8 Days Private China Tour of Beijing and Lhasa

Entry Beijing

Day 1.

Arrive in Beijing.

Be picked by private vehicle and English speaking tour guide from airport and transferred to hotel.

The rest of the day is free.

Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Capital Museum

Day 2.

Pick up from your hotel around 8:30 am.

Walk around on Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in the world. Surrounded by many well-known cultural and political institutions, the square is the final resting place of Chairman Mao Zedong. The square has witnessed the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Then we will enter the Forbidden City from the north end of Tiananmen Square. Known as the Palace Museum, Forbidden City is a treasure house of Chinese cultural and historical relics. The palace was the exclusive domain of the imperial court for almost 500 years. As one of the World Cultural Relics, the palace consists of 90 palaces and courtyards, 980 buildings and 8,704 rooms.

Take a Chinese Herbal Medicine class for about 40 minutes before lunch.
Drugs that the Chinese medicine uses are usually plants, so it usually called Chinese herbal medicine. In Chinese people's process of fighting with the disease for thousands of years, rich medical knowledge was gradually accumulated through the practice and understanding. These medical knowledge be passed by apprentice dictation first, and then were written down in books, which helped the medical knowledge spread fast and farther.

Drive to restaurant to have lunch.

After lunch visit the Temple of Heaven. Built in 1420 during Ming Dynasty, Temple of Heaven is the best preserved and largest sacrificial building complex in the world. The emperor came to the temple every winter to pray for ample harvests and good weather. Strictly built on the basis of philosophical requirements, the temple in many ways features the relationship between Heaven and Earth.

Then visit the Capital Museum. The construction style of the Capital Museum is an integration between classical culture and modern features. The Museum contains three independent constructions, including the rectangular exhibition hall, the circular exhibition hall and the quadrate office and scientific research building. The exhibition items are divided into three categories: permanent exhibitions, exhibitions of fine artistic collections and temporary exhibitions.

Be transferred back to your hotel after the tour.

Breakfast, Lunch

Ming Tombs-Changling, Lunch, Badaling Great Wall

Day 3.

Be picked up from hotel at 08:30 am.

Drive to Ming Tombs to visit Changling, the largest one. Ming Tomb is the final resting place of 13 Ming Dynasty emperors, along with 23 empresses and a number of concubines. It has a history of over 600 years. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the Ming Tombs features splendid landscape. Chang Ling (the Tomb of Chang) was built by the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty in 1409 AD. Chang Ling is the largest tomb in architectural scale. The hall of Chang Ling is the largest structure of nanmu wood in China.

Proceed to a restaurant to have lunch and a short rest.

Drive to the famous Badaling Great Wall. The Great Wall was built and maintained between the 7th century BC and 17th century BC. It was originally built to protect the empire from northern invaders. The Great Wall stretches through the countryside over deserts, hills and plains for 8,851.8 kilometers.
Badaling was built in 1505 during the Ming Dynasty. This section of the Great Wall is the best preserved and most visited one. It is 7600 meters long and 1000 meters above sea level, commanding a strategic position in ancient times.
Spend two hours on the Great Wall. Cable car is optional to get the top to have a bird view of the wall.

Be transferred back to your hotel after the whole day tour.

Breakfast, Lunch

Beijing Hutong, Beijing Zoo, Pearl Market, Summer Palace, Tea, Olympic Park

Day 4.

Be picked up from hotel at 08:30 am.

Transfer to Beijing Hutong. Hutongs are lanes or alleys formed by lines of Siheyuan (a compound with houses around a courtyard). Most of them were built during the Yuan (1206-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1908) dynasties surrounding the Forbidden City. Many famous operas and dramas are based on the themes of hutong life. Man-power rickshaw is arranged for you to feel the Hutong of Beijing.

Then we will to Beijing Zoo. Beijing Zoo was built in 1955 on the foundation of Wansheng Garden of the Qing Dynasty. It is now the biggest zoo in China with the largest number of animal species. The highlight of Beijing Zoo is the national treasure-giant panda.

Go to a local restaurant to have lunch and a short rest.

After Lunch. visit Summer Palace. Summer Palace was first built in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. It covers an area of 2.9 square kilometers, including 70,000 square meters of building space. Summer Palace perfectly combines the natural landscape of hills and open water with humankind works such as pavilions, halls, palaces and bridges. In 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. Take sightseeing in this attraction for about one hour.

Taste Chinese tea, enjoy Chinese tea ceremony and have a rest in a local tea house.
China is the hometown and birthplace of Chinese tea.
Being the national drinks of China, tea has a history of four to five thousand years.
Tea culture is one of the specific representative of Chinese culture.

Then visit the Olympic Park. As the major venue of the 2008 Olympic Games, the Olympic Park contains three areas including the Forest Park in the north, major venue and supporting facilities area in the center and the completed stadiums and the reserved area. The completed stadiums contains the National Stadium (Bird's Nest), National Swimming Center (Water Cube) and the National Indoor Stadium (Folding Fans).

Be transferred back to your hotel after the whole day tour.

Breakfast, Lunch

Beijing-Lhasa, Nietang Buddha

Day 5.

Be transferred to airport to connect the flight to Lhasa.

Arrive in Lhasa, be met by tour guide and private vehicle in the airport.

Visit the Nietang Buddha on the way to your hotel. Nietang Buddha is named after Mt. Nietang. It is located 40 km southwest of Lhasa City. Nietang Buddha is the biggest stone statue engraved on a cliff in Tibet and it is the first attraction to welcome visitors to Lhasa.

Check in Hotel.
Remainder of the days is at leisure.

Breakfast, Lunch

Potala Palace, Sera Monastery, Norbulingka Park, Tibetan family

Day 6.

Be picked up from hotel at 08:30 am.

Visit the Potala Palace. Originally built in the seventh century, Potala Palace is landmark of Lhasa. It is famous for its grand buildings, complicated constructions, devotional atmosphere and splendid artworks.

Then we will visit the Sera Monastery - one of the three largest monasteries of Gelugpa. Completed in 1419, the collection of murals is maintained in perfect, original condition.

Move on to visit the Norbulingka Park. Built in the 1740s, Norbulingka Park was Dalai Lama's summer palace.

Visit a Tibetan family to get some information of Tibetan's life and local custom.

Be transferred back to your hotel. Dinner is served at hotel.

Breakfast, Lunch

Drepung Monastery, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street, Tibetan Traditional Hospital

Day 7.

Be picked up from hotel at 08:30 am.

Visit the Drepung Monastery - known as the most important monastery of Gelugpa in Tibetan Buddhism. Established in 1416, Drepung Monastery houses many cultural relics, which make it more superb.
Then we will visit the Jokhang Temple -the holiest site in Tibet and is the ultimate pilgrimage destination for Tibetan Buddhists.

Move on to visit the thriving bazaar of the Barkhor Street - Tibetan culture, economy, religion and arts assemble and a place to which a visit must be paid.

Visit the Tibetan Traditional Hospital and the local Carpet Factory before back to the hotel.

Dinner is served at hotel.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Departure

Day 8.

Be picked up from your hotel. Visit the Tibet Museum if time permits.

Be transferred to airport to connect flight.

Breakfast