Pre or Post Cruise Overland Hong Kong, Chengdu, Lhasa, Xian, Beijing

Duration: 9 days

Highlights: Explore the wonders of China, including Lhasa Tibet, before boarding your cruise on this fascinating itinerary that showcases the country’s extraordinary civilization, magnificent landscapes and lovely people.

Starting in Hong Kong your journey takes you to Chengdu, the bustling capital of China’s Sichuan province where you come up close and personal with the Giant Panda, China national mascot and where you also witness the mysterious “bian lian” or face changing an ancient secret theatrical tradition found only in Chengdu.  Then you take wing and fly up and onto the vast Tibetan Plateau to spend three days in the city of Lhasa, the holy city of the sun, the centre of Tibetan Buddhism.  Explore its magnificent monasteries and walk the back alleys of Lhasa to discover the true Tibet which has been steeped in Buddhist philosophy for more than 1,300 years.  

From the Roof of the World you then fly to the most celebrated ancient capitals in all of China, Xi’an where you spend a morning exploring the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20^th century, the Terra-Cotta Warriors & Horses part of the funerary area of the Qinshihuangdi, the first emperor of a united China.   Before boarding your cruise ship for the onward journey, explore the treasures of Beijing including Tiananmen Square, the magnificent Forbidden City, the elegant Temple of Heaven and the ethereal Summer Palace.  This visit to Beijing culminates with a day walking the ramparts of history when you visit the Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall.

Itinerary

Day 1 – Hong Kong to Chengdu

Today your journey to the magical Buddhist land of Tibet begins when you are transferred from your hotel (in Hong Kong) to Hong Kong International Airport where you board your flight to Chengdu, bustling capital of China’s Sichuan province. 

After arriving into Chengdu’s Shuangliu International Airport and clearing arrival formalities you will be met and transferred to your hotel.  Freshen up and then meet your guide and embark on an afternoon orientation of the city.  With a population of 16.5 million, Chengdu has developed into one of the most exciting cities in China.  A major business centre and the heart of Sichuan, the city exudes an energetic charm.  You will visit People’s Park, the largest in the city, and a wonderful centre for activity drawing local residents who come to sing, dance, practice martial arts and savour a cup of tea at the local tea house.

You will also visit Tianfu Square, the largest public plaza in the city and the Jinsha Museum which highlights the ancient Jinsha culture which flourished in the Chengdu region more than 3,000 years ago.

This evening your guide will meet and transfer you to the Kuanzhai (Wide and Narrow Alley) where you can enjoy the fiery flavours of a traditional hot pot.

Following dinner attend a performance of traditional “Chuan Xi” or Sichuan Opera which is highlighted by the Bian Lian or face changing performance which is an ancient theatrical art form known to only a handful of performers.

Overnight: The Ritz Carlton, Chengdu

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 2 – Chengdu to Lhasa

This morning, prior to your transfer to the airport (for your flight to Lhasa), enjoy a visit to the Giant Panda Breeding Centre which is located about 25 minutes from the city centre.

First opened in the late 1980s this quasi-government centre has focused on the captive breeding and related research of the Giant Panda the most beloved animal in China and the country’s de facto mascot.  Today the more than 100 acre site has over 80 giant pandas in residence along with 40 red or lesser pandas a related species that is believed to represent the link between pandas and the raccoon family.  You will visit several of the enclosures to see pandas of different ages and also the nursery area to see this year’s new cubs.

Continue next to the Chengdu Airport, where you’ll have lunch before boarding the 1 hour 55 minute flight to Tibet. On arrival at the Gonggar Airport you are met and then transferred to Lhasa which is approximately 90 minutes by road (from the airport).

Arriving at your Lhasa hotel, the balance of the day is for you to relax and acclimatize, as Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world at approximately 3,656 meters (11,996 feet).

Overnight: The Shangri-La Hotel, Lhasa

Meal Plan: B,L

Day 3 – Lhasa

Enjoy two full days of sightseeing and exploration in Lhasa, capital of the TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region) and the most sacred city in Tibetan Buddhism.  Situated at an elevation of 3,656 metres (approximately 12,000 feet) Lhasa is a vibrant city of 300,000, the cultural, educational and administrative centre for Tibet.

Early this morning you first visit Sangye Tungu (rock carvings) a sacred pilgrimage site located in the southern part of Lhasa.  Part of the “Lingkor” or circumambulation route around the city of Lhasa, the rock carvings on the cliff face are among the most sacred in Lhasa.  Each morning crowds of devout pilgrims come to the site to pray and support the dedicated men and women who carve mantras on stones piling them into massive books.

You then visit the Potala Palace formerly the winter residential palace of the Dalai Lama and the location of the offices of government until 1959 and the Dalai Lama’s departure to India.  Today the palace is a public museum that showcases the history of the rule of the Dalai Lamas and includes many exquisite Buddhist treasures.

Visit the true heart of Lhasa at the Jokhang Temple which marks the central core of the Tibetan city.  The temple is considered by Tibetans to be the holiest site in Lhasa.  Constructed during the reign of King Songsten Gampo (618 – 650) the temple is believed to house a sacred image of the Buddha brought to Tibet by the Tang Chinese princess, Wenchang,  The temple has been rebuilt and expanded through the centuries.  The temple opens onto the Barkhor a sacred pilgrims route that encircles the Jokhang – enjoy some time watching the crowds of pilgrims that flock to the Barkhor, attired in their finest costumes and also take in the shops and market stalls selling all manner of Buddhist iconography.

Overnight: The Shangri-La Hotel, Lhasa

Meal Plan: B,L

Day 4 – Lhasa

Your morning will start with a visit to the Drepung Monastery, the largest of all Tibetan Monasteries and considered one of the “Great Three” (the others being the Sera and the Ganden monasteries).  Located 10 kilometres (6 miles) outside of the city, Drepung (which means “rice heap”) dates to the early 15^th century and once housed 7,700 monks; today there are no more than 300 monks in Drepung.

Return to the city and visit the Norbulingka Palace which is set within the city’s most beautiful park.  The palace was first constructed in 1755 and served as the summer residence of the Dalai Lamas from the late 18^th century through the year 1959 and the reign of the current or 14^th Dalai Lama.  The palace has been painstakingly restored and maintained and provides visitors with a wonderful look at how the Dalai Lamas lived.

This afternoon enjoy the spirited debates that go on in the Sera Monastery, the great esoteric teaching monastery.  The debates are held in an outdoor courtyard garden and involve senior lamas (monks) debating with a student monk – these debates normally focus on the esoteric teachings of Tibetan Buddhis philosophy.

Overnight: The Shangri-La Hotel, Lhasa

Meal Plan: B,L

Day 5 –  Lhasa to Xi’an

Today your guide will meet and transfer you to the Gonggar Airport (serving Lhasa) where you board your flight to Xi’an.

On arrival at the Xi’an Airport you are met by your guide and transferred to your hotel.

Overnight: The Sofitel Legend, Xi’an

Meal Plan: B

Day 6 – Xian to Beijing

This morning following breakfast and checking out of your hotel, meet your guide and transfer to the city’s Old Quarter which dates to the early Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644).  You first visit the beautiful Great Mosque which is the largest mosque in Xi’an which is home to over 80,000 Hui Muslims.  The mosque is a heritage structure and uniquely melds both the traditional Buddhist temple style design with Central Asian and Middle Eastern embellishments.  The area around the mosque is a busy food market and bazaar drawing crowds of people each day.

You will also visit the Small Wild Goose Pagoda a Tang period Buddhist Pagoda not often included on Xi’an itineraries but which is well worth the visit.  The pagoda, standing nearly 43 metres (140 feet) first constructed in the year 684 in honor of the Tang Dynasty Emperor Gaozong. The Xian Museum is located near the pagoda and time permitting you will pay a visit to this comprehensive museum of Xi’an’s ancient city history.

Continuing with your tour of Xi’an transfer to the east of the city to Lintong County to visit the world-famous Terracotta Warriors & Horses Excavation Museum. The terracotta site, a small part of the tomb of the emperor, Qin Shihuangdi (259 BCE – 210 BCE), is made up of three distinct dig "pits", the Bronze Chariot Museum, and a theatre which shows a short film on the history of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221 BCE – 207 BCE). Theories abound, but it is thought the Terracotta Warriors, made from mineral rich loess soil, were meant to safeguard the emperor's passage to the afterlife and protect his kingdom from attack. Each pit serves a different military purpose, including the vanguard and side flanks, military encampment and strategic headquarters.

After departing from the Terra-Cotta Warriors you transfer to the Xi’an Airport making a stop – en route – to visit the Han Yangling Excavation and Museum.  Excavations first began in 1989 and in 1999 a museum was opened – the museum features archaeological discoveries from Han dynasty tombs and represents the culmination of nearly 30 years of excavation work on the area around the tomb of the Han emperor Jindgi, who died 141 B.C. While the actual imperial tomb of the emperor and chief consort has yet to be opened, archaeologists have excavated more than 80 “satellite tombs” that have yielded a treasure trove of exquisite funerary pieces.

Following your visit to Han Yangling you continue on to the airport where you board your flight to Beijing.

On arrival into Beijing you are met and transferred to your hotel, ideally situated in the heart of the city.

Overnight: The Peninsula Beijing.

Meal Plan: B,L

Day 7 – Beijing

This morning you meet your guide and set off on an orientation tour of Beijing that starts at the magnificent Temple of Heaven.  Considered the jewel of Ming period (1368 – 1644) architecture, the temple grounds also draw scored of local residents who come to sing, dance, meet friends and enjoy this wondrous site.

Continue to the Hongqiao Market, a bustling kaleidoscope of commerce that features a stunning array of goods on sale.

Following lunch in a local restaurant visit Tiananmen Square the true heart of the city.  Here the past, present and future of China merge in this monumental symbol of national unity.

From the Square you will walk into the Forbidden City once the centre of imperial power for the last two dynastic periods of Chinese history:  the Ming (1368 – 1644) and Qing (1644 – 1911) dynasties.  Since 1925 the palace has served as the National Palace Museum, the world’s largest museums of Chinese art and antiquities.  More than 1.2 million treasures are held in the galleries and vaults of the Forbidden City.

This evening enjoy a dinner at one of the city’s finest and most authentic Peking Duck restaurants.

Overnight: The Peninsula  Beijing

Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 8 – Beijing

This morning transfer overland to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall.  Located to the northeast of the city, the Mutianyu section of the Wall is said to be the most scenically stunning as the Wall rides the craggy peaks of the Yan Mountains.  This part of the Great Wall was rebuilt and strengthened to ward of attacks from marauding armies of Mongol soldiers, defending the access to Beijing.  You will have time to walk along the ramparts of the Wall enjoying the panoramic views and deep sense of historic wonder.

Following lunch continue on to the Ming Tombs which lie one hour from the Great Wall.  Thirteen of the 16 tombs are located in a picturesque region between the Yan Mountains and the Ming Tombs Reservoir which is believed to be favoured for its “feng shui”.  You first walk the Sacred Way a one-kilometre long passageway over which the emperor’s body passed on the way to its final resting place. You will also visit the Chang Ling Mausoleum where the body of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty is buried.   The passageway is lined with a series of majestic statues of animals, mythological creatures, military dignitaries and high court officials. 

Late this afternoon return to Beijing.

Overnight: The Peninsula Beijing

Meal Plan: B,L

Day 9 –Beijing to Tianjin

Today your exploration of China comes to an end when you are met (after checking out from your hotel) and transferred overland to the port of Xingang (near the city of Tianjin) (transfer time is approximately 2.5 to 3 hours).  On arrival you are assisted with the embarkation of your cruise ship.