Top China Tibet Tours: 11 Days China Tour of Beijing Xian Lhasa & Shanghai

Summary

Day 1 Arrive in Beijing
Day 2 Beijing: Mutianyu Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Bird'Nest & Water Cube
Day 3 Beijing: Tian'an men Square, Forbidden City, Summer Place
Day 4 Beijing--Xi'an by Bullet Train, Xi'an Ancient City Wall
Day 5 Xi'an: Terracotta Warriors, Muslim Quarter
Day 6 Xi'an--Lhasa by Flight: Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Shaanxi History Museum, fly to Lhasa
Day 7 Lhasa: Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street 
Day 8 Lhasa: Drepung Monastery, Dera Monastery
Day 9 Lhasa-- Shanghai by Flight
Day 10 Shanghai: Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai Bazaar, Shanghai Musuem, Old French Concession, Nanjing Road, Shanghai Bund
Day 11 Departure Shanghai

Day 1 Arrive in Beijing

Welcome to China! Upon your arrival in Beijing, you will be greeted by our Beijing local tour guide with a welcome signage "China Private Tour" and escorted to your hotel directly. The rest of the day is free on your own to recover jetlag.

Day 2 Beijing

In the morning, our guide will meet you at your hotel lobby and your adventure in Beijing start as below:

Firstly, drive you to Mutianyu Great Wall (less crowded), it takes around 1.5 hours for one way. Great Wall is one of Eight Wonders in the world, today you will visit Mutiayuan Section, less-crowded part. "If you haven't climbed the Great Wall, you haven't seen China." Many of your friends who visited China before might have told you this. It is indeed an experience of life. As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, Mutianyu section of Great Wall used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. It's known for its beautiful surroundings - dense woods and rich pastures changing colors with the seasons of a year. Good sightseeing with nature, take photos from different places and angles so you'll have plenty of memories you can share with your friends when going back home.

Great Wall

After lunch, you will pay a visit for Ming Tombs, it is a main attractions arranged for you. The Ming Tombs lie in Changping County, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest from the urban area of Beijing. It is actually a tomb cluster of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), including thirteen emperor's mausoleums, seven tombs for concubines and one grave for eunuchs. It was listed in the World Heritage List in 2003. Each emperor's tomb was constructed at the foot of a separate small hill, but they all share a main road called the Sacred Way.

Enjoy dinner at a local Chinese restuarant. On the way back to your hotel, you have a chance to see Bird'Nest & Water Cube and take some photos from outside, both designed as the main stadiums of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, they now become the popular landmarks of Beijing.

Drive you back to your hotel.

Day 3 Beijing

In the morning, our guide will meet you at your hotel lobby at appointed time. The first place for Beijing is Tian'an men Square, Tian'an men Square is the geographical center of Beijing City. It is the largest city square in the world, occupying an area of 440,000 square meters (about 109 acres), and able to accommodate 1,000,000 people at one time.

Tian'an men Square

After sightseeing, walk into the Tian'an men Square, you will meet the one of the world’s 5 most important palaces – Forbidden City. The Forbidden City, also named the Palace Museum, shares the honor of being one of five world-famous palaces with the Palace of Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace in England, the White House in the U.S. and the Kremlin in Russia.

Enjoy your lunch at the local famous Peking Roast Duck restaurant, taste the most famous duck in Beijing and try some local cuisine in Beijing.Roast duck — or Peking Duck, as it's often known — has been served in Beijing for around 600 years, according to Liu. First served by palace chefs during the Ming dynasty, it has royal pedigree.

Forbidden City

In the afternoon, you will head to visit Summer Palace, it is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing, China. It serves as a popular tourist destination and recreational park. Mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, it covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometres (1.1 sq mi), three-quarters of which is water.  After 1949, the Summer Palace briefly housed the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China. Many of Mao Zedong's friends and key figures in the Communist Party, such as Liu Yazi and Jiang Qing, also lived there. Since 1953, many major restoration and renovation works have been done on the Summer Palace, which is now open to the public as a tourist attraction and park.

After finished the visit of Summer Palace, drive you back to your hotel.

Day 4 Beijing-Xi'an by Bullet Train

In the early morning, our driver will drive you to Beijing train station and you will take bullet train to Xi'an. It takes around 5 hours for one way. Upon your arrival, our Xi'an local guide will meet you at the exit of Xi'an train station with a sign " China Private Tour", and you will start your tour immediately.

Firstly, our tour guide will take you to a local Chinese restaurant for lunch. After lunch, you will visit Xi'an Ancient City Wall for a leisure bicycle tour. As one of the UNESCO's World Heritage Site, Xi'an Ancient City Wall was built in the 14th century, under the regime of Emperor Zhuyuanzhang in Ming dynasty, had the function of protecting the cities or towns as military defense systems in ancient China. Xi'an Ancient City Wall is one of the oldest, largest and best preserved Chinese city walls.

Xi'an Ancient City Wall

Drive you to your hotel in Xi'an downtown after dinner, our tour guide will help you check-in.

Day 5 Xi'an

In the morning, drive you to Terracotta Warriors, it takes around 50 minutes for one way. Terracotta Warriors and Horses, noted as one of eight wonders in the world, a must-see in Xi'an. Terracotta Warriors is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits nearby Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.

Terracotta Warriors

Enjoy lunch at a local Chinese resturant nearby Terracotta Warriors.

Then you will be taken back to Xi'an downtown and continue your tour to Muslim Quarter, is the most famous food street in Xi'an. It consists of Islamic food area, ethnic group shopping center, Great mosque and living area of Hui people. It is a place distinct for its delicious food and Islamic culture, with a history of more than 1000 years. 

The streets are paved by gray flagstone and the buildings are of Ming style. About 2000 years ago in the Han Dynasty after the opening of Silk Road, Changan welcomed the first Muslims: Muslim businessmen, envoys, and students.

After dinner, you will be taken back to your hotel in Xi'an.

Day 6 Xi'an-Lhasa by Flight

After breakfast, you will be picked up at your hotel and your tour in Xi'an start.

First, you will visit one of the most popular sites in Xi'an, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The pagoda has a brick frame built around a hollow interior, and its square base and shape reflect the building style of other pagodas from the era. As part of the artistic heritage of Buddhist architectures of the Tang Dynasty, it witness as to how Buddhism was introduced to China and integrated with the culture of Han nationality.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Afterwards, you will head to Shaanxi History Museum, where you can take in the glory and ancient history of China. The museum holds artifacts that date back as far as the Paleolithic era, up to the more recent Qing Dynasty. The museum is packed with thousands of exhibits from all periods of history, and is a busy, popular attraction.

After lunch, you will be transferred to Xi'an airport for your flight to Lhasa. Once arrived in Lhasa, our local tour guide will pick you up at the exit of airport with a welcome signage "China Private Tour" and drive you to you hotel directly. Then you can have a rest to adapt yourself to the hgh sea level.

 (The best way acclimatize to the increased elevation, to prevent altitude sickness is rest in the hotel and minimizing any physical exertion for the first-time traveller.)

Day 7 Lhasa

In the morning, our guide will meet you at your hotel lobby. Today, you'll pay a visit to the famous Potala Palace, the world cultural heritage, also the landmark of Lhasa. You can explore its audience halls, the jeweled and Golden burial chortens (stupa Tombs) of past Dalai Lamas, and a tremendous number of Buddhist frescoes, Thangkas, combinations of mandala, etc.

Potala Palace

You will have a lunch at local restaurant with authentic Tibetan Food.

Then you will head to the holiest temple in Tibet, the Jokhang Temple, built during Songtsen Gampo's reign by princess Wencheng of Tang dynasty, 647 A.D. Here you can observe sincere pilgrims making prostration in front of Jokhang Temple. While entering the temple, you can see the holiest statue of Buddha. 

Next you will walk around the famous Barkor Street, which close to monastery and where you can do the kora with pilgrims and locals. We'll go to explore the old market and you may have the chance to see the traditional jewelry trading between people from different part of Tibet.

Jokhang Temple

Finally, you'll taste Tibetan tea with locals in the tea house and enjoy a welcome dinner at night. After dinner, you will be taken back to your hotel.

Day 8 Lhasa

Today, our guide will take you to visit these two prestigious Gelugpa monasteries in Lhasa, Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery. Founded by Jamyang Choeje in 1416, Drepung Monastery is the largest monastery in Tibet. Situated at the foot of Gambo Utse Mountain, Drepung was once home to more than 10000 monks. Here you can see the biggest monastery kitchen inside and then pay a visit to the Buddhist Sculpture Carving near Drepung.

Drepung Monastery

After having lunch, you'll continue to visit the Sera Monastery, which was founded in 1419 by Tsongkapa's disciple Jamchen Choeje. The highlight is the monk debate held in the courtyard at around 3-5 in the afternoon. Besides, you can also see the colorful Rock Painting of Buddha and the three sand Mandalas and then visit the Tibetan scripture printing house.

After dinner, you will be taken back to your hotel.

Day 9 Lhasa-Shanghai by Flight

In the morning, our driver will transfer you to the airport and you fly to Shanghai. It takes around 6 hours. 

Upon arrival, our Shanghai local tour guide will meet you at the exit of the airport with a welcome sign "China Private Tour". And drive you to your hotel direcly. The rest of the day is free on your own to have rest or take your camera go round Shanghai.

Day 10 Shanghai

In the morning, you will be picked up from your hotel after breakfast. Firstly you will visit Yuyuan Garden, it not only regarded as best private garden in Shanghai but also the best in southeast China.The garden enjoyed a history over 400 years since its first establishment by Pan Yunduan who had intended to bring happiness and pleasure to his parents and relatives. Shanghai Bazaar is nearby Yuyuan Garden, there are many small streets and lanes where vendors sell their products and food stuffs to the tourists and local people. It is an ideal place for you to find some specialists.

Yuyuan Garden

Next to Shanghai Museum. It houses a comprehensive collection that perfectly showcases the Middle Kingdom's millennia old history. Spread over five floors, covers most of the major categories of Chinese art with a collection of 12, 300 pieces in 21 categories of valuable cultural relics.

After lunch, visit Old French Concession Shanghai. Shanghai is popular for many places and reasons, but the French Concession is somewhere on top of that list. Hugely popular and sought after as the preferred residential address among expats, the Former French Concession has a lot of history and beauty to its credit. 

Shanghai Museum

Drive you to the Bund area. The Bund is a waterfront area in central Shanghai.When you come here, you can embrace the best cityscape, feast on the rich architectural fashions and know why Shanghai is glorified as "Paris of the East". There are a number of attractions in the area, such as Shanghai World Financial Center, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Century Park, Century Boulevard, Jinmao Tower etc. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai.

At last, walking with your guide to Nanjing Road, another popular landmark of Shanghai. It is a shopping paradise as well as a ideal place tootake a wonderful walk to explore the modern atmosphere of the city.

Drive you back to your hotel after the tour ends.

Day 11 Shanghai Depature

Today is free on your own until our driver transfer you to Shanghai airport and you fly back home. And your 11 Days China Tour of Beijing Xian Lhasa Shanghai. Have a pleasant trip!

Price Per Person in US Dollars

Price Includes 1. All transfer and city transportation 2. Air-conditioned car or van 3. Hotels specified in the itinerary, all based     on two persons sharingone standard room; 4. Meals specified in the itinerary: Western     breakfast in hotels Chinese lunch and     dinner in local restaurants 5. Sightseeing: All arrangements mentioned     in the itinerary will be covered All first     admission/entrance fees in the itinerary 6. Tour guide: Conducted by a professional     tour guide

Price Excludes 1. International air-tickets 2. Airport departure tax. 3. International or domestic air tickets which     are not listed in the itinerary. 4. Insurance coverage of personal loss, illness     or damages incurred during your trip 5. Tips to the tour guide and driver 6. Meals not specified in the itinerary. 7. Personal expenses: phone bills, laundry,     optional tours, postage, excess baggage     charge, entertainment fees out of the     itinerary. 8. Single Room Supplement.