12 Days Shanghai Xi’an Tibet Beijing Tour

When you arrive at the airport in Shanghai, your tour guide and driver will greet you by holding your name sign at the exit, then drive you to the hotel. The rest of the day is yours to recover from the jet lag.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

After having breakfast, you will start the tour in Shanghai. First of all, you will visit the Yu Garden -- It is a typical private garden in China with nearly 500 years of history, located in Shanghai old town. Then you will continue to the Bund, which is a Chinese historical and cultural block, also one of the landmarks of Shanghai. Most of the buildings here were erected before 1937. It used to be a British concession. Now it is called an exhibition of international architecture. At noon, you will have lunch at the local restaurant.

In the afternoon, you can wander around Nanjing Road, a must-see metropolitan destination that attracts thousands of fashion-seeking shoppers from all over the world. Finally, you will take a Huangpu River Cruise, to admire the bright lights and unique architectural styles on both sides of the river and feel the charm of Shanghai.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

Today you are going to take a day trip from Shanghai to Zhujiajiao Water Town, which is a well-known tourist attraction in China.

Located on the outskirts of Shanghai, Zhujiajiao (Zhu Family Settlement) is an ancient water town with history more than 1700 years. Covering an area of 47 square kilometers, the little fan-shaped town glimmers like a bright pearl in the landscape of lakes and mountains. The village prospered through clothing and rice businesses. There are many ancient shops here, such as rice shops, banks, spice stores, etc. You can even see a Qing dynasty post office, which could bring you back to the old-time to feel the unique charm of China culture.

After having lunch at the local restaurant, we will drive back to Shanghai.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

Leave for Xi'an by plane, the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties dotted with archaeological sites. Transfer to your hotel, and relax before visiting the Muslim District of Xi'an in the late afternoon. You’ll watch Chinese Muslims prepare local cuisine and learn more about them. We’ve prepared a unique dumpling banquet for this evening, which features over 20 varieties of dumplings with rice wine and hot pot soup. Enjoy the feast this evening!

Stay overnight in Xián

In the morning, we will drive to the Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, a vast collection of more than 7,000 vivid life-sized soldiers, horses, and chariots near the tomb of China's first Emperor. It may give you an impressive image of the Period of the Warring States in ancient China. Here you can see life-sized warrior figures and horses with distinct facial expressions and positions. You may be surprised by the various kinds of ancient weapons that reflect the highly advanced technology in weapon-making 2,200 years ago.

After that, we are going to visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda built in the Tang Dynasty, the most prosperous dynasty in ancient China. The Buddhist scriptures and figurines of the Buddha brought by Xuanzang from ancient India are well preserved in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Stay overnight in Xián

We will pick you up from your hotel in Xi’an and then take you to the airport. Today you will catch the flight to Lhasa, at an altitude of 3,650 m (12,000 ft). You may feel a few symptoms of altitude sickness, like headache, inability to exercise, fatigue, loss of appetite, etc., a few hours after you arrive in Lhasa. Take it easy. It’s normal as you suddenly get to a high-altitude place from a plain. Most travelers will recover in 2 days.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

In the morning, your guide will meet you at the hotel and first take you to visit the famous Potala Palace, the cardinal landmark of Tibet and the masterpiece of Tibetan architecture. It was first built by the 33rd King - Songtsen Gangpo in the 7th century and rebuilt later by the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century. Now it's a museum and world heritage site. 

In the afternoon, you will go to visit Jokhang Temple in the center of the Lhasa old town. Jokhang Temple is the most sacred temple in Tibet and it is always bustling with earnest local pilgrims since the early days. After that, you will take a walk around the Barkhor Street - one of the most devotional circuits as well as a crowded central market of Lhasa. Barkhor Street is a very ancient round street surrounding the Jokhang Temple and the locals are always proud of it. As a symbol of Lhasa, it‘s also a must-see place for visitors.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

In the morning, you are heading to Drepung Monastery, which means Monastery of Rice Heaps in the Tibetan language. It’s a white magnificent building complex that looks also like rice heaps in the distance. Drepung monastery is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery, where lived more than 10 thousand monks in the past.

In the afternoon, you will pay a visit to Sera Monastery, which is one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet. Monks debate from around 3 pm to 5 pm. If the debate is not your type, you can also see the three sand Mandalas and colorful Rock Paintings of Buddha. Besides, the sight here is quite good because you can see wild roses around. That’s why people also call it “the Court of Wild Roses”.

Stay overnight in Lhasa

Your flight will transport you to Beijing - the majestic capital of China. You'll immediately see the astonishing contrasts in architecture that have been affected by the long history. For the rest of the day, you can wander around and explore this city on your own.

Stay overnight in Beijing

In the morning, we will set out to see the mysterious Forbidden City which is the world's largest imperial palace complex. Since it was built in Ming Dynasty, The Forbidden City was home for 24 emperors (from 1420 to 1911 AD). It's said to have 9,999½ forbidden imperial chambers. After that, you are moving to Tian'anmen Square with a great cultural significance which has been the site of several key events in Chinese history. Later, you can take a rickshaw going through a maze of Hutongs to explore old Beijing neighborhoods, discover the courtyard house of traditional Chinese characters.

Stay overnight in Beijing

You will have many interesting things to do today. In the morning, you are suggested to do Morning Exercises at the Temple of Heaven, which was founded in the early 15th century. Known as the Imperial Sacrificial Altar, Temple of Heaven always attracts numerous tourists. To avoid crowds and enjoy local people's morning exercises, we are going to this place in the morning. After visiting Temple of Heaven, we'll drive 2.5 hours to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, where you can go through the watchtowers and enjoy breathtaking views as it snakes across the hills and mountains.

Stay overnight in Beijing

Transfer to the airport for your departure flight.