China and Tibet

Day 1: Arrival in Beijing
 

On the second day of your China to Tibet holiday, you'll explore Beijing by car with a driver and an English-speaking guide. You'll be picked up at your hotel around 8:30 in the morning. The first stop is Tian'anmen Square: the gateway to heavenly peace. This famous square with its buildings of parliament, the entrance to the Forbidden City and Mao Zhedong's Mausoleum, is usually a preferred first-stop for most travellers. Afterwards, you'll visit the Temple of Heavenly Peace (entrance fee 35 Yuan, approximately £3.50) and the colourful Lama Temple (entrance fee approximately £2.50). These are Beijing's most important temples. Surrounded by the scent of incense and sandalwood you'll walk amongst red pagodas, monks and houses of worship. Since you will have a guide accompanying you, you'll not only learn all about Beijing, you can also ask him any practical questions you may have.

In the afternoon, you and your guide will stroll through the Forbidden City where you'll have a look at the emperor's 18th century residence (open until 4pm, entrance fee approximately £6). Once you've seen all you wish to see, your guide will help you get a taxi back to your hotel (this will cost around £1.50).

You'll be awakened before arriving in Xi'an on day five of your China holiday. We'll make reservations for you in a centrally located, comfortable hotel. One of our representatives will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall and will take you straight to your hotel and the transfer should take approximately 15 minutes (if you'd prefer not to travel by train, there are also several daily flights to Xi'an).

The rest of the day is yours to recover from your train trip or you could go for a stroll across the large city boulevards. The heart of the city is the large Bell Tower, located in the middle of a traffic intersection. The Drum Tower is also nearby. If you climb the tower around 5pm you'll have a wonderful view of the city, the Muslim neighbourhood and a demonstration of Chinese kettle drums- this is sure to be a real highlight of your travels from China to Tibet.

 

This morning you'll be picked up at your hotel for a visit to the next highlight of your trip from China to Tibet; the Terracotta Army. The excavation site is located about 40 minutes from the city of Xi'an. Farmers stumbled upon the approximately 7000 clay soldiers, clay horses and clay chariots, which were commissioned by the then 14 year old king Zheng for his future royal tomb. A visit to the Warriors will take about 2 hours; including the round-trip transfer this will get you back in Xi'an at around 1pm.

If you're interested, you can go for a bike ride across the wall in the afternoon. The wall runs in a square-pattern around the city. You'll pay 40 Yuan to access the wall, 15 Yuan for 1.5 hours of bike hire (enough to bike around the entire wall) and a 200 Yuan deposit. There are cafés at the various towers and bike riding is possible from 8am-10pm and it's a fun way to avoid the crowds.

The monasteries in Samye, Tsedang and in nearby areas Yarlong and Chonggye (Qonggyai) have been opened to tourists. The Samye monastery was built around 780 by monks who were looking to free themselves from demons that would stand in the way of the Buddhist religion being introduced in Tibet. Samye was the first monastery in Tibet used to educate monks.  

Today is the sixteenth day of your holiday in China and Tibet and this morning you'll go on a bike ride through the area surrounding Lijiang. You'll ride over a flat road with mountains to the right and left of you, accompanied by a guide. You'll visit the traditional Naxi village of Baisha, where you'll park your bike and visit the legendary herbal practitioner Dr. Ho. He's over 80 years old, however when you enter his home he'll greet you with warmth, friendliness and cup of herbal tea. He may even show you some newspaper clippings written about him in foreign newspapers. You'll return to Lijiang around noon and you'll say goodbye to your guide.

After lunch you can visit the Black Dragon Pool Park (entrance fee 40 Yuan). This park is home to one of the most frequently photographed spots in China and is sure to be a memorable highlight of your China and Tibet travel experience. When the sun shines the temple and the surrounding mountains peaks are beautiful reflection in the lakes waters. 

Today you'll catch your own taxi to the airport for just a few pounds and then catch a plane to Chengdu where your trip from China to Tibet (and back again) will come to an end. We'll arrange for a transfer to pick you up at Chengdu airport and take you to your hotel in the centre of town, within   walking distance from the incredibly fun and active backpacker guest houses.

The advantage of your accommodation is that it's more comfortable than a guest house. You'll stay in a comfortable mid-class hotel in a room with a shower, toilet, telephone, refrigerator and air conditioning. Yet you'll also be able to benefit from the English speaking staff in the guest houses. Their know-how and the affordable activities and excursions they organize for their guests are also available to you. This way you'll have the best of both worlds.

If you would like to see pandas while travelling in China, visit the Panda Research Centre in Chengdu. This green bamboo forest filled park also has a swan lake and is home to giant pandas that live in large fenced in gardens. We thought it was definitely worth visiting, since you'll get to see the animals from very close-up.

You'll be picked up at 7:30 in the morning so that you can arrive right when the pandas are about to be fed. Although it's a zoo, it's a responsible, well-maintained one. It's endearing to watch the pandas eating, playing and sleeping. If you visit the instructional panda museum you'll understand more clearly why the panda is an endangered species.

You'll be back at your hotel around 11:30 and the afternoon is yours to spend as you wish before your trip from China to Tibet and back comes to an end. You could, for instance, go souvenir shopping at one of the large shopping malls or in one of the small stores in the Tibetan neighbourhood.