Day 01Arrival in Hong Kong

Since most Hong Kong residents are proficient in English and the English-language signposts could be found everywhere, it is easy for travelers to tour Hong Kong by themselves. So we only book the hotel for you in Hong Kong and remain the days free for you to explore. Upon arrival at Hong Kong Airport today, please follow the signpost to take the Airport Express and get off at Kowloon Station, where you could take the free bus K3 to the hotel.

Meals: No meals

Hongkong

Day 02Hong Kong

Breakfast is served at the hotel. Then begin your own Hong Kong exploration tour by walking to the nearest Metro Station to take the metro to Central. Upon arrival, please follow the direction boards and walk to take the Peak Tram up to the Victoria Peak. Down to the Central, you could take the featured trolley car to the prosperous Wan Chai and Causeway Bay. Alternatively, you could take bus No.15 from the Peak down to the bus terminus at the Exchange Square and then transfer to bus No. 6, 6A, 6X, 66 or 260 to the noted Stanley Market. You could walk around the colorful markets or stay at a characteristic café while enjoying charming seaside views. At night, please go back to Tsim Sha Tsui and enjoy the wonderful A Symphony of Lights.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 03Hong Kong - Guangzhou

Please spend the whole morning at your own leisure before departing to Guangzhou. It is suggested that you take the afternoon express train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and the train tickets are easily to be purchased on the spot at Hung Hom Station, formerly known as Kowloon Station, Hong Kong. It will take you two hours to arrive at Guangzhou East Railway Station, where our guide will greet you and then escort you to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast

Dr. Sun Yet-sen Memorial Hall, Guangzhou

Day 04Guangzhou

You are going to visit Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, which is an important place for large gathering and performing. The building is an excellent combination of traditional Chinese palatial architecture and western reinforced concrete structure. After that, turn to Yuexiu Park to appreciate the symbol of Guangzhou, the Five Ram Statue. The tour will then be extended to the Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family. Originally built by the Chen family to sacrifice to the ancestors and encourage their offspring to study hard, the temple is now the largest, best-preserved and most beautiful ancient architecture in Guangzhou. The next stop is the Qingping Market. As one of the earliest opened port to the outside world, Guangzhou by now has many kinds of markets. Qingping Market is the one specializing in Chinese traditional medicine. Finally you will visit Shamian Island, a well-known tourist and scenic area for relaxation in Guangzhou.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Tibetan people

Day 05Guangzhou - Lhasa

Today, you will take a morning flight to Lhasa where the altitude is 3,650 meters above sea level. Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you outside the baggage claim area at Lhasa Airport and escort you to the hotel. The rest of the day is left for you to acclimatize to the high altitude.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 06Lhasa

This morning, you will explore Tibet Museum, the first modern museum in Tibet which boasts numerous rare collections to show Tibetan history, culture and civilization. Afterwards, pay a visit to the Carpet Factory to appreciate the waving process of Tibetan Carpet, which is crowned as one of the three best in the world. In the afternoon, continue the trip to the Sera Monastery, one of the three most famous monasteries in Tibet, which is rich in precious cultural relics and art works like Buddhism materials and silver or gold objects. The last travel destination today is the Norbulingka Park, also known as the 'Summer Palace of Lhasa' because successive Dalai Lamas have handled political affairs and lived here in summer. It is also the largest man-made garden in Tibet.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Our client with the local Tibetans Photo by our client Mr. Max Garrick with his feedback

Day 07Lhasa

This morning you will first tour the magnificent Potala Palace, which impresses visitors with its majestic white walls and encircled red palace. The palace located on the 12,000-feet-high mountain is now opened to the public as a museum and has been a must see for visitors to Tibet. Then you will move on to the Jokhang Temple, a four-storey timber complex with a golden roof. The most representative treasure of the temple is the life-size statue of Sakyamuni at twelve. After lunch, you could have a leisurely stroll at the thriving bazaar of the Barkhor Street where various shops and stalls sell the prayer wheels, Tibetan traditional clothes, Tibetan handicrafts and some other religious articles. The tour will end after visiting the Tibetan Traditional Medicine Hospital, where you will get some basic knowledge of Tibetan medical science.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 08Lhasa - Gyangtse

Our comfortable drive will take you to Gyangtse today and stop off at the Yamdrok Yumtso Lake en route. It means 'Heavenly Lake' in Tibetan because the lake looks like the sky falling down onto land. You will be astonished upon seeing the clear water contracting the encircling snow mountains. Once arriving in Gyangtse, you will check in the best local hotel and then go to visit the Palkhor Monastery, a significant Tibetan monastery which structurally differs from others as it blends three sects of Tibetan Buddhism: the Sakyapa Sect, the Kadampa Sect and the Gelugpa Sect. Finally the tour will end when you wander along Gyangtse Old Street.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Tashilhunpo Monastery, Shigatse

Day 09Gyangtse - Shigatse

You will proceed to Shigatse and check in the best local hotel. Today's tour includes the Tashilunpo Monastery and the New Palace of Panchen. The Tashilunpo Monastery is a complex maze of many rooms. Standing beside the Buddha Basking Platform, you could appreciate the whole monastery and take in a full view of Shigatse city. The New Palace of Panchen appears to be a splendid, imposing and elegant summer palace built by the tenth Panchen Lama in 1954. It houses many precious Tibetan cultural relics and excellent artworks.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch

Day 10Shigatse - Lhasa

Today, we will transfer you back to Lhasa. Although it is a hard journey with the long drive, we believe that the fabulous natural scenery, the unique Tibetan houses made of cow dung and the friendly Tibetan people in the farmland will surely impress you a lot and help you ease your fatigue a little bit. Once getting to Lhasa, you will check in the hotel that you previously stayed.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 11Lhasa - Xian

Today you will take a flight to Xian. Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you at Xian Airport and transfer you to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast

Terracotta warriors, Xian

Day 12Xian

It will be the expected tour to the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum this morning. In the museum, there are altogether three excavated pits exhibiting amazing warrior figures and Chinese ancient weapons. No wonder a great site to learn about Chinese ancient military affairs. To avoid the low-quality food at the tourist restaurants, we will serve you an a la carte lunch at the best local restaurant to taste the authentic Chinese food. In the afternoon, take a trip to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the City Wall. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built under the emperor's conduct to collect scriptures, Buddha statues and Buddhist relics taken from India about 1,300 years ago. The following City Wall of Xian is the existing most complete urban fortification in China. This evening, our luxury series clients will participate in the Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show at Tang Dynasty Palace (Addr: No.75 Chang'an Road, Xian), while our standard series clients will enjoy Dumpling Dinner and Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show at Shaanxi Opera Theatre (Addr: No. 165, Wenyi Road, Xian). (Tips: Dumping is a traditional food indigenous to northern China, and basically consists of flour wrapping for various stuffing. People of the north love it and invite you to share their experience today. You may welcome this chance to experiment in the good and the bad of Chinese food culture according to your own palates. Why not withhold your judgement until mealtime? The proof of the pudding is in the eating.)

Meals for Luxury series: Breakfast, A la carte lunch, Tang Dynasty dinner show
              Standard series: Breakfast, A la carte lunch, Dumpling dinner

Our clients on the City Wall, Xian

Day 13Xian - Beijing

Leaving from Xian by air, your next destination is Beijing. Our guide will welcome you at Beijing Airport and transfer you to the hotel. Around noon, enjoy your a la carte lunch at an elegant local restaurant. After that, you will go to China's largest and best-preserved imperial garden, the Summer Palace. This garden has inherited the traditions of imperial gardens as well as brought in the essence of garden construction from south China. Therefore, it boasts the majestic feature of north China and the graceful charm of south China at the same time.

Meals: Breakfast, A la carte lunch

Great Wall of China

Day 14Beijing

There is an excursion to the Great Wall of China at Badaling, the best-preserved and most developed section among the existing ones. Standing on the wall and appreciating it winding in accordance with the mountain ridges will for sure bring you unique feelings. To avoid shopping site restaurants near the wall, we will drive you to enjoy Sichuan cuisine at a popular local restaurant. In the afternoon, you will visit the Ming Tomb, the largest royal mausoleum complex in China, including the longest Sacred Way. On the way back to downtown Beijing, you will appreciate the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium) at close quarters.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Forbidden City, Beijing

Day 15Beijing

You will go to the city center and visit Tiananmen Square and then the Forbidden City. Built 600 years ago, the Forbidden City was the residence of the royal family and the office where emperors handled all political affairs and held ceremonial activities. Nowadays, it is opened to the public as a museum to display traditional Chinese architecture, cultural relics and royal families' lives. Rather than the mass-produced food at the tourist restaurants arranged by most agencies, we will serve you an a la carte lunch at a nice local restaurant. In the afternoon, go to the Temple of Heaven, built expressly for the purpose of royal sacrifice. In the evening, a lively Chinese Kung Fu Show is arranged at the Red Theatre.

Meals: Breakfast, A la carte lunch

Day 16Departure from Beijing

Normally the hotel check-out time is 12:00 at noon. Our guide and driver will meet you at the appointed time in the hotel lobby and transfer you to the airport for your homeward flight. 

Meals: Breakfast