15 Day Trip with the Regent
"China's Exotic Wonders"
Beijing, Dunhuang, X’ian, Lhasa, Tibet Holy Lake
With Optional tour to Gyantse, Shigatse, Dingri, Base Camp
June 18th to July 2nd, 2010 all inclusive for $2789 per person (Single Supplement: $699)
Trip Extension Option: Everest 4 Days & 3 Nights: $259.00/PP (Single: $99.00)
Package Included
1. All domestic flight listed on itinerary
2. Hotel accommodation & meal plan listed on the itinerary.
3. B-breakfast; L-lunch; D-dinner
4. All transportation listed on the itinerary.
5. English-speaking guide & driver and van through the tour.
6. All attraction’s main entry charges.
7. Luggage service.
Package Excluded
1. International airfare and tax
2. China Visa Fee
3. Optional travel insurance
4. China driver & tour guide tipping
$250/pp deposit payable by check to Regent Ballroom.
Final Payment Due April 1st. All but $50 is refundable before March 1st.
Meal Plan: IM : In-flight Meals, B : Breakfast, L : Lunch, D : Dinner, SL : Special Lunch, SD : Special Dinner
Day 1: Depart USA
Board your international flight to Beijing. En route, cross the International Dateline and lose a day. You’ll recover this day on your return trip. (IM)
Day 2: Beijing
Arrive in Beijing in the afternoon. Meet your local representative and transfer to your hotel at the heart of Beijing. Your hotel has prime location and is only a few minutes walk to the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the renowned Wangfujing shopping area. Relax and enjoy the evening in China’s historic and vibrant capital city. Beijing Huabin International Hotel
Day 3: Beijing – Dunhuang
Trace the footsteps of the caravans on the ancient Silk Road, you fly westward over the Northern China Plain and the snowcapped mountains of Qilian to the oasis town of Dunhuang. Dunhuang is in many ways the most important destination on the Silk Road. Literally means Blazing Beacon, Dunhuang was a vital and flourishing caravan stop, the westernmost oasis under Chinese control. Two thousand years ago, when Buddhist first entered China, Dunhuang lay on a principal trade route along which flowed emissaries from myriad cultures of Central Asia. The town marked a confluence of artistic styles and philosophies, becoming an important center of Buddhism and a place of devout pilgrimage. Three major trading routes from the West merged here, making it a major supply center. Meet your local representative and check into the stone fortress of the Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel at the foot of the famed “Singing Sand Dunes”; relax and enjoy an evening breeze from the desert.
Later, you tour the Singing Sand Dunes on a camel ride. The dunes look like a poster of the Sahara. In their deep folds, they trap underground springs, creating Crescent Moon Lake, a celebrated pool where Silk Road travelers, including Marco Polo, paused to drink. Dunhuang Silk Road Hotel (B,L,D)
Day 4: Dunhuang
Dunhuang shelters one of the most significant capitals of early Buddhist art in China. On a full day excursion you visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Mogao Caves – China’s richest treasure house of Buddhist paintings, statues, and manuscripts. Nearly 500 grottoes pierce the desert cliffs above a dry river valley and were created over a thousand-year period stretching from the 4th century to the 14th century AD. Nine dynasties rose and fell during this time, and the artists of each period contributed. The art illuminates a time when Dunhuang was a major centre of Central Asian culture and the main contact point between China and the rest of the world. After dinner, enjoy a stunning view of the sunset on the Singing Sand Dunes from your hotel. (B,L,D)
Day 5: Dunhuang – Xian
After breakfast, you are transferred to the airport for a flight to Xian to witness the historical side of China. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel. Xian was a historic gateway to the Silk Road and the capital of the Middle Kingdom for 11 dynasties. In a time when ancient Beijing was just a remote trading post, Xian was the capital of China and one of the world’s largest and richest cities, with a population exceeding one million in the 10th century.
Today, you tour the Wild Goose Pagoda, a Tang Dynasty landmark. This seven-story pagoda was initially constructed in 652 AD to house the Buddhist sutras brought back from India by the monk, Xuan Zang, who later translated them into Chinese. His pilgrimage to India is immortalized in the Chinese classic – The Journey to the West.
After dinner, you take a relaxing walk to the heart of the city to visit its fascinating night market at the Muslim quarter. In the center of Xian, visible everywhere from the surrounding city walls, are the city’s two Ming Dynasty treasures – Bell and Drum Towers. Built in 1384, the Bell Tower, in which a great bell once rang at dawn, is a classic example of Ming architecture. It consists of a triple-eaved, two storey wooden pavilion resting on a square brick platform nine meters high, pierced by four archways. Across the square from the Bell Tower is the rectangular Drum Tower, where a drum was beaten daily at sundown. First erected in 1380, the Drum Tower has become the gateway to Xian’s old Muslim quarter and its historical mosque.
Founded in 742, the Great Mosque is the focus of the more than 30,000 Chinese Muslims (Hui) of Xian, whose beards and white caps distinguish them from Han Chinese. Stand in four beautiful courtyards of ancient trees, ornate arches and stone steles, the Mosque is the center of life for the Muslim community – the descendants of the merchants that ferried the religion into China along the ancient Silk Road. The backstreets surrounding the mosque is the charming Muslim Quarter hosting the city’s most fascinating night market, with its winding streets, low houses, narrow lanes, excellent ethnic cuisine, and resident Hui community. Tour the lovely and unusual area with bustling stalls and see some of the best street food in China! Titan Times Hotel (B,L,D)
Day 6: Xian
Today’s excursion will take you to modern China’s greatest archaeological discovery – The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses, which silently guarded the tomb of China’s First Emperor for over 2,200 years. In 1974, a local farmer uncovered the first of three massive earth and timber vaults, while digging a well. The extensive excavation, still in progress, has yielded over 6000 life-sized terra cotta warriors, each individually sculpted, with the physical characteristics of the humans they were modeled after. Archers, infantrymen, horses and bronze chariots have also been unearthed. A Circle Vision documentary is available on site. Lunch at a local restaurant and see a noodle making demonstration.
Today’s Culture InSites™ Program will offer you a rare opportunity to witness a real rural life at a typical village in central China. You visit a rural primary school and mingle with students and faculties at their classroom. Later, you stop at a “Yao Dong” (Literally an arched tunnel) – a typical cave dwellings that stretches across six provinces in north central China. The “Yao Dong” is caves dug into mountainsides with a signature arched front. Usually, one family unit consists of three arched openings, and the units are interconnected inside. The center cave can be termed the "living room", which includes a stovetop cooking area. The two side caves are sleeping quarters. Outside of the cities of this region, some 90% of the rural population lives in yaodongs.
Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), traditionally regarded as the golden age of China, was a time of patricians and intellectuals, Buddhist monks and Taoist priests, poetry and music, song and dance – a period of peace and exceptional creativity lasting 300 years. This evening, you attend a feast of culinary and cultural delights with a special Dumpling (dim sum) banquet followed by a fascinating Tang Dynasty stage show. Indulge yourself in this remarkable show and reinvent your China dream with a travel back in time to the world of China’s Golden Age, then come back to the present with a greater understanding of this amazing time. (B,L,SD)
Day 7: Xian – Lhasa
After breakfast, you fly to Lhasa, the spiritual heart of Tibet. En route, you enjoy a fantastic view of the snowcapped mountain ranges as you fly over the Tibetan Plateau – the earth’s highest ecosystem and one of its last remaining great wildernesses, also the source of Asia’s greatest rivers. Half way to Lhasa you pass the great White citadel of Minya Konka at 24,783 feet. Now you fly over the Hengduan Range and the deep, gloomy valleys of three Asia’s greatest rivers: the Mekong, the Salween, and the Yangtze. As you near the Plateau you’ll likely to catch sight of another impressive peak, 25,439-foot Namcha Barwa, the easternmost rampart of the Himalaya.
Upon arrival at Gongkar Airport, two hours outside of Lhasa, you will meet your Tibetan guide and driver, and together you take a scenic drive to the holy city. Stop en route to visit Tibetan villages and schools; and make photos of the Tibetan houses, yaks, Buddhist carvings, and the remarkable landscape of streams and snowcapped mountains. Lhasa means “country of the gods” and it rose to prominence as an important administrative center in the 7th century AD, when Songtsen Gampo, a local ruler in the Yarlung Valley, continued the task initiated by his father of unifying Tibet. Songtsen Gampo moved his capital to Lhasa and build a palace on the site now occupied by the Potala. At this time the temples of Ramoche and Jokhang were established to Buddha images brought as the dowries of Songtsen Gampo’s Chinese and Nepali wives. Your hotel in Lhasa is perfectly situated near the center of town. You enjoy a quiet, leisurely afternoon and evening acclimating to Lhasa’s high altitude (11,796 feet). Lhasa Hotel VIP Section or similar (B,L,D)
Day 8: Lhasa
An unforgettable day begins with a tour to the monumental Potala Palace whose imposing presence dominates the entire region. Once the residence of the Dalai Lama, and seat of the Tibetan government, the 13-story structure has been a museum since the spiritual leader and head of state of Tibet went into exile in 1959. Initially built in the 7th century, the buildings were restored and expanded upon in the 17th century. There are two main sections. The Red Palace, completed in 1693, which dealt with spiritual matters, and the White Palace, completed in 1645, which housed administrative offices that ran the government.
In the afternoon, tour the Tibetan Museum to learn more about the history of this region referred to as the “roof of the world”. Today’s Culture InSites™ Program will offer you an insightful visit to a local Tibet family home where you have a people-to-people experience with the locals and enjoy the famous yak-butter tea. (B,L,D)
Day 9: Lhasa
Begin your tour in the heart of the old city at Jokhang Temple, Tibet’s holiest temple, which was often referred to by early Western visitors as Lhasa’s cathedral. Built in 647 AD, the Jokhang Temple attracts pilgrims throughout the day and night. They will often be seen in full prostration on the flagstones leading up to the temple or in prayer. The pioneering Tibetologist Guissepe Tucci wrote: “An endless, three-story high flight of chapels surrounds the statue, decorated with the smiling and sneering Buddhist pantheon. Blissful and terrific gods fill the shade of the cells and peer unexpectedly out of their mystery.”
Surrounding Jokhang is the Barkhor, the Pilgrim’s Circuit, Lhasa’s old market. This area is full of activity with monks chanting, vendors selling their wares, yak butter wafting in the air and hundreds of people moving in a clockwise direction. Much has been changed in Tibet in the past few hundred years, but the Barkhor still has the air of a medieval bazaar. In today’s Barkhor you can bargain good-naturedly for dorjes, phurbas, thangkas, and other religious implements. You’ll get to know the proud, red-tasseled Khampas from eastern Tibet, the monks, mendicants, pilgrims who circumambulate the Jokhang, and enjoy bantering with the astute and engaging merchants of this bit of old Tibet. (B,L,D)
Day 10: Lhasa – Holy Lake
In the morning, you take 2 ½ hour scenic drive to the Yamdrok Yumtso (tso means lake) to enjoy the natural beauty of this mystical land. You follows the Kyichu, or the Lhasa River to Tsangpo River, the highest major river in the world. After crossing the Tsangpo, you begin a hairpin ascent to reach Khampa La (La means pass) at 15,700 feet. From the pass you make a one-thousand-foot descent and arrive at tranquil Yamdrok Yumtso. You stop here to enjoy a picnic... rarely included in conventional itineraries, This scenic excursion gives you a nice break from peering at Buddhist deities. Back to Lhasa in the late afternoon and enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure. (B,L,D)
Day 11: Lhasa – Beijing
In the morning you tour Sera Monastery, north of Lhasa at the foot of the mountains dominating the Lhasa valley. The monastery was built in 1419 by a pupil of Tsongkhapa, where his greatest master had spent many years studying and meditating in a small hut. During its most active period, almost 5,000 monks lived in the monastery, which had brilliant reputation because of its famous academy.
After lunch, you fly to Beijing. Upon arrival, meet your guide and transfer to your hotel in the heart of the city. Beijing Huabin International Hotel (B,L,IM)
Day 12: Beijing
Tour Beijing’s imperial treasures. First, Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world, capable of holding one million people. Stroll across its vast expanse. An assortment of historical buildings, Communist monuments and huge museums, including Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum, the Monument to the People’s Heroes, and the Great Hall of the People – home of the National People’s Congress, flank the Square. Walk through the Gate of Heavenly Peace, under the famed portrait of Chairman Mao, to enter the Forbidden City, a 9,999-room compound, where the 24 emperors of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties ruled the Middle Kingdom for nearly 500 years (1420-1911). Experience the architectural splendor of the palaces, ceremonial courtyards and private quarters.
Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, you tour the idyllic Summer Palace, with its sprawling encampment of temples, pavilions, and the 728-yard Long Corridor. The Summer Palace served the Qing Dynasty as an imperial retreat from the stifling summer confines of the the Forbidden City. It is most associated, however, with the Empress Dowager Cixi who paid for the extravagant Marble Boat with funds meant for the modernization of the Imperial Navy. It is the best preserved and the largest imperial garden in China. Later, you enjoy a boat ride on picturesque Kunming Lake. (B,L,D)
Day 13: Beijing
In the morning, you visit the Temple of Heaven; this remarkable building is considered the supreme achievement of traditional Chinese architecture. During each winter solstice, the Ming and Qing emperors would perform rites and make sacrifices to Heaven praying for good harvest for their empire. The most striking edifice is the “Hall of Prayer of Good Harvests”, which according to the emperor’s Fengshui masters, is the exact point where heaven and Earth met. Built in 1420, this masterpiece of Ming architecture, features triple eaves, dramatically carved marble balustrades, and gorgeous glazed azure roof that symbolizes the color of heaven. Built without a single nails, this 120-foot-high structure is fixed by four inner pillars represent the seasons, and two sets of 12 columns denote the months and the traditional Chinese division of a day.
Afterwards, you take a scenic drive through the countryside to reach China’s most renowned monument – the Great Wall. The ’original’ wall was begun in the 5th century BC to keep out foreign invaders. Construction continued for centuries, eventually linking up the walls of the former independent kingdoms. The Great Wall meanders through China’s northern mountain ranges from the Yellow Sea to the Gobi Desert – a distance of over 3500 miles! Chairman Mao once said “You haven’t walked on the Wall, you haven’t been a good Chinese”. Today you will have ample time to climb a section of the Great Wall and to get a sense of the enormity of this ancient edifice. (B,L,D)
Day 14: Beijing
In the morning, you take a photo stop at the “Bird Nest” and “Water Cube” and tour the exterior portion of this magnificent complex – the main stadium of 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Afterwards, you tour the China’s famous contemporary art zone of “Factory 798”, said to be the third-biggest sightseeing attraction in Beijing, after the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Originally used as joint factories, 798 houses a thriving art and culture community in northeastern Beijing. It is often compared with New York's Greenwich Village or SoHo. In the evening, you attend the farewell dinner and savor a specially prepared meal of Peking Duck, cooked to crispy perfection. (B,SD)
Day 15: Fly home
In the morning, you are free to pack, to rest, or to do some last-minute shopping. In the afternoon, you are transferred to the airport for your flight to U.S., arriving in U.S. later today. (B, IM)
Tours to the Base Camp
Day 10: Lhasa – Gyantse – Shigatse
This morning you depart Lhasa early and drive to Gyantse. Your route follows the Kyichu, or Lhasa River, to the Tsangpo River, the highest major river in the world.
After crossing the Tsangpo, you begin a hairpin ascent to reach Khampa La (la means pass) at 15,700 feet. From the pass we make a one-thousand-foot descent and arrive at tranquil Yamdrok Yumtso (tso means lake). You stop here to enjoy a picnic.
After savoring lunch by the lake, you head west through grand, treeless landscapes, toward a lovely 23,000-foot peak with the delightful name Ningdzingzonka. After crossing Karo La (16,500 feet), we descend into the lush green farmland of the Nyang Chu Valley and on to Gyantse at just under 13,000 feet.
Gyantse is central Tibet's third largest city (after Lhasa and Shigatse). Despite the Chinese presence in the city, it has preserved a fine, old-fashioned feel, and offers the rare opportunity to stroll through a largely unchanged, old Tibetan quarter.
You visit the Pelkor Chode, a walled monastery complex suffered horribly during the Cultural Revolution. However, its centerpiece, the grand chorten called the Kum Bum, was inexplicably spared. In the afternoon you depart Gyantse and follow the Nyang Chu northwest. A little over an hour of driving leads you past spangled plow-yaks and waving children to Shigatse. On arrival in Shigatse, check in at your hotel.
Manasarovar Hotel (B,L,D)
Remarks: the driving time from Lhasa to Shigatse along the scenic “old road” takes about 9 hours.
Day 11: Shigatse – Dingri
This morning you visit the immense Tashilunpo, a walled monastic complex and seat of Tibet’s second-highest-ranking lama, the Panchen Lama. Tashilunpo is a rambling maze of chapels, shrines, and halls linked by mysterious alleyways and steep staircases. At the center of the monastery is a courtyard used as a theater for religious dances.
Just off the great courtyard is Tashilunpo’s main hall (where, like the explorer Sven Hedin, we may hear “the monks…intone a chant…enthralling, mystical, full of yearning…soothing as a cradle, intoxicating as wine, and sedative as morphia.”) We'll visit this dark and evocative chamber and its many side altars, and look into an adjacent kitchen where tremendous vats of yak butter tea are kept bubbling. And we’ll visit a distinctive red building called the Jamkhang Chenmo, which houses a massive yet lyrical 90-foot tall statue of Maitreya, the Future Buddha, built in 1914 by the Ninth Panchen Lama while Europe was madly at war.
After visiting Tashilunpo, you walk back to the hotel through the somewhat modern town of Shigatse, stopping for some interesting shopping in its old market. Then you drive to Dingri. En route, enjoy the beautiful natural landscape of this mystical land. Arrive in Dingri in the evening. And Check into your hotel. Dingri Hotel (B,L,D)
Remarks: the driving time from Shigatse to Dingri takes about 6 hours.
Day 12: Dingri – Base Camp – Lazi
This morning you visit the Sakya Monastery in the center of the Sakyapa sect. Then set off to the Base Camp (2-3 hours drive to cover about 70 miles). Time to explore the Base Camp (2-3 hours depending on weather), then drive to Lazi for overnight. Lazi Shanghai Hotel (B,L,D)Day 13: Lazi - Lhasa – Beijing
In the morning, you drive to Lhasa Airport for a flight to Beijing. Upon arrival, meet your local guide and transfer to your hotel. Enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure. Beijing Huabin International Hotel (B,L,IM)
Day 14: Beijing
In the morning, you meet the main group and take a photo stop at the “Bird Nest” and “Water Cube” and tour the exterior portion of this magnificent complex – the main stadium of 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Afterwards, you tour the China’s famous contemporary art zone of “Factory 798”, said to be the third-biggest sightseeing attraction in Beijing, after the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Originally used as joint factories, 798 houses a thriving art and culture community in northeastern Beijing. It is often compared with New York's Greenwich Village or SoHo. In the evening, you attend the farewell dinner and savor a specially prepared meal of Peking Duck, cooked to crispy perfection. (B,SD)
Day 15: Fly home
In the morning, you are free to pack, to rest, or to do some last-minute shopping. In the afternoon, you are transferred to the airport for your flight to U.S., arriving in U.S. later today. (B, IM)