Tiananmen Square, Beijing

Day 01Arrival in Beijing

Our guide will meet you outside the baggage claim area at Beijing Airport and transfer you to the hotel. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the city.

Day 02Beijing

Visit the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. The Beijing Duck Dinner is served at a famous restaurant followed by a lively Peking Opera performance at the Liyuan Theatre.(B+L+D)

Descriptions:
Tiananmen Square - At the east side of the Tiananmen Square is the National Museum of China for travelers to know the ancient and modern history of China. In 2003, the National Museum was built on the base of the Museum of the Chinese History originally erected in 1912 and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution constructed in 1950. And, the Museum of the Chinese History is the first national museum of China, collecting over 300,000 cultural treasures and shouldering the maintenance and protection of bronzes, frescos, painted sculptures and ancient buildings.
 
Forbidden City - The Forbidden City was the imperial palace where the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911) started exercised their rights. By 1911, the year in when Emperor Xuantong of Qing Dynasty abdicated, the Forbidden City had accompanied 24 emperors of the Ming and the Qing. As the core of feudal ruling classes, it was guarded very heavily and the ordinary people were not allowed to approach it. If they dare get close to it, they would be convicted. As its name implies, it makes people feel the majesty of the imperial power.

Great Wall, Beijing

Day 03Beijing

Visit the Badaling Great Wall. To avoid having lunch at shopping site restaurants, you will be driven to have Sichuan food at a local popular restaurant. Visit the Ming Tomb and  the Summer Palace in the afternoon. On the way back to downtown, drive by the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium). You will see its appearance at a distance. (B+L, D is included for luxury series)

Differences
Luxury Series: we arrange an a la carte dinner at a famous Cantonese cuisine restaurant in the Wangfujing area.
Standard Series: we intend to leave the dinner on your own. You may ask for some suggestions from your local guide.

Descriptions:
Great Wall - The Great Wall is a priceless heritage left by the Chinese ancestry. Can you imagine how the laboring people in ancient China made such a great project by their hands? Without modern machines, equipments and construction materials, the Wall was well designed and built in accordance with the local geographical features. Just when you stand on the Wall and see its grandness, you will find it is no wonder that Great Wall has the vigor to surprise the whole world.   Ming Tomb - Dingling is the mausoleum of Emperor Zhu Yijun (1563-1620), the thirteenth emperor, and his two Empresses, Xiao Duan and Xiao Jing. The construction of Dingling commenced in 1584 and finished in 1590. It cost about 8 million liang silver (12,860,299 ounces). The main attraction here is the underground palace, which is composed of the front, the middle, the rear, the left and the right palaces. In the rear palace lie the Emperor Zhu Yijun and his two Empresses' coffins with some precious burial artifacts.

Summer Palace - Upon your arrival at the Summer Palace, you will be firstly attracted by a grand gate, the East Palace Gate, the major entrance to the palace. Looking carefully, you will find that the gate has three grand doors in the middle exclusively for the emperor, empress and queen mothers; the other two doors on each side are for the imperial family members and the court officials. On the gate, there is a big plaque inscribed three Chinese characters, 'Yi He Yuan', which means to maintain the energy and to mellow the soul.

Potala Palace, Tibet

Day 04Beijing - Lhasa

Take a morning flight to Lhasa where the altitude is 3,650 meters above sea level. Transfer to the finest hotel in Lhasa and acclimatize yourself to the high altitude in the afternoon. Dinner is served at your hotel.(B+D)

Day 05Lhasa

Visit the Tibet Museum and the Carpet Factory. After having a western-style lunch, go head to visit the Sera Monastery and the Norbulingka Park. The a la carte dinner will be arranged for you at a local best Sichuan cuisine restaurant.(B+L+D)

Praying Tibetans

Day 06Lhasa

Visit the magnificent Potala Palace. After a western-style lunch, visit the Jokhang Temple, the thriving bazaar of the Barkhor Street and the Tibetan Traditional Medicine Hospital. Dinner is served at your hotel.(B+L+D)

Descriptions:
Potala Palace - Visitors who go around in Potala Palace will amazingly find that the delicate frescos and embossments are covered on the walls in all palaces, corridors and halls. They are bright and colorful. Endowed with high historical and artistic value, the subjects they choose mainly cover historical events and stories, scenery in Tibetan Plateau, construction scenes of Potala Palace and Buddhist stories. Besides, Potala Palace has a fabulous collection of cultural heritage such as almost 10,000 pieces of Thangkas, the Tibetan scroll paintings, and a variety of Buddha statues carved in gold, silver, wood, mud and jade.
 
Jokhang Temple - Located in the central area of Lhasa City in Tibet, the Jokhang Temple is one of the national cultural relic protection units of China. As a Tibetan Buddhist temple, the Jokhang Temple has an unrivaled status in the Tibetan Buddhism. In the year 2000, it was listed as one of the World Cultural Heritages. A notable Lama of the temple says that 'No visit to the Jokhang Temple equals to no visit to Lhasa,' which is agreed by many visitors traveling there.

Day 07Departure from Lhasa

Our guide and driver will see you off at the airport today. Hope next time we still have the chance to serve you again.(B)

B-- Breakfast     L-- Lunch     D-- Dinner