11 Days Tibet & Silk Road Group Tour by Train-A

Welcome to starting point of ancient Silk Road, Xi’an! Our driver and guide will wait you at the airport terminal exit by holding a welcome board with your name and escort you to hotel. The rest of the day is free at your disposal.

Accommodation:Sheraton Hotel or same class (5 stars)

AM: In the morning meet our guide in hotel lobby and drive to visit Statue of Silk Road Starting Point. Afterward continue driving to Famen Temple, the holy place for Buddhism and the excavated spot of figure relics of Sakyamuni Buddha.

Noon: Lunch at local restaurant.

PM: Thereafter we will return Xi’an to visit Big Wild Goose Pagoda Square where you could see Big Wild Goose Pagoda in distance. After that have dinner and then back to hotel.

Accommodation: Sheraton Hotel or same class (5 stars)

AM: Enjoy the western buffet breakfast in hotel. Then meet our guide in hotel lobby and you will be escorted to visit the world famous Terracotta Warriors and Horses which has been praised as “the eighth major miracle of the world”. The 8000+ life-sized soldiers and horse figures in excavated three pits will shock you with surprisingly high level in casting.

Noon: Lunch at local restaurant.

PM: Then continue the visit to Huaqing Hot Spring which used to be the imperial hot spring bathing spot in ancient time from the Qin Dynasty (221BC-207BC) to the Tang Dynasty (618AD-907AD). In the afternoon drive back to downtown city, you will take a walk on the 600 years old City Wall. Xi’an City Wall is the largest and most completely preserved city wall in China. In the evening you will enjoy the Dumpling Dinner. After the dinner in dining hall you will appreciate the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show in staging hall.

At 22:00, you will board the luxury “Silk Road Express Train” train to Tianshui. That will be the last night on the luxury train.

Accommodation: Silk Road Express Train

The train arrives in Tianshui at 06:30. After breakfast we will drive to visit Maiji Mountain. The existing caves were excavated from the Later Qin Dynasty (384-417) to the Qing Dynasty (1616-1912). Among all Buddhist Caves in China, Maijishan Grottoes boasts most attractive natural view.

At 16:30 the train will depart to Lanzhou. After dinner at restaurant on the train you will arrive in Lanzhou at 21:00. Check in at hotel.

Accommodation: Grand Soluxe Hotel Gansu (5 stars)

AM: After breakfast meet the guide and driver and drive back to Lanzhou. Arriving in Lanzhou we will visit Waterwheel Garden. The most remarkable thing in this garden is the waterwheel, an irrigation tool invented in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In the garden, you will see various kinds of Waterwheels and you will learn about how that ancient irrigation tool functions.

Noon: Lunch at local restaurant.

PM: After lunch drive to Xinning, the staring station of Qinghai-Tibet Railway and check in local hotel.

Accommodation: Sanwant Hotel Xining or same class (5 starts)

AM: After hotel breakfast we will drive to visit the Ta’er Monastery, as one of the six principal temples of the Tibetan Buddhist Yellow Sect, it is listed into the most famous Tibetan Buddhist temples in Qinghai Province. The construction of the Monastery began in the 1379 of the Ming Dynasty. The Monastery keeps large quantity of Buddhist Sutras and documents about history, literature, philosophy, medicine, legislation, etc. Now the temple is the top Buddhist Institute in Qinghai Province.

Noon: Lunch at local restaurant.

PM: Then take the overnight train to Lhasa.

Accommodation:Over Night Train (4 beds in one cabin)

Today you will spend most of the time in train and you will experience a scenic train journey in Tibet, the Roof of the World. You will pass by snow-capped Yuzhu Peak and Kunlun Mountain, Kekexili Reserve and Tuotuo River, Fenghuo Mountain Tunnel and Qiangtang Grassland. When the train arrives in Lhasa, you will receive a Hada for our local guide. Hada, a white scarf, is a traditional gift in Tibet to wish you good luck. Then you will be escorted to hotel and you need to acclimatize yourself to the high altitude.

Accommodation: Brahmaputra grand hotel Lhasa or same class

AM: In the morning we will visit the Potala Palace, the most notable attraction in Tibet. The palace was originally built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) when the master of Tibet married daughter of the Emperor Taizong. It is said there are totally 999 rooms in the palace and from the 17th century on, Potala Palace was used as winter palace for Tibetan master.

Noon: Lunch at local restaurant.

PM: After lunch, we will move to visit Jokhang Monastery, the most sacred Tibetan Buddhist temple in Buddhist followers’ heart. The temple was built in the golden period of local Tubo Kingdom and is also the earliest earth-and- wood structure building in Tibet. Then take a walk along the Barkhor Street where lots of local handicrafts and little goods full of Tibetan taste waiting for exploring. Come back to hotel.

Accommodation: Brahmaputra grand hotel Lhasa or same class

AM: After hotel breakfast, pick up from hotel by local driver and guide and drive to Sigaze. On the way we will stop at Yamdrok Tso Lake which means Lake of Swan in Tibetan language. The lake is one of the three sacred lakes in Tibet. Looking sky from the lake, it just like a coral branch. It is regarded as the most beautiful lake in southern Tibet.

Noon: Lunch at local restaurant.

PM: Next we will visit the Palkhor Monastery, which has about 600 years history. The must see of the monastery is the nine-storey Palkhor Pagoda.

Accommodation:Shigatse Hotel or same class (4 stars)

AM: In the morning, we drive to visit Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the largest temple in Shigatse Area. In the monastery you will see the largest statute of future Buddha in the world. That monastery was founded by the first Dalai Lama in 1447.Now it is one of the six principal monasteries of Gelu Sect (Yellow hat) of Tibetan Buddhism. And on the way we will pass by the scenic Yarlung Zangbo Gorge or Bhamaputra River.

Noon: Lunch at local restaurant.

PM: Drive back to Lhasa.

Accommodation: Brahmaputra grand hotel Lhasa or same class

Enjoy your free time till the hotel pickup time. You will be picked up from hotel and transfer to airport for your flight departing Lhasa.