7 Days Private Beijing Tibet Tour

This morning, your guide and driver will meet you at your hotel lobby and then accompany you to take a stroll on the most iconic Tiananmen Square, where many national edifices are neatly arranged and stand in harmony, including the National Museum of China, the Great Hall of the People, and the Tiananmen Tower.

Head north and reach our next and major destination, the Forbidden City, once the imperial residence, office, and ceremonial center for centuries until 1925 AD, when the last emperor was expelled. Led by your guide, follow the central axis to visit magnificent halls and palaces, and chambers tucked away in the two wings. Looking up, your view will be dominated by the brilliant yellow of the rooftops. Why this particular color? In traditional Chinese culture, yellow symbolizes the land. Since all the land of the country belonged solely to the emperor, the color was granted supreme status and became the exclusive and noble color for the imperial power. Not only the roofs, but also many other daily items in the royal palace that you can imagine, including the emperor’s sedan chairs, cushions, clothes, hats, and even porcelain kitchenware, were all yellow.

In the afternoon, extend your historical tour to the Temple of Heaven, the enigmatic sacrificial complex where the ancient emperors prayed to Heaven to bless their people. Marvel at the most majestic Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests here, which features a circular body with 3-layered, distinctive blue glazed roofs, symbolizing heaven. 

The following is an interesting rickshaw ride through old Hutong alleys flanked by quadrangle courtyards. During your visit, various types of transportation may catch your attention. From the outmoded bicycles by the walls, to the small electric bikes weaving through the pedestrians, to the occasional cars struggling to pass through a narrow lane, they present the changes of time in Beijing. To give you a deeper insight into local life, we’ve also prepared for you a family visit in one of these traditional houses. After that, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Begin the day with your guide and driver from your hotel to the Summer Palace, the ancient royal garden for emperors and their families to temporarily reside to escape the summer heat. There are not only palaces and pavilions, but an enormous lake with islets, tributaries and bridges, as well as verdant hills set as the backdrop. Take your time to stroll through this landscape of both natural and historical delights.

Afterward, jump in our private vehicle for a comfy 1.5-hour ride to the Mutianyu Great Wall. Completed in the 15th century and surviving almost intact to this day, this section occupies a strategic position and offers you the most beautiful perspective of the entire military project. Upon arrival, your guide will first invite you to enjoy a buffet lunch to unwind and energize yourself.

★ Special Inclusion: Cable Car, or Chairlift & Toboggan

To make your Great Wall hiking trip less strenuous, we’ve specially included a round-trip cable car for you to go up and down this stone dragon winding along the mountain ridge. Or if you like, we can also provide you with more exciting rides, ascending by chairlift and descending by toboggan. Please note that children under the age of 10 without an adult’s company, visitors aged 60 and above, and those with acrophobia, high blood pressure, or heart disease, are not allowed to take the toboggan.

Now it’s time to fasten your shoelaces and conquer the Mutianyu Great Wall with 20 watchtowers. The path on it is undulating and even steep sometimes, but you will see it’s worth the effort as you imagine the vicissitudes the Wall has witnessed and stand in awe of this winding man-made wonder. Moreover, the most iconic No. 4 Watchtower, aka Zhengguan Terrace, will impress you. As a large hollow watchtower designed by a famous general who witnessed the plight of the soldiers stationed in harsh climates, it could not only accommodate several hundred people, but also serve as a storage facility for provisions and military supplies. At last, enjoy a relaxing 1.5-hour drive back to your downtown hotel accompanied by your guide and driver.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Buffet lunch

After a warm greeting at the hotel, your guide and driver will escort you to the airport for a 4-hour flight to Lhasa, the Tibetan Buddhist center of the world! Upon arrival, your Lhasa guide and driver will pick you up and convoy you to your hotel. 

► Note:
Lhasa, perched at 3,650 meters (11,975 feet) above sea level, is a place where most visitors may experience altitude sickness upon their visit. Therefore, after check-in, we suggest that you have a rest, take neither bath nor vigorous activities, intake adequate water and carbohydrates, and avoid caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol. If there are any signs of discomfort, ask your guide for assistance immediately.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

As the morning light wakes you up, your guide and driver will wait for you at your hotel lobby to start a journey to the Drepung Monastery, the largest lamasery in the world. Its white structures are stacked one upon another, neatly distributed on the hillside, and from a distance, they look like huge piles of rice, hence the name Drepung, which means “rice heap” in Tibetan. With your guide, explore various halls and chapels for Buddhist treasures like statues and Thangka paintings, and discover the stupa tombs of early Dalai Lamas, who regarded here their home.

The early afternoon will see us strolling under the tree shades in Norbulingka Park, the largest man-made garden in Tibet and the local version of Beijing’s Summer Palace once for the Dalai Lamas. Now, let’s get lost in the dense and towering garden woods, discover the rare flowers and plants from the foothills of the Himalayas, take a breath of the highland breeze, and enjoy the most leisurely moments of this city. Later, head for Sera Monastery, sharing the same fame as Drepung and another Gandan Monastery in Lhasa. Among the seas of relics here, we’ll focus mainly on the most treasured image of Hayagriva, a wrathful form of the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Also watch a debating session of lamas on Buddhist doctrines. Even if their language is strange to you, the scene, where up to 50 lamas argue with high spirit at the same time, can still be sensational! At the end of the day, your guide and driver will return you to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

After breakfast, accompanied by your guide and driver, set off to witness Tibet’s icon, the Potala Palace, the highest palace complex in the world. In the 7th century, when Tibet was still an independent regime, to consolidate its position and form an alliance with China at that time, the leader specially built the Potala Palace for the Chinese princess who came for marriage, to show his sincerity. With your guide, follow the classic tour route, which includes highlights such as the spiritual leaders’ living quarters, ceremonial halls and chapels, galleries with Buddhist paintings, sculptures, the oldest Dharma Cave, and ornately decorated stupa tombs, for an in-depth experience of the palace’s profound history and culture. During your visit, you’ll also find that the Potala Palace remains as fresh as new after a dozen centuries of weathering, thanks to its unique ‘secret recipe for beauty’, which is a more sticky coating mixed with milk, honey, and sugar. Also, you may smell a waft of sweet fragrance as you pass by those red or white walls. At the suggestion of your guide, find the best perspective to photograph this grand castellar architecture against the backdrop of the snow-capped mountains.

This afternoon, make a devout pilgrimage to Jokhang Temple, known as the spiritual center of Tibetan Buddhism. Here, take your chance to admire the life-sized statue of 12-year-old Shakyamuni Buddha and myriad religious Thangka murals. Next, let’s dive into the vibrant local life on Barkhor Street that surrounds the temple, which is the exact site to find the faithful approaching the temple on their hands and knees, the ritual of circumambulating a sacred place. Originally built for the prayers, the street gradually evolved into a market for trading daily commodities, exotic food, Thangkas, traditional clothing, and handicrafts. Before escorting you back to your hotel, we’ll stop by the only Nunnery in downtown Lhasa, allowing you to find a beautiful Buddhist world managed by nuns.

► Dinner Recommendation: Give Typical Local Snacks a Try! (at your own expense)
The Barkhor Street is rich in local snacks, such as Tsampa, Butter Tea, and Yak Yogurt, and if you like, walk back to this bustling zone on your own after the tour to sample some. Of course, your guide will be willing to give you suggestions on transportation back to your hotel. You can mix the butter tea into Tsampa, a glutinous roasted barley flour, and then knead to small lumps to eat, just like the locals do. It is said that this traditional way of eating was from a time when Tibet was still a nomadic region, when people went out to herd and preferred easily carried food, hence the cooked flour that could be mixed with essential water sources was developed.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today, as your guide and driver escort you from your hotel to the airport at the designated time, your 7 days Beijing Tibet tour comes to an end. Thank you for travelling with us! If you’re interested in leaving your footsteps in other popular Chinese cities like Chengdu, Xi’an, Zhangjiajie, and Guilin, please feel free to contact us to have your trip customized.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast