: the Terra Cotta Army. In the afternoon visit the Mosque and the Muslim Square. In the evening you will take the soft sleeper overnight train to Lanzhou.
Day 10: You will arrive in Lanzhou in the morning where your new local guide will accompany you to the picturesque town of Xiahe, at an altitude of 3000 meters.
Day 11: In the morning you will join the guided tour around the monastery by monastery monk, in the afternoon you are free to explore the monastery and the town by yourself
Day 12: Today you will explore the Sangke grasslands around Xiahe where nomad families live in tents. When invited in their homes you simply can't refuse the infamous Tibetan yak milk tea and barley "tsampa". The grasslands are also a beautiful area for hiking. In summertime the flowers are like a carpet on the meadows.
Day 13: Today you will travel from Xiahe to Langmusi via the Sangke grasslands. It will be a different part of the grasslands than you visited yesterday however. On the way you can make several stops on the grasslands to enjoy the spectacular scenery and take some short hiking trips. Arrival in Langmusi at the end of the afternoon.
Day 14: In the early morning you might be able to see a sky burial. If there is no sky burial at that moment, you will visit the sky burial site. After that, you will enjoy the beautiful monastery on the Gansu province side of Langmusi. Langmusi is a very small town situated on the border of Gansu and Sichuan province, and even though it is a tiny town, the town has two monasteries, one in each province. In the afternoon you will go hiking through a spectacular gorge where you can see many eagles and vultures soaring above your head.
Day 15: Drive from Langmusi to Apa, this will take up most of the day. On the way you can see Tibetan nomads with herd of yaks and sheep. You can make several stops today for short hiking trips.
Day 16: Visit the beautiful monasteries of Apa.
Day 17: Drive from Apa to Songpan, which will take up most of the day.
Day 18: Free day in Songpan. You might want to go horse riding
today, this is optional. The horses are tame but the slopes are sometimes quite
steep. You will get special horse guides to help you. Today a lunch usually
consisting of noodle soup is included.
Day 19: Drive to Chengdu, this
will take up most of the day.
Day 20: In the morning you will admire the pandas at the Panda Breeding Center, and in the afternoon you go by car to Leshan.
Day 21: In the morning you are going to see the spectacular Big Buddha before returning to Chengdu in the afternoon.
Day 22: Your China trip has unfortunately finished today! Today is your transfer to the Chengdu airport for your flight back.