18 Days Vast China and Holy Tibet Tour with Overland Trip to Kathmandu

Welcome to the hometown of Giant Panda! Upon arriving at the airport/train station, you will be met by your local tour guide, and then drive to your downtown hotel in Chengdu City. After the hotel check-in, you are free to take a rest or explore around on your own.

Optional Activity: go to enjoy an authentic Sichuan Cuisine dinner at a local restaurant.

Today is free for you to explore this West-friendly metroplis on your own. As the most international city in Asia, Hong Kong always show her hospitality as much as she can to tourists of all kinds. You don't have to worry having trouble with language because English is highly spoken in Hong Kong.

You can start your exploration from Victoria Peak, the highest peak in Hong Kong. Stand on the observation deck of the peak and look around, the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Island are just like two pearls inlayed into the Victoria Harbor, skyscrapers sitting over the blue water, the city skyline reaches far away to the end of sightContinue to take a trip to Repulse Bay. Little noise, few shops, forget about the hustle and bustle for a while as you walking on the white sand of the long beach, you can really enjoy the sea breeze. Next, stroll along the Stanley Market, browse fancy petty commodities in various little stores, or just order a cup of coffee or beer at the seaside café or pub, a great way to spend time away from the maddening crowds.

Today, you are going to leave Hong Kong for Guilin. Guilin is a world famous scenic city as well as a historic and cultural city featuring karst landforms. You will be picked up at the airport by your private guide, then transferred to check in your hotel in downtown.

Optional Train Transfer: It is also available to take a train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou (about 3 hours) or Shenzhen (about 0.5 hours), and then take a high speed train to Guilin (about 2.5 hours).

Today’s Guilin vacation will be started with a leisure cruise on the poetic Li River. You will board the cruise ship at Mopanshan Pier on the upper stream of Li River, then cruise about 4 hours to the Yangshuo Town on the downstream. While enjoying the relaxing cruise, you will also be presented by an amazing visual feast of the most beautiful Karst landscape in China just like a painting - the lively Li River wriggling among lovely limestone hills with green trees and leading you to the romantic scenery of Yangshuo.

Disembark at Yangshuo Town. After getting some rest, go outside to explore the idyllic Yangshuo countryside by taking a sightseeing minibus or riding a bicycle. March along Shilihualang (means 10 miles gallery in Chinese), be enthralled by the patches of paddy fields nestling under green hills and near the mirror-like river, with farmers cultivating the soil with their water buffalos. While in the evening, you can stroll along the West Old Street, witnessing how the western culture and Chinese culture perfectly and peacefully coexisting here.

Today you will drive back to Guilin City to visit the landmarks and catch your departing flight. First attraction is the Elephant Trunk Hill, the symbol of the city, a rock mountain shaping like an elephant drinking on the Li River. Next attraction is the magical Reed Flute Cave, a majestic underground palace, where condenses millions of years’ natural efforts to form the incredible stalactite, stalagmite, stone shield and stone waterfall of different sizes and shapes.

After the tour, be escorted to the airport to catch your flight to Beijing, the capital of China. Upon arrival, you will be met by local tour guide at the airport and be transferred to your hotel in a private vehicle. The rest of today is free for you to take a walk in Beijing.

China has more than 4000 years’ history of Imperial Social System, while Beijing is the best place in China to experience the magnificent history and culture of ancient China. Today your guide will pick you up in the hotel after your breakfast, then start the wonderful ancient China culture and history tour!

You will firstly get to the world's largest plaza – Tian’anmen Square. The grandiose Tian’anmen Gate was the place where the chairman Mao announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China to the world. Passing through Tiananmen Gate, you will enter the splendid Forbidden City, the previous home to 24 emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties for 600 years. Magnificent architectures, intricate ornaments and touching legends make it a must-see of China. In the afternoon, head to visit the stunning and exquisite Summer Palace, and be amazed at the vast ensemble of lakes, gardens, temples, and palaces, together as a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. While in Qing Dynasty, it was the personal summer retreat for the royal families. It is made up of front hill, back hill and Kunming Lake. You will see splendid halls and pavilions in the front hill, while in the back hill, you will enjoy quiet and natural beauty.

After the sightseeing, you will be taken back to your hotel for rest.

Optional Recommended Night Activity:
1 watch an exciting Chinese Kungfu Show at Red Theatre which usually starts at 7:30 pm;
2 enjoy a famous Beijing Opera Show at Liyuan Theater between 19:30-21:00.

Hiking the Great Wall is one-in-a-lifetime thing to do for most travelers. Today, you are going to accomplish the Great Wall dream. You will be escorted about 70km from the downtown Beijing to the world-famous Mutianyu Great Wall which has fewer tourists compared with Badaling Great Wall. At the same time, it is the best Great Wall section to view the delicately beautiful scenery while appreciating the grandness of the Walls. After arriving at the ticket office, you will take a cable car to the walls of Mutianyu, and then hike about 2 hours on the Great Wall.

After the Mutianyu Great Wall hiking, you will drive back to the city. On route, take a sidetrip to the solemn Ming Tombs of ancient emperors in Ming Dynasty. Wander along the Sacred Road, a tranquil royal path featured with statues of divine animals and officials; also take an adventure to the mysterious Underground Palace. Before getting to your hotel, you will also make a stop at the Beijing Olympic Village to take some pictures of the world-famed "Bird’s Nest" and the "Water Cube" from the outside.

Optional Recommended Activity: enjoy a dinner of authentic Peking Roasted Duck at Quanjude Restaurant.

After breakfast, you'll go to marvel at one of the greatest masterpiece in Chiense architecture history - the Temple of Heaven, where the ancient emperors used to preside at various rituals for a national good harvest in ancient times. Today, the outer area of the Temple of Heaven is a public park for locals to gather to play Taichi, fly kites, chatting… while the inner area is the historical site for tourists to learn about the ancient Chinese history and culture. Later move on to visit the most famous Hutongs which are some old alleys with traditional architecture originated from Yuan Dynasty (CD 1271~1368. Today, there are still many local Beijingers living in these old quarters, while in the Qing Dynasty (CD 1636~1912), there were even some noble royal families resided here. You can wander leisurely around these narrow alleys to experience the original features of people’s living in old time, or take a relaxing rickshaw through. Lunch will be arranged at a local family who lives in Hutong.

After the lunch, you will have some free time until be taken to catch a high speed train to Xian. Our local guide will be waiting for you in train station and escorting you to your hotel in Xian. The rest of day is free for you to explore the ancient city on your own.

After breakfast, drive about 1.5 hours to witness the magnificent man-mad wonder - the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, which were interred to protect Qin Shi Huang (the first Emperor of China) in his afterlife. Over 8,000 life-sized terracotta warriors and horses with different looks and numerous bronze weapons compose a large-scale army system to reappear the majestic momentum of the Qin Army 2,000 years ago.

In the afternoon, drive back to Xian city to visit the Ancient City Wall, the largest and best-preserved ancient city wall in China. Built in Ming Dynasty as a military defense, the wall’s top is wider than its height to allow the army drill. Stroll on the top of the ancient wall and observe the modern Xian, emerge yourself in the charm of this ancient capital. Your next place is to go is the nearby Muslim Quarter, a place to satisfy your stomach with various delicious local foods and snacks. It is also a wonderful place for a leisure walking around.

Optional Recommended Activity:
1 biking for a while on the Ancient Great Wall;
2 enjoy a wonderful performance of Tang Palace Dancing Show (usually from 8pm to 9pm).

In this morning, you will firstly make a visit to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This earliest and largest square pavilion style pagoda built in Tang Dynasty is a seven-layered pagoda with a height of 64.5 meters. The pagoda was first built to store the Buddhist sutras brought back from the Ancient India by Xuanzang (the prototype character of Tang Seng in the novel of Journey to the West).

After that, move to Shaanxi History Museum, where collects over 370,000 pieces cultural relics of different dynasties, including bronzes, Chinaware, gold and silver wares, grave frescos, currencies of various dynasties, etc.

After the tour, be escorted to the Xi'an North Railway Station to catch your High Speed Train to Chengdu, the hometown of the cute Giant Panda. Upon arrival, you will be met by local tour guide at the railway station and be transferred to your hotel in a private vehicle. The rest of today is free for you to relax in this leisure city.

Chengdu has three famous features – Giant Panda, History and Leisure Living Pace. Today, you will go to explore these tree features one by one. First is to visit the lovely Giant Pandas in Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, which is the No. 1 thing to do in Chengdu. You will leave your hotel early and drive about 30 minutes to the panda base so that you can catch up the great moments of pandas, such as feeding, playing, climbing tree, etc. There are different enclosures for pages of different ages, such as all around to see baby pandas, 1 year-old pandas, teenage pandas, and older pandas. Beautiful walking paths will lead you to visit the enclosures from one to next. Enjoy the happy time with pandas.

The second place to visit is the sacred Wenshu Temple which is hidden peacefully among the modern mansions. This temple is the most popular Buddhist temple in Chengdu region. It has beautiful traditional ancient architecture. The atmosphere is calm and quiet, some people are praying. There is a little garden and the monastery is very colorful and decorated. After Wenshu Temple, you are going to explore the leisure living peace of locals at Renmin Park and Jinli Street. Renmin Park, or People’s Park is the place for locals to go for a relaxing walk, meet friends, or have a cup of tea. While Jinli is the “street of tourists”. You can wander on the traditional old street to absorb the special atmosphere of Chengdu, taste local snacks, watching a performance, etc.

Optional Recommended Night Activity:
watch an fascinating show of traditional Sichuan Opera & Face Changing Performance in a local theatre.

Today, you will be free until your local guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to Lhasa (about 2 hours’ flight). Upon arriving at Lhasa Gongga Airport, you will be picked up by local tour guide at the airport hall, then be escorted to your hotel in Lhasa city in a private vehicle. The rest of the day is free for you to explore the local areas and acclimatize yourself to the air, temperature and high altitude of Lhasa.

High Altitude Acclimation Tips:
1 go for some leisure walking to acclimate the high altitude but avoid strenuous activity after arrival;
2 you'd better not have bath, in case of catching a cold;
3 drink more water, and have some fruit;
4 have a good rest.

Today we will start off with the fantastic Potala Palace, which historically served as the winter home of the Dalai Lama. It was first used in the 7th century by the 33rd king of Tibet. The most valuable collections in the Potala Palace are the gilded burial stupas of the former Dalai Lamas and the meditation cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet.

After lunch, we will move on to the Jokhang Temple, which was also founded in the 7th century by the 33rd great king of Tibet to promote the Buddhist religion. Inside you can see the statue of the Buddha Sakyamuni as he was at the age of twelve – this is perhaps the most venerated object in Tibetan Buddhism. Around the temple is Barkhor Street where you can perform the “Kora” (a religious circuit around a sacred building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals. The Barkhor market is also a great place to pick up locally made handicrafts and souvenirs.

Tips for Visiting Potala Palace
1. The number of visitors to the palace is strictly limited to 2,300 per day. Visitors can only visit during the time specified on the admission ticket.
2. Admission tickets to visit the Potala Palace are sold out almost every day, so it is strongly recommended to book your tickets several days in advance.
3. There are many steps at the Potala Palace, so it’s best to take it slowly to avoid possible altitude discomfort.
4. Visitors should respect the rules while visiting. Do not wear hats, wear revealing clothes or step on thresholds as these actions violate local customs.
5. Photography and the taking of videos are forbidden inside the Potala Palace.
6. A security search will take place at the entrance to the palace. Explosives, flammables, knives, lighters and

This morning we will visit the Drepung Monastery – one of the great three Gelug monasteries of Tibet. Founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choge, on Tosngkhapa’s main disciples, the Drepung Monastery is home of Ganden Palace, which formerly served as the Dalai Lama’s palace before later moving on to the Potala Palace.

In the afternoon we will move on to see another of the great three of the Gelug monasteries in Tibet – the Sera Monastery. Founded in 1419 by another main disciple of Tsongkhapa, Jamchen Chojey, the main attraction of this monastery is the lively scene of the monks debating Buddhist scriptures in the courtyard behind the monastery in the afternoon.

Today, you will leave Lhasa and drive about 8 hours to Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. It may be a long journey, but there are many things to do along the road. The first site you will reach is the holy Yamdrok Lake (altitude: 4,400m). As the largest fresh lake in the northern of the Himalaya Mountains, it spreads about 675 square meters from south to north, like an eardrop lying in the arms of snow-capped giant mountains. Viewing from a distance, you can see fertile pastures full of yaks and sheep, and some small Tibetan villages along the lakeshore. Keeping driving not so far from Yamdrok Lake, you will see the imposing Karola Glacier (altitude: 5,045m) towering aloft on the right side of the road.

Continuing your trip, you will get to the historical city of Gyantse. Feel hungry? Have a good lunch in the town, then go to visit the mysterious Palcho Monastery (altitude: 4,040m). The monks and tradition of three important sects of Tibetan Buddhism - Sakyapa, Zhalupa and Gelukpa, peacefully coexist in this monastery. Its Kumbum, which is 35 meters high and has 76 small chapels with hundreds images of Kriyatantras , is believed to be the largest such structure in Tibet.

After the Gyantse sightseeing, keep drive about 3 hours, you will arrive at your hotel in Shigatse (altitude: 3,800m). Have a good rest!

Tips of today:
1 wear warm clothes to prevent from cold and wild;
2 pack some food and drinks with you because you will spend much time on the road.

Today, you will leave Shigatse for the final destination of your Tibet trip - Mount Everest. Though being a long driving of about 7 hours, but the views along the road are stupendous. In clear days, you can see the clear face the Himalaya range including several famous peaks over 8,000 meters, such as Makalu, Lhotse, Gyachung and Cho Oyu. When you finally get to the Rongbuk Monastery, and get the first sight of the mighty Everest, you will immerse in a solemn ethereal mood and find all the efforts you have made along the long way are not in vain. Located about 5100 meters above the sea level, Rongbuk Monastery is the highest monastery in the world. It is the best location to take some great photos of the front face of Mount Everest. The rest of today is free for you to visit the Rongbuk Monastery and explore surrounding landscape.

Accommodation: if you visit Mount Everest during off season (November to April), you will accommodate at Rongbuk Guest House near the Rongbuk Monastery; if you visit Mount Everest during the peak season (May to October), you will accommodate at the Tibetan Tents Camp which is only run between May and October by local Tibetans. It is near Rongbuk Monastery as well. Please note that the accommodation at both places is very simple and basic, only dorm beds with communal squat toilets are available. Duvets, heated blankets and hot water will be provided, and you are suggested to bring your own sleeping bag and toilet paper. There is no running water, sinks or showers. The dining room just offer basic breakfast and dinner without menu. Remember to dress warmly all the time.

Tips of today:
1 currently Everest Base Camp is not open for tourists for environmental protection and the Everest landscape can be also enjoyed at Rongbuk Monastery - closest place to Mount Everest tourists can reach;
2 the vehicles and buses can only escort travelers to the Parking Lot which is about 20km away from Rongbuk Monastery, and then you need to take a 30 minutes' scenic park bus there;
3 the Everest altitude marker, a tablet reading "Mt. Qomolangma Elevation Measurement" has been transferred near Rongbuk Monastery and you can take a photo to commemorate your wonderful adventure tour;
4 bring a warm coat for low temperature in Everest and avoid strenuous activity to prevent from high altitude sickness.

Wake up early to enjoy the marvelous sunrise on the peak of the world from Rongbuk Monastery. The top part of the Mount Everest is always covered by snow all the year round, and when the sun shines on the mountain, the peak is like a giant white pyramid, which is one of the most famous sceneries of Mount Everest. In bright days, you can also see a wisp of cloud hanging above the top of Mount Everest. It flies eastward in the fast western wind just like a flapping flag. This unique phenomenon is the spectacular “Cloud Flag”. The cloud will change from surging waves into a thin cooking smoke or from galloping steeds into the mysterious veil of a goddess.

Till now your Mount Everest adventure is about to end. The rest of today is to drive to Gyirong Town. The views along the road are stupendous. In clear days, you can see the clear face of Shishapangma Peak and enjoy the beautiful view of Pekutso Lake.

Tips of today:
1 the sunrise usually starts around 6:30 am to 7am on Mount Everest;
2 keep warm all the time.

Today, you will leave the territory of Tibet. Drive about 25km to the Gyirong Port where you will walk across the custom to Nepal territory and transfer to Kathmandu. Though the distance is only about 160km, it takes more than 6 hours to drive to Kathmandu from Gyirong Port because the road is narrow and bumpy. During the rainy season, the road is muddy and may be closed for the landslides.

Tips of Today:
Our service will end at the border of Tibet and Nepal. If you want, we can also arrange the transfer from the border to Kathmandu for you with an extra charge.